tinkhs Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 If you aren't a Christian, where do you get involved with your community? Everything around us is church-related. We are looking for something for our family to meet people like us but I'm not sure where to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 We belong to a non-religious Boy Scout pack (yes, they do exist!). I did meet a good friend when she created a yahoogroup for secular homeschoolers in our area, and we tried out a local meetup group for secular parents. I didn't really like how that group was so focused on responding to religion, though, and my good friend and I have since gathered other like-minded friends for a bimonthly game night at a local pub. We focus on stories of our families, silly games, and good beer :). Look for yahoogroups and meetup groups for secular parents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkhs Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 The only home school group I know of is a Christian one. I guess I could put an ad out at our pub (pizza joint) downtown! :lol: That sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for the idea. As a long time Christian, it's been hard for me to find non-religious place. I don't know of any secular groups. I don't know exactly what I believe, but I know it's not the same as the majority of my town. I would really like to meet people who enjoy their family, home school and aren't particularly religious. Am I dreaming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albeto Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 The only home school group I know of is a Christian one. I guess I could put an ad out at our pub (pizza joint) downtown! :lol: That sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for the idea. As a long time Christian, it's been hard for me to find non-religious place. I don't know of any secular groups. I don't know exactly what I believe, but I know it's not the same as the majority of my town. I would really like to meet people who enjoy their family, home school and aren't particularly religious. Am I dreaming? I found my local homeschool group on yahoo groups. It's not a co-op but a social group. We meet at the park and parents organize field trips as it would work for their families, inviting others to join. It's totally inclusive and we've got mostly atheists but some Christians, a few Jewish and one woman came a couple times in full burqa. No one talks religion - it's just homeschooling, family oriented. You might start a yahoo group for what you want (it's super easy) and see who finds you. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Museums, library events, live theatre , local art shows, poetry slams, esoteric bookstores, independent bookstores always have the best book clubs! And of course, there is the local music store. I have met some of the most fascinating people there and now that dd is very committed to guitar we are there a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 4-H, community arenas (like the skating rink, curling rink, rec hall, etc.), sports teams, local events (like community garden projects, winter fair, summer fair, volunteer organisations, etc.), library (book clubs, Friends of the Library, programs), museums (our local history museum attracts funky folks), arts organisations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 If I had a little more time, I'd think of trying something like Deconstructing Penguins. What are your interests? A book club? Audubon society? A civic club like the local history museum or Friends of X Park club? Volksmarching? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkhs Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 Museums, library events, live theatre , local art shows, poetry slams, esoteric bookstores, independent bookstores always have the best book clubs! And of course, there is the local music store. I have met some of the most fascinating people there and now that dd is very committed to guitar we are there a great deal. Great ideas! I guess I'm so disillusioned right now. I want to meet some good people to hang out with and have fun. I want my faith, whatever that is, to be mine and let the generic "yours" be yours. YKWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkhs Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 4-H, community arenas (like the skating rink, curling rink, rec hall, etc.), sports teams, local events (like community garden projects, winter fair, summer fair, volunteer organisations, etc.), library (book clubs, Friends of the Library, programs), museums (our local history museum attracts funky folks), arts organisations. Thanks. For some reason I though 4H was a Christian group. I like being wrong sometimes. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkhs Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 albeto, start my own yahoo group, eh? I will try. I'm lucky to know how to post here. Good idea. There might be a lot of people like me who are waiting for someone else to take the leap. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkhs Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 If I had a little more time, I'd think of trying something like Deconstructing Penguins. What are your interests? A book club? Audubon society? A civic club like the local history museum or Friends of X Park club? Volksmarching? Interests. Good question. I like gardening, really anything outside. Nothing with fast cars or airplanes. I think looking into a friends of x park would be nice. We do enjoy libations, so I would have to scope out the people to make sure it's more the Blue Oyster Cult than Blue Hair Club. Thank you all so much for your ideas. I was so frustrated tonight after a heated religious conversation with another home school mom. I guess I just needed some support tonight. Deep breaths. Start fresh in the morning. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLVD Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I don't know any other homeschoolers IRL, so I have no community I guess! I wish I could find one. My area is not very religious in general. But, the vast majority of homeschooling groups are religious. There isn't a lot for teens either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Oooo -- gardening! Do you have a botanical garden or a garden society? I know when I lived in "big city" with a great botanical garden, they were very active in the community, and would even let teens volunteer. They held tons of events and interacted with all of the garden societies (roses, veggies, organic, urban gardening, etc.) and sponsored the big "Garden Show" every year (it was a massive fundraiser with "show gardens", speakers [really good, helpful ones], and the opportunity for the entire community to submit plants for judging [just like a county fair, except for live plants]). The county extension can also hook you up with the local Master Gardener program as well. You take classes and then go out into the community to help people with their soil and plant problems. It's a great way to meet people and groups. Many of the societies have a significant elderly population that are just a WEALTH of information, and a great source of stories for kids. Since HS kids tend to be well behaved, I imagine you could probably convince them that the kids wouldn't be a problem... asta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkhs Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 I don't know any other homeschoolers IRL, so I have no community I guess! I wish I could find one. My area is not very religious in general. But, the vast majority of homeschooling groups are religious. There isn't a lot for teens either. I dont live in a particularly religious area either, but all the home school groups seem to be. I just need to create my own, sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkhs Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 Great ideas, Asta. Thanks. I really like the idea of the county extention. Getting in touch with the local Master Gardener might open all kinds of interesting doors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 None of the Scout groups near us are religious. "Friends of" the local theatre, opera house, orchestra, library, etc. Any sports team (some involve the parents too.) Newcomer's Club or Women's Club in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamachanse Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Are you in AZ by chance? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Book club is a great social event. I'm also a member of a wine club, which is loads of fun. Interestingly, sometimes book club turns into wine club. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita in NC Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Check out your local meetup groups. Just do a search for what interests you. There are groups for just about everything. I belong to a handful and decide which meetups I want to go to. Sometimes I just chat to them on the bulletin board online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkhs Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 None of the Scout groups near us are religious. "Friends of" the local theatre, opera house, orchestra, library, etc. Any sports team (some involve the parents too.) Newcomer's Club or Women's Club in town. Thank you. The only women's club I know of here is the Junior League; not my cup of tea. I've never heard of the Newcomer's Club. I will search for that. Are you in AZ by chance? :D Sadly, no. I have begged my husband to move out west so many times. The humidity drives me crazy. Book club is a great social event. I'm also a member of a wine club, which is loads of fun. Interestingly, sometimes book club turns into wine club. :D Wine club, now there's an idea. It would be nice if there were a book club for moms and kids. I'm actually getting my creative juices flowing here thanks to you guys! Check out your local meetup groups. Just do a search for what interests you. There are groups for just about everything. I belong to a handful and decide which meetups I want to go to. Sometimes I just chat to them on the bulletin board online. Thank you. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 We meet at the park and parents organize field trips as it would work for their families, inviting others to join. It's totally inclusive and we've got mostly atheists but some Christians, a few Jewish and one woman came a couple times in full burqa. No one talks religion - it's just homeschooling, family oriented. You might start a yahoo group for what you want (it's super easy) and see who finds you. Good luck! That sounds like our homeschool group though I didn't find it on yahoogroups. I agree that you might want to try and start one. I know I was surprised there were so many secular homeschoolers in my area. You might be surprised too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piraterose Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 (edited) Don't know if this would work in your case, but when I was growing up my parents were in Jaycees (United States Junior Chamber). Personally if I had settled into a family life younger and was in the position I am now, I think I might join, but the age bracket is 18-40 and I'm two years away from that :eek: But at least when my parents were involved most of the men and women (at that point the women had Jaycettes - now it's combined) had family with kids across the board. My friends I recall the most fondy were Jacyee kids (I joke that we should have an AA for Recovering Jacyee Kids Anonymous). Lots of Jaycee family events and the group just gelled really well, So parents would be at one house for New Years, and a group of some of the kids would be at another. Jacyee Haunted Houses are a big memory, so were Jaycee weekends at Holiday Inns (when they had Holidomes!). Jaycees used to run the Babysitting Basics classes for local Girl Scout Troops. Parades, being elves when Santa visited. Just so many opportunities. Honestly from my perspective I have no clue what being involved in the organization, but as a kids that was the best group my parents could have gotten involved in regards to the benefits for the family. Edited June 8, 2011 by piraterose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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