Godless Billboards Are Now Up: Skeptics Conference Coming to Wichita
For Immediate Release
(Wichita, Kansas, April 5, 2012) "Are you good without God? Millions are."
These words, superimposed over an image of a blue sky and clouds,
now appear on two 14 foot tall billboards in Wichita. One is on the
right-hand side of the Kansas Turnpike, I-35 North just beyond East
47th Street South, the other on the left-hand side of West 21st Street
North, facing eastbound traffic after it crosses North Tyler Road. The
ads will run all month. They have been placed by the new Wichita
Coalition of Reason (Wichita CoR) with $4,108 in funding from the
United Coalition of Reason (UnitedCoR).
The ad campaign marks the public launch of the Wichita Coalition of
Reason, an alliance of three non-theistic groups in the city. It also
heralds Skeptics of Oz, the coalition's free conference, which will
run from April 21-22 at The Forum Theater, 147 South Hillside Street,
in Wichita. NASA astronomer Phil Plait is the headline speaker among a
number of other scientists and prominent leaders in the skeptic and
freethought movements. The conference will draw a statewide audience
and UnitedCoR is the largest organizational sponsor.
This Wichita campaign is the latest in a nationwide effort. Since
March 2009 there have been similar billboards, as well as bus ad
campaigns, in 29 states and the District of Columbia. The states are
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois,
Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia,
Washington and West Virginia.
"The point of our ongoing nationwide awareness campaign is to reach
out to the millions of atheists and agnostics living in the United
States," explained Fred Edwords, national director of the United
Coalition of Reason. "Such non-theists sometimes don't realize there's
a community for them because they're inundated with religious messages
at every turn. We hope our effort will serve as a beacon and let them
know they aren't alone."
Reaching out to the like-minded isn't the only goal of the coalition:
"We hope people will realize that we’re already a regular part of the
community," said Sean Gillespie, coordinator of Wichita CoR.
"Non-theists and skeptics like us live throughout Kansas. We're your
friends, relatives, neighbors and coworkers. Some of us may even be in
the pew next to you in church!"
"Visibility is important to us," Edwords concluded, "because, in this
society, atheists and agnostics often don't know many people like
themselves. Furthermore, if traditionally religious people can be open
about their views, why can't we be open about ours?"
For high-res images of the billboards, free for media use, go to
WichitaCoR.org .
For information on the Skeptics of Oz conference, go to SkepticsofOz.org .
# # #
The Wichita Coalition of Reason is a resource for freethinking people,
with the goal of uniting the various non-theistic organizations
throughout the greater Wichita area.
The United Coalition of Reason is made up of more than 55 local
coalitions nationwide and works to raise the visibility and sense of
unity among non-theistic groups.
For more information contact:
Sean Gillespie
Coordinator
Wichita Coalition of Reason
316-841-7085
Sean.Gillespie@Skeptict.org
WichitaCoR.org
Matt Hair
Media Contact
Wichita Coalition of Reason
316-267-2552
organizer@wichitaatheists.com
WichitaCoR.org
Fred Edwords
National Director
United Coalition of Reason
202-550-9964
Fredwords@UnitedCoR.org
UnitedCoR.org
Click here to view the original version of this press release, from before our
billboards went up.