We did it again! We pulled off another unbelievably fun weekend this summer for the second year in a row thanks to the help of a lot of members and supporters of Minnesota Atheists!
The fun started in the late afternoon on Friday, August 9th, in the Midway Stadium parking lot, where we tailgated until a few minutes before our St. Paul Saints/Mr. Paul Aints baseball game. At about 6:30 p.m. our group began filtering into the stadium to watch Minnesota Atheists president Eric Jayne toss the ceremonial first pitch. He provided a little flair in his windup before pitching a perfect strike to the Mr. Paul Aints catcher behind home plate.
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Read more: Weekend of Unbelievable Fun a Success for the 2nd Year in a Row
By Eric Jayne
Now that our second annual regional conference and Mr. Paul Aints game weekend is behind us, I’ve been able to take a deep breath and remind myself why I volunteer so much of my time and energy toward the cause of atheism. I recognize that there are many self-identified atheists in the United States who seem to be getting along just fine without actively supporting atheism. They take no interest in supporting atheist organizations and some even complain that atheist activism is an unfavorable endeavor on par with religious proselytizing. So then why do I and others do it? Why do I make myself vulnerable by publicly proclaiming my atheism? Is atheism really worth supporting? To put it more simply, why am I an atheist activist?
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Read more: President's Column: Why I'm an Atheist Activist
PZ Myers will be our featured speaker at the September Minnesota Atheists meeting.
Myers is an associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota Morris. His research focuses on the evolutionary developmental biology of zebrafish. He is an active critic of religion who makes no attempt to be courteous in his condemnation. Noting that Myers once “publicly desecrated a Communion wafer,” The
New York Times wrote, “Myers is way out of the closet as an atheist—proudly, outrageously so.”
Read more: PZ Myers to Speak at MN Atheists Meeting September 15
The Minnesota Atheists organization is honored to receive a Heart of Humanism award from Foundation Beyond Belief for our volunteer activities which are organized by a team of dedicated Minnesota Atheists members and supporters. Minnesota Atheists was one of eight team winners out of more than 70 teams among the Beyond Belief Network. The Humanist Communication Award we received comes with a $50 grant which we can direct to any 501(c)(3) organization we choose.
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Read more: MN Atheists Receives Heart of Humanism Award
The Mr. Paul Aints is a team atheists can root for whether they’re from St. Paul, St. Louis, east coast, west coast, or in a different hemisphere altogether! You don’t even need to be a baseball fan or sports enthusiast to get behind this team because we above all else team atheist fun!
For the second year in a row the minor league baseball team, St. Paul Saints, will be secularized into the Mr. Paul Aints on Friday, August 9, 2013. The team’s players will wear specially designed jerseys displaying the Mr. Paul Aints name change. For the first year ever, the “A” on the Aints jersey will be in the style of the scarlet “A” made popular by the Richard Dawkins Foundation’s Out Campaign.
The jerseys will be auctioned off during the game and a portion of the auction’s proceeds will go to the Family Place homeless shelter in St. Paul. But don’t fret if you can’t participate in the auction because you can wear your atheist pride with the Mr. Paul Aints t-shirts and hats by purchasing them on our ONLINE STORE ($15 each or 2 for $25). Quantities are limited and we are not planning on ordering more, so once they're gone they might be gone forever.
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Read more: Get your Mr. Paul Aints Baseball Hats and Shirts Here!
