Houston Oasis

Dear Friends of HoustonOasis,

Thanks for another great Sunday gathering! Gary Seber's guitar-playing was simply astonishing! Fred Thompson's reflections were thought-provoking. And thanks to Allison Jackson, who heads up our Care Team, for organzing the lunch/baby celebration for Eric and Jess Anderson. Thanks also to TC Smythe for booking such stellar musicians each week. (She informs me that some of our upcoming musicians have appeared on "The Voice" and "American Idol.")

I wanted to spend a few moments today just dreaming about the future with you. When our launch team was meeting to make initial plans for HoustonOasis, we discussed our dreams and visions of what a community like this could do for the Houston area. I'd like to share some of those with you, so you can better understand the context and background of how the vision for HoustonOasis came together.

In the future...

• HoustonOasis could be the catalyst for building something like a Houston Freethought Center, which could be a visible presence for not only Oasis but many other freethought groups in the area.
• With more and more people wanting to explore freethought, such a Center could serve as location where people could drop in for coffee and conversation. We could offer a library of books on science and reason. (Yes, "books" sound a little outdated I guess, but I hear people still read them sometimes.)
• This Center would be a source of non-stop community outreach each week, providing services such as literacy programs, ESL classes, secular recovery programs, and many other services we haven't even thought of yet.
• As our community grows, we would like to provide secular alternatives to the programs for children and youth traditionally found at churches. (Camp Quest is a great example of the kind of program we could get behind and help expand here in Texas.)
• As we grow in resources, HoustonOasis could bring in nationally-known speakers and authors on a regular basis.
• In the past I've found that group travel is a great way to build community--why not a Houston Freethought Cruise some day?

Well, those are just a few possibilities of what could happen. Nothing is set in stone, but I do think it's important for any organization to have a vision for growth and impact. If you have thoughts and dreams about what Houston Oasis could accomplish, please share them. Let's dream big together.

Thanks for being part of this community. Hanging out with you all on Sunday has become one of the highlights of my week.

Peace,

Mike

P.S. I'll be speaking at the Greater Houston Skeptic Society tomorrow night, 10/23, 6:30 pm at The Stag's Head, 2128 Portsmouth St.