FSH is the Fredericksburg Virginia chapter of the Washington Area Secular Humanists (WASH).  Most of our members consider themselves freethinkers, non theists, atheists, or agnostics. We welcome individuals who are interested in learning and intellectual explorations, and are willing to accept that not all questions have easy answers.

The Fredericksburg Secular Humanists meet regularly on the second Sunday of each month from 2:30 to 5:00 P.M. in the Central Rappahannock Regional Library (CRRL) located at 1201 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401.  We meet in Room #2, which is next to the auditorium. As you face the library from Caroline Street, use the doorway on the far left side of the building. Topic presentations are followed by informal discussions by the group.  Refreshments will be provided.  

Lunch optional:  Members, friends, and visitors are welcome to lunch before meetings at 1:00 pm at Tru Luv’s Modern American Bistro, 1101 Sophia Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401.  Reservations:  contact Pat Chen 540-786-4616.  

Upcoming Meetings

Upcoming meetings are listed below. They will be changed if current events suggest a change would be appropriate, or if members request it. For additional information about FSH meetings, please email Pat Chen, FSH Coordinator, at pat.fsh.wash06@comcast.net. 

July 12 2:30pm Topic:  Foundations of evolution: Like all accomplished scientists, Charles Darwin built on the work of his predecessors. Discuss the amazing ideas of Erasmus Darwin (Charles' grandfather who speculated on organisms originating from primitive ancestors), James Hutton (the 18th century geologist who discovered the antiquity of the Earth and speculated on natural selection), and Sir Charles Lyell (the geologist who inspired Darwin and later became his close friend). I will argue that Charles Darwin was the greatest of the evolutionists, but that he was not the first or only one.   

Speaker: Mike Reid--Mike holds degrees in geology and computer systems. He formerly taught geology and astronomy at a community college in California. For the past twenty years, he has worked as a computer scientist specializing in aerospace applications. He's been involved in ground software applications for several space missions including the MESSENGER mission to Mercury and the New Horizons mission to Pluto. He's been a secular humanist all of his life, although he didn't know it until a few years ago. He's long been interested in the history of science and the origins of religion. Mike is a WASH Board Member and co-editor of WASHline.

August 9 2:30pm Topic: “Comedy Club: Humor For and About Humanists.” Come and share your favorite stories, jokes, anecdotes, wise cracks, skits, limericks, and internet clips. (We’ll have access to the internet.) Humor about religion is plentiful, so we’ll move fast to hear as much as we can.  Since it seems harder to find, “Bonus Points” will be awarded for humor poking fun at us, the doubters, skeptics, and unbelievers, and for original material. Attendees must agree to accept any “PUN-ishment” that may be dealt, but are free to react with loud groans.

Moderator:  Ralph Phipps

September 13 2:30pm Topic: “Julian: The Apostate.”  Roman Emperor from 360-363 A.D., his rejection of Christianity in favor of paganism caused him to be called Julian the Apostate by the church. Although some evidence suggests he attempted to discredit and weaken Christianity, during his reign he issued an edict of religious toleration.  

Speaker: Margaret K. Nydell. Visiting associate professor in the Department of Arabic at Georgetown University. Dr. Nydell is a highly regarded scholar and the author of Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times,  as well as many books on Arabic and it’s dialects. Margaret holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in Arabic. She has lived and worked in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, and she completed post-graduate studies at the American University in Cairo. Dr. Nydell was an Arabic Linguist for the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Dept. of State, in Washington, D.C., and directed the advanced training school in Tunis, Tunisia.