It's time again for our annual survey and we really need your help with that. More emails and reminders are on the way, but if you want to go ahead and complete that, click here.
FFRF members are strongly encouraged to participate since your membership will benefit us with a $5 rebate to the CFFC.
It was great to see so many of you at Sunday's CFFC Event at the University Club. Jim Coffin did a fantastic job explaining the perspective of a religious minority on issues of state/church separation and representing the
Interfaith Council of Central Florida
. It is amazing how much people can find to agree on if we only sit down and talk about it! The CFFC is fortunate to have found a group of religious organizations who share our secular values in regards to how our government should operate.
If you weren't there, you will soon be able to see a video of Jim's presentation on our YouTube channel. Daniel Batcheldor's January talk is up so check that out. You can even subscribe so you don't miss anything we share!
Read on for this month's update, local events, and lots of useful information about the CFFC and other local organizations we're proud to call our friends and allies.
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Coming soon in the Central Florida Freethought Community
12 Mar - Math, Science, and Pi(e) Festival
Our members will volunteer alongside Be Orlando at the Coalition for the Homeless to inspire kids and families to get excited about math and science. Sign up and join us. We could use your help!
17 & 19 Mar - State/church Separation "Evangelism"
CFFC founder, David Williamson, will speak to freethought community groups in Ocala and Fort Myers, respectively. If you're in the area, be sure to come by. The host groups would love to meet you.
20 Mar - CFFC March Event - Max Jackson
Join us for our March event at the University Club in Winter Park. Max will discuss
The God of the Neurons
and we'll have our regular CFFC Update.
16 Apr - CFFC Special Event - Matt Dillahunty
The First Unitarian Church of Orlando's
Social Justice Group is our generous host for this Special Event. Please consider a $5 donation at the door.
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Local or regional news that matters to you!
Brevard Litigation Update
The Brevard County Commissioners were deposed two weeks ago. Plaintiffs who brought the case from three local freethought organizations will be deposed next week. Mediation is scheduled for April and
we'll keep you posted
as the case proceeds.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Has Our Attention
Far too often these days, churches and religious organizations proudly display their illegal activities online for us to see. They make our activism too easy sometimes. Either they don't know that people like you and us are watching or they really have no idea that what they are doing is illegal. It may often be a little of both.
Here is a case where the
Fellowship of Christian Athletes asks two coaches (one is the High School Athletic Director) to appear on a video for them describing their illegal promotion of religious activities and religious organizations. Warning: this may make your blood boil.
VIDEO
We're working diligently to research FCA groups and events on primary and secondary school campuses across Central Florida. If you have an FCA or other religious club on your student's campus, let us know. We'll give you some tips on what to look out for to help ensure they are following the law.
You can start with our web page on the Dirty Dozen--the most common violations in Florida public schools.
Winter Garden's 'Great
Commission'
 Commissioners in Winter Garden told the townsfolk back in March of 2015 that CFFC Director, and Invocations Online project lead, Joseph Richardson should be the first to lead the town in an invocation as they passed their first ever invocation resolution. While 11 months have passed, the City has yet to invite anyone from the CFFC to conduct an invocation and at the same time they have invited several religious invocators who are not on the list the City is required by its own rules to use.
Sneads Police Department: A Christian Ministry
While you and I might use our social media accounts to share our personal
beliefs and opinions on matters including religion, we should not stand for the use of any government-operated accounts for such purposes.
T
hat's exactly what the administrators of the Sneads (Florida) PD Facebook page have been doing, though. It earned a
complaint letter from FFRF
back in January
. You can Like and follow the
Facebook page here
. Be sure to let us know if you see any use of social media by government agencies to promote or denigrate any religion. Be in touch using the Contact Us page on our website.
Holy Land Experience v. Caesar
For those of you who remember when the religious theme park was granted its own property tax exemption in 2006 to match it's 501(c)(3) non-profit status, the savings to the park (a.k.a. the cost to you) is now estimated at about $2.2 million according to Orange County officials. When the park "offered" it's annual free day last week--one of the mandatory requirements to be eligible for the tax exemption--the Orlando Sentinel took the opportunity
to compare and contrast the differences between the Christian ministry and the area's for-profit theme parks. It is a good read if you aren't familiar with the issue.
In other Holy Land news, the CFFC was contacted about the illegally painted mural which was finally painted over last month at their expense. In some wonderful irony that should not go without noting, the park had to apply for a permit to paint the creation myth mural that it painted last April--
without a permit.
Satanic Temple Closes Yet Another Public Forum
 This time it was The Satanic Temple's Phoenix Chapter that
closed a forum simply by asking for equal treatment under the law. One of the Temple's members had received permission to conduct an invocation and just two weeks before he could do so, the City Council sought to restrict the forum.
Finally, on advice of their attorney (and perhaps some prayer), the Council decided a moment of silence was the best bet.
One wonders why it took so long.
Stay Informed and In Touch
As always, be in touch on any of these issues and report state/church violations on the
Contact Us page on the website.
If you aren't watching our
Facebook and
Twitter pages, you're missing most of the news that we make happen. Be sure to find us there!
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Coalition of Reason Member Events
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Sat, Mar 5 at 10 AM
Sat, Mar 5 at 3:30 PM
Sun, Mar 6 at 4:30 PM
Tue, Mar 8 at 7 PM
Tue, Mar 8 at 7:45 PM
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Wed, Mar 9 at 6:15 PM
Sat, Mar 12 at 1:30 PM
Mon, Mar 14 at 7:30 PM
Thu, Mar 17 at 6 PM
Sun, Mar 20 at 1 PM
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School teachers/coaches/administrators/volunteers may not lead students in prayer, encourage students to pray, schedule or participate in student-initiated prayer, or otherwise endorse religion to students while acting in their government roles. This includes a coach's silent participation in prayer.
Students remain free to pray on their own. Staff advisors for noncurricular clubs, such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes cannot be anything other than chaperons.
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Something you should know about
Your Florida Legislature
Interested in the good, the bad, and the ugly in Tallahassee? There are several great ways you can tune in.
Audio
To hear an audio summary of the proceedings at the end of the each day during the session, listen to
Capital Report from WFSU in Tallahassee. You can listen online or subscribe to the
podcast feed and the broadcast can be heard on local NPR stations.
Live & Recorded Video
Legislative Tracking
Track bills, committees, lawmakers, and even existing laws that are cited in proposed legislation at the
Florida House and/or the
Florida Senate websites.
If you have a special interest in keeping an eye on the Florida Legislature, let us know. We can always use more help with that.
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CENTRAL FLORIDA FREETHOUGHT COMMUNITY
PO Box 621123, Oviedo, FL 32762
A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on the separation of state and church
Freedom From Religion Foundation Chapter
American Humanist Association Affiliate
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A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
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Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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