Announcement List for the Virginia Atheists & Agnostics

["Sean M. McCord" <>]

IMPACT (Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together) is a
group made up of 31 churches in the Charlottesville and Albemarle area. They
hold annual meetings to bring awareness to elected officials about issues
important to their collectives. These events are called Nehemiah Assemblies.

Two representatives from IMPACT were on WNRN's Sunday Morning Wake-Up call
this weekend (which I happen to produce) and a caller asked whether they
would also welcome working with non-religious groups - specifically,
atheists - who are dedicated to the same issues of justice in our community.

Their answer comes about 48 minutes into the show. You can hear their
response on the podcast here:

http://www.cvillepodcast.com/2012/03/18/wnrn-wake-up-call-impact/

In brief, after some consideration, they came to the conclusion that they
could work with atheists. After the show, I thanked them for their answer
and explained my own situation: my wife has been involved with IMPACT
through Congregation Beth Israel, but that I had never felt welcome as an
atheist. One of the woman told me that her own husband was an atheist, and
they'd had a similar discussion. Their conclusion was that IMPACT should
welcome people of all "faiths", even if their faith is one of disbelief.

Semantic quibbles aside, I think that this might be a wonderful opportunity
for the VAA. There has already been some discussion on this list about what
we can do as atheists, a group that tends not to be highly organizable, to
help show the world that we can be a positive force for good. IMPACT
regularly addresses issues that directly effect the least advantaged members
of our community (travel, housing, jobs, education, mental health) and they
stay away from the social hot-button issues normally associated with
religious groups. You can read more about the group and some of their past
actions here:

http://impactcville.com/our-successes/

If some members of our group would be interested in attending the Nehemiah
Assembly which takes place this coming Monday, March 26, at 6PM in JPJ,
please let me know and I can contact the organizers. Unfortunately, there is
a McIntire Park East public hearing scheduled for the very same time, and I
must attend that as a member of the city Parks and Recreation Board. But I
will gladly make all the necessary introductions if other people would be
interested in attending and speaking up for local atheists. Please drop me a
line if you would like to get involved.

-Sean McCord

Sean Michael McCord