Past meetings and events for freethinkers florida in 2025
Jan 5th, Sunday, 1 - 3 PM, Remembering January 6th
Bob Kraus
Jan 13th, Monday, 6:00 - 7:30 PM, Conversations That Matter: Death Café II
Hosted by Alan Merson and Kathy Bell.
Both Alan and Kathy have devoted a good portion of their life work experience in counselling and other related work. Their experience will be very valuable in Death Café. THIS SESSION IS ALREADY FULL.
OPEN FORUM LAUNCH A SUCCESS
The Freethinkers Open Forum kickoff was held on January 23 and was very well received! The next session will be held on Sunday, February 16. If you are really passionate about a topic and want to see it on the agenda, please volunteer to be a moderator on that topic, and the Open Forum Team will consider adding it to the agenda. Let Roger Mack at freethinkersotow@gmail.com know. Topics will be emailed about a week before the meeting so you can consider them.
The topic that seemed to generate the most controversy at the last meeting was Despotic Leaders. Good points were made that we are headed toward despotism in America right now. Others felt that by a historical comparison, we were nowhere near despotism in America at this time. Diverse opinions are valued by freethinkers!
The most thoughtful discussion was the transgender topic. Participants were sincerely perplexed on how to compassionately handle medical and social issues when it comes to children identifying as transgender. Perhaps this is a topic that we as Freethinkers would benefit from exploring further.
Again, please let Roger know if you have any comments or topics for Freethinkers Open Forum.
Several topics will be announced prior to the meeting and each subject will have its own table for an in-depth discussion, so you will be able to choose an issue of interest to you.
Feb 2nd, Sunday, 1 - 3 PM,
UNDERSTANDING LEGAL CHANGES IN INSURANCE IN FLORIDA
Tracy Fero of Fero and Sons Insurance will provide a powerpoint presentation and has advised that she is reserving most of the time for Q & A. So bring your questions of a general nature about vehicle and home insurance, the process of obtaining insurance and making a claim, flood and hurricane riders, liability, uninsured motorist, and more. Sorry, she will not be able to handles individual insurance matters at this metting.
Feb 16th, Sunday, 1 - 3 PM
FREETHINKERS OPEN FORUM RETURNS
Topics will be emailed around February 9.
MARCH 12
FIELD TRIP TO ROYAL RURAL HISTORIC DISTRICT
On March 12, interested Freethinkers will take a field trip to the Royal Rural Historic District near Wildwood, FL, to learn about the origins of Royal as a Black Homesteader Colony, only one of two surviving in the U.S. today. Descendants of the original freedmen who settled there still live on the properties granted by the Homesteaders Act of 1862. The community is now threatened by development and a highway expansion.
One of the ways the citizens of Royal are funding their battle with the State of Florida to retain possession of the land granted to their ancestors is to provide tours of their community while sharing their history. The donation is $10 per person, payable the day of the tour.
The tour will begin in Royal at 11 a.m. and will last about two hours. Carpooling is a possibility, so please note whether you are willing to carpool by driving or riding. We will meet in the OTOW Hobby Building Parking Lot at 10 a.m. We will be driving to the Alonzo A, Young, Sr. Enrichment & Historical Center, 9569 County Road 235, Wildwood (Royal), FL 34785.
As we celebrate Black History Month, let's make plans to learn more and support this important cause. You can register by responding to FreethinkersFlorida@gmail.com.
SUNDAY MARCH 9, 1-3 PM
Dr. Rod Broker, a retired academic and former clergy person, will talk about his journey “ From Christian Minister to Christian Humanist.”
SUNDAY MARCH 23, 1-3 PM
UNDERSTANDING A MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY
After watching two short videos featuring a biochemist and a medical doctor to give us some background, we will host OTOW resident Jill Carel, the president of our local PFLAG chapter and the mother of a 43-year old transgender man, to help us understand many aspects of this marginalized community.
MARCH 14-16, IN ORLANDO
FREEFLO (FREETHOUGHT FLORIDA)
Hundreds of humanists, atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and scientific skeptics will attend the Freethought Florida conference. Proceeds from the FreeFlo Conference support scholarships for secular students in Florida. Follow this link for more information.
Speed Meeting -- This is going to be fun, like speed dating without the dating part! This Sunday, April 6th, you can get to know a bit about your fellow freethinkers individually, and share something about yourself. Prompts will be given at the start of each five-minute conversation. When we are all done laughing and reminiscing, we will hear from two of our own, Brenda Foster and Tom Allen, about their journeys to freethinking.
Banned & Woke Book Club -- At our meeting this Sunday, April 6th, we will have our last call for registration for the next B&WBC on Monday evening, April 28th from 6:30-8 pm in the Hobby Building Events Room. Our book is 1984 by George Orwell which is, of course, both banned and woke. You can also join the 16 Freethinkers who have already signed up (and if you did, no need to sign up again) by emailing by replying here to FreethinkersFlorida@gmail.com. Don't worry about getting enough time to discuss this book, we will break into smaller groups and then report back to the whole. There's a lot to talk about, given all the parallels to what is happening in America today.
SUNDAY MAY 4, 1–3 PM
WORD AND IMAGE: HOW GRAPHIC DESIGN INFLUENCES OUR EMOTIONS AND OUR DECISION-MAKING
Understand the hidden power of graphic design with our own Domenica Genovese, a co-founder of the design firm, Greatest Creative Factor, and former adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore. In this presentation, Domenica will demonstrate how design impacts our thinking and the decisions we make in daily life from the grocery store to the voting booth. Learn how design can help us understand complex issues, and how it shapes our opinions, feelings, and actions—often without us even realizing it.
FREETHINKERS OPEN FORUM
Sunday, May 18,
Freethinkers Open Forum will feature six table discussions...give some thought to which topic is most interesting to you:
Table #1: Roe vs. Wade - Constitutional Issues
Table #2: Roe vs. Wade - Moral Issues
Table #3: Living in a 55+ Community - Social Connections
Table #4: Democratic Socialism
Table #5: Are Freethinkers Open Minded?
Table #6: Is there such a thing as Free Will?
See your Freethinkers May Newsletter for discussion questions associated with each topic or visit www.FreethinkersFlorida.
PROGRAMS FOR JUNE
SUNDAY JUNE 8, 1-3 PM
OTOW HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
JESUS WITHOUT GOD
Our friend and freethinker Dr. Rod Broker returns to discuss Jesus Without God. As many of us will remember, when Rod was with us in March, it was a standing room only crowd, and we are promising more chairs. As an academic, a counselor, and former Lutheran pastor, who evolved to become nonreligious, Rod now identifies as a Christian Humanist. He has a unique viewpoint on how religion sometimes gets in the way of what is really important in life.
W GRAPHIC DESIGN INFLUENCES OUR EMOTIONS AND OUR DECISION-MAKING
Understand the hidden power of graphic design with our own Domenica Genovese, a co-founder of the design firm, Greatest Creative Factor, and former adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore. In this presentation, Domenica will demonstrate how design impacts our thinking and the decisions we make in daily life from the grocery store to the voting booth. Learn how design can help us understand complex issues, and how it shapes our opinions, feelings, and actions—often without us even realizing it.
SUNDAY JUNE 22, 1-3 PM
OTOW HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
SPECIAL GUEST CHAT GPT WILL PARTICIPATE IN A
FREETHINKERS PANEL DISCUSSION
Rumor has it that Chat GPT will be visiting the Ocala Freethinkers on June 22. She will be participating in a panel discussion with some of our best and brightest Freethinkers. It is an open forum so we’re not sure where the discussion will go, but for sure it will cover the capabilities of GPT, the impact on the economy and jobs, the philosophical Implications, and perhaps most importantly how you can use GPT in your everyday life. Please plan on joining us and being amazed at how far computer intelligence has come. Also, please email us if you have any topic you particularly want discussed. See you then!
SECULAR DIRECTORY
Would you like to meet other secular people of like mind and interests? Do you want to find groups and organizations that can give you a larger voice in our culture? If so, please visit the Secular Directory. It is an extensive resource for news and events, projects, and services, and resources and reference for the secular community.
JUNE 23, 6:30-8 PM
BANNED AND WOKE BOOK CLUB
Let's get ready to read! Our next meeting is on Monday, June 23, 6:30-8:00 pm in the Events Room in the Hobby Building. Rachel Maddow's 2023 book Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism will be on the board for discussion. According to Penguin Random House, "Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis." For those familiar with Maddow, you know that you are in for a well researched chronicle about the growth of authoritarianism. The stakes were as high then as they are today, and the parallels to today's chaotic political environment are staggering. To register, please email freethinkersflorida@gmail.com with BOOK CLUB in the subject line. Last month we had 17 Freethinkers arranged in three groups, and we all wished we had more time to talk about 1984. Join us for this new selection! And you know the drill: get the book, read the book, take some notes, and get ready for an in-depth discussion!
SATURDAY JUNE 14, 6-10PM
JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION DINNER DANCE and RAMAL FUNDRAISER
As part of our Freethinkers Club commitment to support local secular not-for-profit organizations, we are proud to once again participate in a fundraiser for RAMAL (Reach, Aim, Motivate And Lead), a provider of social services and educational assistance helping the underserved community in Ocala. RAMAL provides tutoring, advocacy, nontraditional scholarships, Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets to families and seniors, help with utilities, gas, work uniforms and referrals. Allie Gore is coordinating the fundraiser, so if you would like to go and you have purchased tickets, please email her at otowfreethinkers@gmail.com so she can help with seating arrangements. Click here for tickets.
PROGRAMS FOR JULY
SUNDAY JULY 6, 1-3 PM
OTOW HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
UNDERSTANDING THE PEOPLE OF IRAN
We will take a video journey to Iran, a country in the news here every day. But what do we really know about the diverse Iranian people? The colorful history of ancient Persian culture? The country’s cities, geography, and economy? This is not a political video but a travelogue that will familiarize us with more than just the headlines. While we won’t solve any world problems, we will spend time after the video discussing our impressions.f
Please reply to FreethinkersFlorida@gmail.com with Program Committee in the subject line to advise if you are able to attend, and bring a freethinking friend with you! We know you have some great ideas! You do not need to volunteer to be part of the program committee to attend this meeting.
SUNDAY JULY 14, 6:30-8 PM
OTOW HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
PROGRAM COMMITTEE ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
As you may know, Allie Gore has transitioned out of the position of Program Committee Chair. We thank Allie for making great inroads on our programming, and we know that there is still lots of work to be done. Let's get together to talk about what is already set up on the schedule for the remainder of 2025 and what we need to consider for next year.
Brenda Foster has already volunteered to coordinate the program hosts for the remainder of this year and will handle the scheduling of hosts for 2026. Thanks, Brenda!
Suzanne Scheraga, a member of our Steering Committee, will be taking the lead on this to ensure that the program committee has the resources and support that it needs to be successful. This is a call to our general membership to see if there are others who are interested in working to keep our programs interesting and inspiring. Suzanne is planning a meeting for Monday evening, July 14, from 6:30-8:00 in the Hobby Building Event Room to kick off this organizational effort. Please check your calendar!
Some questions to be considered are:
1. Which of our programs so far this year have been most popular?
2. How important is the variety of formats -- discussion, video, open forum, presentation?
3. Would a brief survey of attendees be helpful?
4. What subjects that we haven't covered should we cover?
5. Do you have speakers that you recommend? Topics?
6. Should we be doing programs like Meet & Greet on Sundays or should that be a separate Monday meeting?
7. How important are field trips and volunteer opportunities?
8. And so many more questions and suggestions that we know you have...
Please reply to FreethinkersFlorida@gmail.com with Program Committee in the subject line to advise if you are able to attend, and bring a freethinking friend with you! We know you have some great ideas! You do not need to volunteer to be part of the program committee to attend this meeting.
SUNDAY JULY 20, 1-3 PM
OTOW HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
LIBRARIANS SPEAK OUT
Mary Thompson, Branch Supervisor for the local Freedom Library, has been with the Marion County Public Library System since January 2018. She is a UF grad with a BA in Sociology and earned an MA in Library and Information Science from USF. As a former middle school teacher and coordinator for SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco), Mary is in a unique position to be able to evaluate governmental limitations on book availability to adolescents and as well as adults, and discuss how librarians are coping with new rules and banned books. Additionally, the Freedom Library’s expansion is underway, and it will triple the size of the original building. Libraries are not just for books anymore, so she will be able to fill us in on new programs and available resources. Time to get a library card if you don’t have one! Thanks to Freethinker (and Freedom Library volunteer) Pat MacMurray for arranging this presentation.
MONDAY JULY 21, 6:30-8 PM
OTOW HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
OPEN FORUM INPUT MEETING
We are planning a round table meeting open to all Freethinkers at our usual meeting place in the Event Room in the Hobby Building. The subject of this round table is facilitating at Open Forums. We want to discuss what the facilitator's role is and how to fulfill that role. What do our participants want in this regard? What topics would you like to explore?
For those who have not yet attended an Open Forum, typically there are 5-6 tables, each with its own topic, where you can choose the one that is most interesting to you and then discuss the subject in a smaller group. General questions are provided to get the discussion off to a good start.
This is not a training session nor is there any commitment to facilitate. Just an opportunity for us to get feedback on the Open Forums so we can offer more interesting and better organized programs. If members learn a little bit about facilitating so much the better. Please plan on attending. Your input is important!
Please RSVP by replying to FreethinkersFlorida@gmail.com with Open Forum in the subject line. If you are away this summer but would like to provide some ideas for topics or ways we can streamline the groups, feel free to respond as well.
We hope you will come help us out with the open forums by giving us your input because our Freethinkers group belongs to all of us.
GOOD NEWS FOR OUT OF OTOW PARTICIPANTS
As you know, as a club governed by OTOW rules and regulations, Freethinkers is able to permit individuals who live outside of OTOW Central/Candler and those who live in Weybourne and Indigo without a gateway pass to participate in our group. We must, however, collect a standard fee for facility use.
Because of the way we are billed by OTOW, we project that we will have enough money in our account to cover gate fees for the remainder of the year. So beginning with our next meeting on July 6 out of OTOW fees will be waived until the first meeting in January 2026. This is the same procedure we followed last year. Please continue to sign in as Out of OTOW/No Gateway Pass because we are still required to submit a list of names each month, but no fee will be due.
LOOKING AHEAD
On August 3, Dr. Rod Broker will present God Talk: Thoughts and Theories on the Origin of Religion. Where, when and how did religion begin? What role did it play and what purpose did it serve?
And Open Forum returns on August 17. Six tables, six different topics. Topics and questions to start the discussion will be in the Freethinkers August Newsletter so that you can decide which table is for you.
t's time for Speed Meeting (like Speed Dating, but without the Dating part). Spend five minutes with ten someones you see regularly but don't really know —you might have a hobby, a Master the Possibilities class, or favorite local restaurant in common. It's a great way to connect with other Freethinkers on another level, and maybe even set up a coffee get-together at Sid's. It's easier than you think!
SUNDAY JULY 20, 1-3PM
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
LIBRARIANS SPEAK OUT
Thanks to Freethinker Pat MacMurray who is Freedom Library's most dedicated volunteer, a librarian or two from the Marion County Public Library System will be on hand to discuss our closest public library's growth and new building expansion, library programs (it's just not books anymore!), and, of great importance to Freethinkers, how librarians are dealing with the push toward banning books. Bring your questions...library card not required, but you might be prompted to get one!