Church of No, Thanks Celebrating Personal Liberty since 2008

Ceremonies and Rituals: Because ceremony and ritual are vehicles of peer pressure and social conformity, in the interest of Personal Liberty, we try to keep them to a minimum in the CoNT, but we do recognize the value of community and the comfort that most people take from being part of something they can agree with. The few rituals and ceremonies of the CoNT are intended to promote a feeling of community among those who have elected Personal Choice over Peer Pressure. There is no intent or desire to bend the will, interest, goals, motivations, desires, values, or morals of members beyond what is expressed in the Statement of Purpose.

Reading from The Book of Edmund - Children often have a clarity of perception and simplicity of world-view which eludes adults. Edmund is a composite, originally based on a real person, who, so long as he wishes, shall remain anonymous. As a boy, Edmund was a font of simple, but usually jarringly astute, observations, which can serve to clear the minds of adults and ease their Peer-Pressure concerns.

Reading from The Book Of Coupons - Originally intended as something of a gag, the Reading from The Book of Coupons does actually serve a purpose. So many of us are in a hurry, and trying so hard to save money, that we don't really pay all that much attention to the reams of fine print we encounter and give our assent to every day. The Reading from The Book of Coupons serves to remind us all that, in commerce, as in fishing, in front of every barbed hook, there is always a lure.

Reading from The Book of Movie Listings - This is merely a practical announcement to let Members know what's playing in the area.

Personal Testimony - During Meetings, and at other times, where appropriate, Members are encouraged to share their own stories of how Peer-Pressure tried to move them the wrong way, and how The Polite Refusal ("No, Thanks") allowed them to preserve and enhance their own well-being.

Buffet of Personal Affirmation and Communion - During Meetings, and at other times, where appropriate, Members form a line to walk past the Buffet of Personal Affirmation. The members offer The Polite Refusal to each of the foods, and move on to Communion, a small serving of seasonally-aprorpriate Fudge. The Buffet consists of foods representative of forces which seek to undermine Personal Liberty through Peer-Pressure. A traditional Buffet consists of 4 chafing dishes, each containing a food representative of the 4 major monotheistic religion types: Judaism, Catholic/Orthodox Christianity, Protestant Christianity and Islam. Other foods, representing other Peer-Pressure forces, can be offered as can more or fewer dishes. Each chafing dish is overseen by a Church Elder, who ceremonially offers the food to Members as they pass. The symbolic value of the active offering should not be overlooked, since it is such an offering which prompts the Member to give The Polite Refusal. In weekly services, it would be quite wasteful to prepare, refuse and discard 4 chafing dishes of food every week. As such, it is permissible to have stand-in items, such as plastic fish and rubber chickens, so long as they are properly labeled on the Buffet Table. It is also permissible to have more, fewer, or different foods represented in the Buffet, provided they are intended to represent forces of Peer-Pressure, which all (or most) Members will Politely Refuse. It should also be noted that Members are free to accept foods offered at the Buffet based on whatever convictions they may have. The point of the Buffet is to place before each Member a series of Choices, and allow each Member to decide for himself or herself whether to accept what is offered or Politely Refuse. It should also be noted that it is not the place of The Church or individual Members to mock, rebuke or shun Members who choose to accept items offered at the Buffet, however, in the interest of Intellectual Honesty, it is within the rights of Members (and, in fact a duty, in the interest of Intellectual Honesty) to respectfully ask why Buffet items were accepted.

The Polite Refusal - The Polite Refusal, ("No, Thanks" or "No, Thank You") is, in one sense, a psychological crutch, propping-up otherwise weak-willed Members in the face of Peer-Pressure. The Polite Refusal also serves as a touchstone for the community of CoNT Members, as there is a confidence in the way Members deliver The Polite Refusal, which other Members can hear a hundred yards away. The official, traditional Polite Refusal is delivered with the head turned slightly left of the line of sight, tilted right and forward just a touch. While maintaining eye contact, the Member giving The Polite Refusal shakes his/her head side to side slightly, with the peak of each excursion coinciding with the syllables of the spoken Refusal. In formal settings, and for emphasis, the right index finger can be wagged, side-to-side (right index finger pointing up, closed palm toward person receiving the Refusal) in a fashion similar to the head-shake.