Dear <<First Name>>,
As I was driving into Vernon last Saturday, a huge crowd of anti-vaccine, anti-mask, anti-Trudeau, anti-whatever-else protesters waved their signs near the bottom of the hill by the hospital. I tried to ignore the sight and just listen to the country station as I made my way past, but one sign kind of stood out from the rest, towering a good five or six feet above the others. I couldn't NOT look, and ... lo and behold, a message of reason! I pulled over to a nearby parking lot and strode across the street so I could have a chat with the man holding the sign, Korry. With all the traffic streaming by and my limited time to chat that day, our conversation was brief, but it was definitely a highlight of my day to see some sense in an often-nonsensical world. Scroll down to see photos of Korry standing out!
Coming up soon (October 14-16), Janice Selbie from Divorcing Religion will be hosting an online conference, Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture. I just read a couple of her blog posts related to sexuality: Bizarre Sex Advice That Does More Harm Than Good and From Anti-Choice to Pro-Reproductive Sovereignty...and I learned that I really, really must shower, like, several hundred times! You can also check out Janice's YouTube channel, where her new podcast and also videos from past conferences are available.
You might have noticed in an email notification that KASHA is participating in Tremendous Trivia again! There is a change of venue, and we'll now be attending the trivia nights at Chances Casino at 1585 Springfield Road. We plan to meet there every fourth Monday of the month at 6pm.
If being on the board for KASHA is something you're curious about, please feel free to contact Nina (grow@askuskelowna.ca) for more information. A few of the positions will be coming up soon, and we are looking to fill them. KASHA is in its fifth year (already!!) and hopes to keep forging ahead!
Our AGM is coming up in November.
Tania
think@askuskelowna.ca
KASHA - Kelowna Atheists, Skeptics & Humanists Association
Inquire with us at askuskelowna.ca
You can now become a member via our secure website payment system HERE
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KASHA COVID Policy:
KASHA follows the COVID guidelines laid out by the BC health authorities and therefore will not require vaccination to attend events and activities after 7 April 2022. However, given that many KASHA members are at a higher risk than the general population, it is preferred that attendees be fully vaccinated against COVID 19.
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The Hottest Conference
Finally, a conference for survivors of Purity Culture!
This ground-breaking event features experts in the areas of sexuality and religious trauma who will provide accurate information and encouragement on topics such as purity culture, consent, eroticism, kinks, fetishes and more.
More information HERE
Please visit Janice's other sites:
- WEBSITE www.divorcing-religion.com For 1:1 religious recovery consulting and counselling, as well as the online Divorcing Religion Workshop
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Go, Korry, go!
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Yes, this rally does lack logic except, perhaps, from this one guy!
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Conservative School Trustees
KASHA does not endorse candidates as an organization, but I (Nina) did ask Wayne Broughton, KASHA member, present school trustee, and running for re-election what his opinion was on the non-transparent group BCParentsvoice and what he thought were better candidates.
Hi Nina,
Thanks for writing and asking! I am being quite open about who I do and do not endorse for school trustee, so please don’t keep it secret. It is important to get the word out as widely as possible, especially as not a lot of people vote for trustees and if the wrong candidates get more supporters to show up at the ballot box it could be a disaster for the school board.
The choice is very stark this time between the candidates who support diversity and inclusion (and who also understand what school trustees actually do and what issues are important for the district) and the other candidates, including the BC Parentsvoice ones, who are running because they are opposed to sexual orientation/gender identity education and want to ban certain books from schools. Based on their previous social media, at least some of them are also connected with the unhinged anti-vax/anti-science conspiracy crowd.
There are only four clearly “progressive” candidates running in Kelowna and West Kelowna, and we need all of them elected in order to have a majority on the Board.
In Kelowna:
- Wayne Broughton
- Val Johnson
- Julia Fraser
In West Kelowna:
Please tell everyone you can to vote for these candidates, and tell them to tell everyone else!
Thanks again,
Wayne
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All Will Come Again
~ Ranier Maria Rilke ~
All will come again into its strength:
the fields undivided, the waters undammed,
the trees towering and the walls built low.
And in the valleys, people as strong and varied as the land.
And no churches
where God is imprisoned and lamented
like a trapped and wounded animal.
The houses welcoming all who knock
and a sense of boundless offering in all relations,
and in you and me.
No yearning for an afterlife,
no looking beyond,
no belittling of death,
but only longing for what belongs to us
and serving earth,
lest we remain unused.
I recently came across this little poem in a memoir of a young woman, Tallu Schuyler Quinn, who was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 40. Her memoir, "What We Wish Were True: Reflections on Nurturing Life and Facing Death," impacted me on several levels, and I think it's such a good reminder of how brief and precious this life is. The last line of Rilke's poem, too, makes me think of such things as, How can I make the most of my life so that I have no regrets? What is a good use of my time? Which things are not worth my time and effort?
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Book List
On our website, we've added a list of books; if you have anything you'd like to add to the list, feel free to email us at think@askuskelowna.ca I've slowly been working my way through the fascinating book "Belief: What It Means to Believe and Why Our Convictions Are So Compelling" by James E. Alcock. The book is crammed with a wide range of topics: the inaccuracy of memories; the meanings of dreams (and no, not the sort of "meaning" like, if a dog bites you, it means that you're "struggling with someone's disloyalty towards you"...and if he bites you on the left hand, it means something different than if it's the right hand!); cognitive biases; alternative medicine; magic and superstition; and the origins, social aspects, and emotions that play a big role in religion.
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Webinars & Town Halls on the KASHA website
Thanks to Darrel, we now have a page of interesting webinars and town hall meetings from BC Humanists, Center for Inquiry Canada, and Amnesty International that you can watch.
If you just can't watch another Netflix show or commercial TV, tune in here to see issues that are relevant to you. KASHA WEBINAR PAGE
You can also catch up on some of our previous newsletters HERE.
Thanks, Darrel, for all your work!
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We are officially an affliate local group member with BC Humanists. We receive support to help connect with humanists and atheists in our area. We become part of a larger network of non-religious people across the province by joining with other groups.