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her and Donnybrook founder Ray Hartman spoke at our annual picnic on October 15. This was the second time that Ray has joined us for our picnic. We have also had Bill McClellan, from Donnybrook, as our speaker. The weather was cloudy and threatening in the morning, but the afternoon was bright and pleasant. We ended up with a good crowd, as you can see from the photos on our Facebook page.
For 25 of its 70 year history, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, has served as executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to the preservation of the Constitution’s religious liberty provisions.There will be a gala celebration for Barry in Washington on November 2, but our Chapter had its own dinner and lecture by Barry himself on October 1.
$50 pp, included buffet dinner, wine and beer.
This is the first time we collected money through our MeetUp
We had another successful Movie Night on February 16 at The Ethical Society. The video was the award-winning documentary, “The Revisionaries”, by Scott Thurman. It is the story of the Texas State Board of Education’ decisions on curricula, that determine the content of textbooks throughout the country for years at a time. The 2010 round of decisions was dominated by the religious right. This video tells the complicated story of the “standards” decision and how the two sides battled over the contents of American education. The Ethical Society was again our host for the evening, and we enjoyed the much-improved sound system for the video setup that we have donated to the Society.
This event could not have been more topical. A story about the 2017 battle over evolution in Texas textbooks appeared in the Post-Dispatch for February 1, 2017.
Our annual picnic was at the south picnic shelter in Shaw Park, Clayton, Mo, on October 2. One of our own Board members, Christine Guinther, was our speaker. Christine is Past President of the Missouri National Education Association, and spoke about Church/State issues relevant to a classroom teacher or principal.
We are pleased to announce that the St. Louis Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State provided a free forum to leaders of religious 
organizations about what the law allows them to do, or precludes them from doing, with regard to political support for candidates and issues. Religious organizations that have tax-exempt status risk losing those privileges if they transgress the law. The forum was held at the Mid-County Library in Clayton on September 1, 2016 (just in time for the election!) at 7:00p. Information was by our President, Cynthia Holmes, and distinguished attorney Leonard Frankel (pictured left). This was not be a MeetUp event, because we are targeting religious leaders rather than our own membership.
This timely subject is the cover story and the editorial of the June issue of Church and State. Click on those links to see the complete articles. Franklin Graham’s most recent foray into unconstitutional use of tax-exempt funds for political purposes is described briefly in the July/August issue.
Many of our Board members were at our booth at the annual Earth Day celebration in front of the Muny Opera in Forest Park on Sunday, April 24. It was a sunny and warm day, and a huge crowd showed up. Parking was very tight for those who drove, but not much a problem for those like me who biked! Special thanks to Board member Richard Haar, who got us organized and stayed at the booth all day. He is the handsome fellow shown with (left to right) New Treasurer Helene Sherman, Old Treasurer Carol Bartell, and Secretary Mary O’Reilly in the photo.
Our Annual meeting was held April 14 at the Center of Clayton. The featured speaker, Missouri Senator Jill Schupp drew a good crowd of about 40
. Senator Schupp has been in the news recently because of her actions relative to SJR 39, as you can read in the Post-Dispatch story about it.
Senator Schupp is shown seated with long-time former ACLU Executive Director Joyce Armstrong. In the background are, from left to right, our Secretary, Mary O’Reilly, and Directors Richard Haar, Chris Guinther, and Keith Hubbard (with his wife).
Another view of the meeting in its early stages. As usual, Board member Ann Pollack is making good use of a spare moment to work on a knitting project. After her more prepared remarks, Senator Shupp (center, in white) entertained questions from the group.
On Thursday evening, February 11, we met at 7:00p to view the award-winning video, “In God We Trust?”, by Scott Burdick. It is an account of what happened after a returning Afghanistan veteran sued his home town of King, North Carolina, for the removal of a Christian flag from the public Veteran’s Memorial. The video presents a wide-ranging overview of church/state issues, but it was too long for us to view in its entirety (one can find it on YouTube). We saw selected portions of it that focus on the issues that most directly the legal and social aspects of the suit, and we had a good discussion afterward.
By all accounts, it was a very successful evening, with 33 people in attendance
Three of our Board members attended the recent (November, 2015) Annual Meeting of AU in Washington, DC. Two of the highlights occurred on the last afternoon of the meeting, when Executive Director Rev. Barry Lynn introduced Bishop John Shelby Spong, who was recognized as AU’s Person of the Year for 2015. The remarks of both of these men are linked below.
Barry Lynn’s Introduction (4 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ3ks0UbYQU
We enjoyed the hospitality of one of our Board members at a private residence for a Holiday Get-Together on Friday evening, December 4. Wine and light hors d’oevres were provided. RSVP’s were handled through our Meetup Group at http://www.meetup.com which we encourage everyone interested to join, as it will be where other activities will be announced . Joining the Meetup is free and without obligation – you should already have joined us, anyway! If you are not familiar with the process, it could not be easier. Just navigate to that URL, search for Americans United within 25 miles of St. Louis, go through the brief registration. You might even find another group in St. Louis with which you have affinity!