UB:ASH [atheist, secular, humanist]

Sunday was the more relaxed day, not least because of the hangovers that a number of us were nursing. We started with the UK premier of ‘The Ledge’ which Dan Palmer of the Southampton Atheists had magically managed to aquire, a film which centres around an Atheist and a fundamentalist Christian. I’m not going to say anything more about it, as a much better review has been written by Tulpesh Patel of the Aston Humanists here: [mild spoilers]

Throughout the afternoon there were a number of workshops to attend, so Kathy and I split up in an attempt to cover them all. Kathy first went to a workshop on Fresher’s Fairs, while I attended a ‘Dealing with Apathy and Leadership’ workshop, so I daresay we’ll see how well that pays off next year. Apparently we should try and be friendly and sociable to members, or something. See if you catch me doing that… Though, in all seriousness, it was quite a helpful brainstorming session with the pooled and exceptionally varied experience of atheists nationwide.

After this, Andrew Copson of the BHA ran a debating workshop, and as his debating skills are rather legendary, this was a hotly anticipated and slightly feared event. He assumed the position of a staunch Christian and debated with various people on issues such as morality, the existence of God, and basically as many of the standard topics as we had time for. I have to say, he was frighteningly convincing, and almost made the position seem tenable… but not quite.

And now, here (metaphorically) to tell you all about her favourite workshop, KATHY DRAXLBAUER *cue applause*.

Kathy..

One of the workshops on offer was the ever-popular BHA Choir choral workshop. Conductor Chloë Clifford-Frith, along with BHA Choir members Emma Bell and Stew Dean, taught a small group of us two song from their repertoire. The electronic piano that was in the room didn’t work, but this didn’t hinder Chloë one jot as everything was to be taught and performed a cappela anyway.

The first song they taught us was called “Origins”, a heart-warming round that was written by ex-BHA composer William Morris for the ‘Ancestor’s Trail’ themed walk which took place earlier this year. Kudos to Chloë for teaching it to is in a scant 20 minutes!

The second song we were taught (albeit skipping a few verses due to time constraints) was “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs”, a funny song first performed by actor Steve Martin in 2010. It was a fun and surprisingly harmonic rendition, and we proudly sang it afterwards for the rest of the AGM delegates :) Seeing as I am chronically unable to avoid proffered limelight, I even managed to wangle my way into a few solo lines. Yes, I am totally the embarrassing parent of our UB:ASH family.

I have always enjoyed watching BHA Choir performances, and was very pleased to have the chance to sing with them. Excitingly, Chloë has said that they are only too happy to come up to Birmingham to give a performance or hold a workshop if there is interest amongst our members. Something to consider for 2011/2012!

Now back to Benjamin..

After the workshops, there was just enough time to claim travel expenses before the closing talk on the importance of Secularism from Dr. Evan Harris, ex Lib-Dem MP, a Vice President of both the BHA and the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, and has been involved in furthering the cause of science in Parliament. The talk was interesting enough, and while there were a few areas of disagreement from the audience, for the most part he was preaching to the converted. The talk revolved around the NSS’s ‘Secular Charter’. The main discussions arose as a result of Dr Harris’ assertion that discrimination laws do not and should not apply to the issue of female priests in churches. Although the concept of allowing religions to discriminate based on gender did not sit well with many in the audience, Dr Harris’ point was that stronger legislation would interfere with individuals’ right to practice their religion freely, a concept which is encapsulated in the Secular Charter itself (“5. The state shall not have the right to amend religious doctrine nor interfere in religious hierarchies”). Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time by the end to discuss the talk, as we all had to rush off to catch trains.

So that’s it for the write-up of the AGM, sorry that it took so long to write, but motivation is not my strong suit. Hopefully this has given people an insight into the AHS and the things that happen there, though I haven’t even attempted to describe the insanities that took place, as words simply do not suffice :)

~ Benjamin Mee

Some time ago now, Kathy and I attended the Annual General Meeting of the the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist, and Secular Students, or the AHS AGM, which is somewhat less wordy. This meeting was an opportunity to network and socialise with delegates from similar student societies that are also members of the AHS, attend workshops on various issues facing atheist societies, as well as the important business of voting on constitutional amendments to the AHS, and electing the new Executive to run the AHS for the next year. It’s probably worth reporting on the weekend, though most of this is from memory, so I won’t go into too much detail about the motions or anything that was said.

We set off to Southampton on Friday afternoon, planning to get there in time to eat with those that had already arrived, and after a two and a half hours train journey we arrived in Southampton, rather bewildered at being in a new city. After some speedy texting worked out which bus to get, and headed to meet everyone at the restaurant. As it happened, we arrived before they’d set off from the original meeting point at the accomodation, and so decided to get a drink in a nearby pub, where we promptly bumped into a group of eight or so people attending the AGM, including committee members of the Warwick Atheist Society, delegates from the British Humanist Association, some of the AHS Exec, and a couple of committee members from the Southampton Atheist Society, who were quite surprised to learn that we were supposed to be staying at their house over the weekend.

Since the people we had met weren’t planning on going to the restaurant to eat and were being joined by the others later, we decided it wasn’t worth relocating, and stayed in the pub much of the evening. Over this time, a large number of the other delegates arrived in the pub from atheist societies all over the country (although predominantly southern :p) as well as the remainder of the Exec, and a good time was had by all. We were both pretty tired by the time the majority decided to go clubbing, and so had an early night at the Southampton Atheist HQ to prepare for the next day’s busy schedule.

~ Benjamin Mee

During Non-Prophet Week (organised by the AHS) our president, Ben, went vegan in support of WaterAid, a charity that aims to provide everyone access to clean water and sanitation.  We want to thank everyone who’s supported him so far and remind people that it’s not too late to sponsor him if you haven’t already at his justgiving page.  So far he’s raised £200 for this brilliant charity!

For the curious or for those who wanted to make sure Ben had suffered enough (yes I’m looking at you Matt!) here is his account of the week (as seen on Facebook):