Past meetings and events for freethinkers florida in 2025
SUNDAY JANUARY 4, 1–3PM
FROM PRAIRIES TO RIVERS:
FLORIDA'S LIFEBLOOD IS WATER
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
Join us for a presentation by Lars Andersen, renowned outdoorsman, naturalist, and author of Paynes Prairie, The Great Savanna: A History and Guide. Drawing on years of experience exploring Central Florida’s rivers and prairies, Lars will share his knowledge of the region’s history, wildlife, and ecosystems and the role of water in Florida's story. He will also address the challenges posed by a changing climate and what it means for the future of the area’s natural resources.
SUNDAY JANUARY 19, 1–3PM
NATURAL BURIALS: PRAIRIE CREEK
CONSERVATION CEMETERY
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
Have you ever wondered if there is an ecological alternative to a conventional funeral or cremation? Surprisingly, we have a certified green burial site practically in our own backyard—well, in Gainesville. Heather Grove, Director of Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery, will discuss natural burials and take us on a virtual tour of Prairie Creek. It encompasses 93 acres which are a larger part of the 606-acre Prairie Creek Preserve that is managed in partnership with the Alachua Conservation Trust. A key idea is conservation burial—not only is the body returned to the earth in a natural way, but part of the burial fee supports land protection, restoration, and management. PCCC is a not-for-profit organization.
THURSDAY JANUARY 15, 6:30-8PM
SOCRATES CAFÉ COMES TO FREETHINKERS
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
Freethinkers will be offering a Socrates Café style monthly small group gathering to engage in thoughtful conversation on a wide range of topics. Socrates Café is a nationwide program, and you can go here if you’d like to learn more about it. Each session will cover a single topic for in-depth discussion.
On Thursday, January 15, there will be an introductory meeting at 6:30 pm in the Hobby Building Events Room. It is open to all club members. At this meeting you will learn how Socrates Café works and how you can participate in the monthly sessions that will begin in February. Anyone who wants to attend the regular Socrates Café meetings in February and beyond will first need to attend this introductory session. Socrates Café is scheduled for the third Thursday of each month from 6:30-8 pm in the Hobby Building Events Room.
If you plan to attend the January 15 session, please send a brief email to Roger Mack ramack@hotmail.com so we can estimate attendance. This is not required but would be appreciated. We look forward to exploring great questions together!
HAPPY FESTIVUS!
As many religious groups celebrate their holidays this time of year, we like to remember that we Freethinkers have our own holiday too—thanks to Jerry Seinfeld.
Wishing you a very Happy Festivus…for the rest of us!
MONDAY FEBRUARY 9, 6:30–8 PM
BANNED AND WOKE BOOK CLUB
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
For those voracious readers among us, we offer our Banned & Woke Book Club, coordinated by Mel Cox and Glenn Cohen, which is entering its second year. The selection for Monday, February 9, is The Giver by Lois Lowry. Originally written as a novel for young people, it has continuously been on the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books from 1994 to the present day. It is a dystopian novel about a seeming utopian society that has eliminated pain and conflict through “sameness” at the cost of emotion and choice. If you are not a reader, you might check out the 2014 movie of the same name starring, among others, Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, and Taylor Swift. Please email Glenn Cohen at gcohen608@troycable.net to register to discuss this provocative book or sign up at a Sunday meeting. Registration preferred but not required, just come on over!
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 19, 6:30–8 PM
SOCRATES CAFE
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
There's always a lot to talk about at Socrates Café. The topic of our session this month will be "the culture of contempt." Each time we meet is a learning experience, and moderators will have a list of questions to promote discussion about the subject. How can we possibly get over the feeling that people who don't think the way we do should not be entitled to their opinions? Come join us for this hour and a half discussion on this important conundrum.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 22, 1–3 PM
OPEN FORUM
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
Open Forum will be back—six tables, six topics, choose the one you are most interested in discussing. Roger Mack will be our moderator and will provide the questions most pertinent to a rousing discourse. We will use a different approach this session as some of our members will be asked to take the Devil's Advocate position at each table. Our topics are:
- Having insanely rich people is a small price to pay for overall prosperity.
- Slowing down AI development is more dangerous than continued acceleration.
- We want extremely profitable drug companies.
- Group-based politics lock people into victimhood rather than helping them succeed.
- Removing morally corrupt heads of states is justifiable morally and as a legal imperative.
- Individuals seeking asylum and refugee status should not get priority US immigration status.
Choose the one you'd most like to discuss and join that table when you arrive.
SUNDAY MARCH 8, 6:30–8 PM
OCALA GAZETTE LISTENS
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
This month the Ocala Gazette invites Freethinkers to a listening session. Ever wish you had the opportunity to let the local newspaper know what you'd be interested in seeing as a headline? On March 8, our friend Jennifer Hunt Murty, Owner/Publisher of the Ocala Gazette will be back to present OG Listens, a feedback series that she debuted with readers in January. Many Freethinkers will remember Jennifer from her presentation last October about the Gazette's investigative reporting about the high number of deaths in custody at the Marion County Jail. She’ll talk about what led her to start doing these listening sessions and then she will hear what you have to say. What issues would you like to shine a light on? Bring your best suggestions! If you would rather not ask a question or offer a idea at the microphone, you can write your comment down before the meeting, and it will be read for you. Or you can send your comment to FreethinkersFlorida@gmail.com for inclusion in the session.
SUNDAY MARCH 19, 1–3PM
SOCRATES CAFE'
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM
February’s Socrates Cafe was our best yet! We had 24 participants divided into three groups of eight discussing The Culture of Contempt. This month the topic of our session will be Is civil disobedience that is violent and likely illegal justified in modern democracies to force governments to listen and change? Socrates is an exercise in civil discourse about philosophical or contemporary topics. We all can learn something from others’ opinions and ideas by using the Socratic approach of asking questions of our tablemates to clarify, challenge, and expand upon statements. If you are looking for an in depth conversation, this is ithis!