Part of the new focus for American Atheists is to become more influential in Washington, DC. To help accomplish that, it is necessary for America’s Atheists to become accustomed to contacting their representatives about issues of concern to the Atheist community. Thus on Thursday, October 2, our early arrivals visited their representatives’ Congressional offices and stopped in to chat. We left literature describing American Atheists’ position on a number of issues. It was a rewarding and successful trip for all the Atheists involved. Our elected officials need to hear from the Atheist community, and we intend for them to hear from us a lot more.

American Atheists assemble in Washington just before visiting their elected representatives for the purpose of educating them on the subjects of Atheist rights and state-church separation.

Thursday evening at our welcoming soirée, Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner gave a riveting performance of Atheist and feminist Matilda Joslyn Gage. Dr. Wagner’s performance was so en-gaging, I felt like I was actually visiting with Gage in her home as she told us about how the feminist movement in her day was turning Atheistic – until it was infiltrated and taken over by religious women. She entertained questions from the audience, first in character and then as herself. 

After the performance and discussion, Dr. Wagner autographed copies of her books that were on sale in the bookroom, including The Untold Story of The Iroquois Influence On Early Feminists and Elizabeth Cady Stanton Thunders From The Pulpit.

Friday was a very busy day, beginning with our press conference and symposium.

The afternoon sessions included a talk and slide

After removing his jacket and tie in the temporarily unventilated meeting room, Conrad Goeringer gives a slide and lecture presentation on “Confronting Secularism: The Religious Challenge to Civil Liberties and State-Church Separation.” Mr. Goeringer is an American Atheists board member and director of American Atheists On-line Services.

presentation by board member and American Atheists on-line news writer Conrad Goeringer on “The Religious Challenge to Civil Liberties and State-Church Separation.” This was followed by the state-directors workshop and the first of many meetings to come of American Atheist Veterans, Inc. No Atheists in foxholes, indeed! 

The evening began with a cocktail hour where everyone got to meet new friends. After dinner it was time for some introductions and awards. The employees of American Atheists were introduced first, then the state-directors. Next to be introduced were members of the boards of directors of American Atheists, Inc., and its affiliated corporations. Then awards were bestowed.

The following people received the following awards: 

Margie Wait received the Atheist of the Year Award for being the only person to picket the Catholic Church in Denver, Colorado with Bill Baird. Bill was in town as a guest at the annual Humanist Convention, but Margie Wait was the only one willing to join him in picketing the church. 

Daniel Foster received the Outstanding Member Award for his local activism and efforts challenging a ten commandments monument on the town hall in Caldwell, Idaho. 

Dave Kong received the Litigation Award for his tireless efforts as a plaintiff in our case to remove the unconstitutional cross on Mount Davidson in San Francisco, California. 

Richard Suhre received a Certificate of Recognition for his lawsuit challenging the Ten Commandments display and religious oaths in the Haywood County, North Carolina courthouse. 

Wayne Aiken received a Certificate of Appreciation for his generous donation of his time to help with the many and varied computer problems at the GHQ. 

Ronald Barrier received the Freedom of Speech award for his outstanding contributions to the dissemination of the Atheist point of view. 

Dick Hogan received the State Director of The Year Award for his many involvements in state-church separation issues in Texas, including the challenge to the Parker County Courthouse crèche, MADD crosses on public highways, and federal funds funneled to churches operating day care centers, and more. 

Spike Tyson received the Valor Award for the many personal sacrifices and hardships he has endured as Director of the American Atheist GHQ going above and beyond the call of duty. 

Robert Zauner received a Certificate of Appreciation for his help in Washington DC on the planning of our symposium. 

Neal Cary received the Meritorious Service Award for his outstanding work as American Atheists’ busy National Outreach Director. 

Jim Senyszyn received the First Amendment Award for his local activism in Charlotte, North Carolina involving the removal of a Ten Commandments display on public property, and many other issues. 

Jim Heldberg received a Certificate of Recognition for the excellent column he contributes to our web site. 

Frank Zindler received the Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding work as editor of the American Atheist Press. 

Ed Gauci received the Honorable Service Award for his excellent contributions to American Atheists’ presence on the Internet. 

Congratulations to all the award recipients! 

Special thanks were given to Mr. Rice Odell and Mr. Irving Yablon for their very generous financial contributions to help pay for our half-page USA TODAY advertisement (see reduced facsimile of the ad) which ran on September 26, 27 & 28. Many people donated more money than was needed to include their names, but these two gentleman gave many thousands of dollars to help, for which we are very grateful.  

The grand finale of the evening was when everyone gathered around the piano to sing Atheistic versions of “The First Noel” and “O Come All Ye Faithful”. The lyrics were written by Jerry Philips. Neal Cary accompanied on piano, and Frank Zindler led the choir. The songs will be used as part of The Atheist Viewpoint Winter Solstice Show. 

On Saturday, October 4, despite the masses of people at the National Mall, over one hundred supporters of American Atheists managed to make it on time to our designated site to picket the Christian evangelical men’s movement called the Promise Keepers at their “Stand In The Gap” assembly. Because of their caveman platitudes about the role of women in the household, the PKers deservedly earned the nickname “Penis Keepers.” 

Our four-hour picket went by very fast. We were met by supporters who read our USA TODAY ad and came to join us. The National Organization for Women (NOW) organized a picket right across the street from us, and we were delighted to see them there. We were also pleased to see that a contingent of gay-rights activists had joined the NOW protest. 

We had a good location with plenty of room to move, some shade, steps to sit on, a soft-drink vendor nearby, and we were not hassled by the police. We watched the PKers make their way to what our National Media Spokesman, Ron Barrier called the “crawlathon” and the “grovel-lympics.” It is an appropriate description since the PK signs in the Metro train stations read: “A Man Stands Tallest When He Is On His Knees.” We urged PKers to “Get down on your knees” for us, but they wouldn’t. Another Yogi Bera-ism from the PKers was that “leading in the family really meant following.” No wonder these guys are confused! 

I must have given a dozen or more media interviews and many of our members were interviewed by the press. We explained that we were not protesting the PKers’ right to be in DC for their assembly. We were there because the political operatives behind the PK movement – like James Ryle of the Latter Rain movement, Bill Bright of the Campus Crusade for Christ, R. J. Rushdooney of the Chalcedon Report, James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition, Henry Morris of the Institute for Creation Research, and Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association – support a Dominionist and Reconstructionist agenda for America which calls for our laws, economy, and cultural and social lives to be biblically based.  

Former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney, who founded the Promise Keepers organization, told the group’s clergy rally in 1995, “Whoever stands with the Messiah will rule with him.” He urged them to “take this nation for Jesus Christ!” McCartney’s personal pastor James Ryle and Promise Keepers board member believes the group is the fulfillment of a biblically prophesied army destined to destroy sinners and unbelievers in the end times.” (The Fort Worth Star Telegram, 10/1/97) Unfortunately the media decided not to have that point relayed to the public. The only point of view addressed in the media that we saw was the feminist concerns over the patriarchal attitude of the Promise Keepers. 

While the PKers have managed to sell the public a bill of goods with the idea that the movement will be good for women when men assume a leadership role in the family, one of our members at the picket told a different story. She was married for fifteen years to a very religious man with a patriarchal attitude about marriage, and her life was hell from the first day of that marriage. That is when her “submissive” role began. She wasn’t allowed to wear nail polish or attractive clothes. He controlled all the money. Even though she earned more than he did, she had to turn it all over to him. As a protection she began lie about things to him. She was miserable. She sought help from doctors for her deep despair and sadness. They prescribed various drugs including Prozac. The only solution for her was a divorce, because there was no hope that he would change; to this day, she says, he is still the controlling religious man he always was. Isn’t it ironic that it is part of the right-wing religious agenda to keep women in these bad marriages, by making divorce harder to get? And the counseling programs that she sought out for help were run by religious people who only counseled her on becoming more “obedient.”

This woman is now a psychologist who counsels women who are in a similar situation, and she says that there are so many of them. Unfortunately, none of the media would interview her about this and tell her story – because she was not specifically married to a “PK man.”

The Washington Post did give us favorable coverage of our position, however, in two separate editions. The Oct. 5 report noted that “Several atheists carried signs that read: ‘These heads don’t bow. These knees don’t bend’.”

Two Atheists were interviewed by the Post, which reported: 

Sheila Ogea drove nine hours to Washington from her home in Taylor, Michigan to support equal rights for women. John Obst, of Rockville, showed up to reiterate his belief that church and state should remain separate...

The National Organization for Women and Texas-based American Atheists, Inc., sponsored the protests, which led to a handful of verbal exchanged between Promise Keepers and demonstrators, who gathered as early as 9 am near the Federal Triangle at Constitution and Louisiana avenues.

“They want to take away women’s equality and create theocracy with laws I don’t agree with,” said Ogea, an atheist. “I came here to try and educate society as to what their agenda really is.”

Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, said she disapproved of the Promise Keepers’ message of Christianity. “This is all about Jesus and God,” Johnson said. “It’s not about families. There’s this cultural angst men are going through, and this is a quick fix.”

Over one hundred supporters of that message spent four hours in warm, sunny, summer-like weather proudly carrying signs reading, “Matthew 6:5,” “No Submission,” “These Knees Don’t Bend, These Heads Don’t Bow,” “State-Church Separation Keepers,” “Liberate PK Wives,” “Real Men Don’t Pray,” and “Get Off Your Knees America.”

We didn’t go there to disrupt the PK assembly; rather, PKers kept coming over to challenge us, even going so far as to form a prayer circle around one of our members. Attempts were made at that point to find a police officer to protect us. The situation ended without incident. 

On Sunday, October 5, a joint meeting was held of the boards of directors of American Atheists, Inc., and its affiliated Atheist organizations. The health-related resignation of Arizona’s Patricia Wilkinson was accepted with regret by the boards of American Atheists, Inc., and United Secularists of America, Inc. The board vacancies left by Ms. Wilkinson remain to be filled. In accordance with the by-laws of the several corporations, the remaining officers and directors were reelected for three-year terms. The names of officers and directors of the several organizations are listed below.

CESAALA 
(Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library and Archives)
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President 
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary 
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Conrad Goeringer (New Jersey)
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey)
Dave Kong (California)
Henry Schmuck (Michigan)
Noel Scott (Washington, D.C.)
Margie Wait (Colorado)
Frank Zindler (Ohio)

United Secularists of America:
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Richard Andrews (Utah)
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey)
Dave Kong (California)
Noel Scott (Washington, D.C.)
Margie Wait (Colorado)

American Atheists, Inc.
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Chris Allen (Utah)
Conrad Goeringer (New Jersey)
Richard Hogan (Texas)
Dave Kong (California)
Henry Schmuck (Michigan)
Ann Zindler (Ohio)

Society of Separationists, Inc.
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Chris Allen (Utah)
Richard Andrews (Utah)
Ron Barrier (New York)
Neal Cary (Virginia)
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey)
Henry Schmuck (Michigan)
Frank Zindler (Ohio)

American Atheist GHQ
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Richard Andrews (Utah)
Ronald Barrier (New York)
Neal Cary (Virginia)
Conrad Goeringer (New Jersey)
Dave Kong (California)
Ann Zindler (Ohio)