Support First Things by turning your adblocker off or by making a  donation. Thanks!

To be put in touch with your local ROFTers group, please email us at rofters@firstthings.com.

ROFTers stands for Readers of First Things. For decades, enterprising readers have created ROFTers groups to convene local readers of the magazine for regular discussion and fellowship. The proliferation of ROFTers groups nationally and even internationally has been entirely organic, and testifies to the strength and commitment of the First Things community. 

At the behest of local ROFTers group leaders, First Things is exploring ways to support existing groups and grow the ROFTers network further. If you would like to start a ROFTers group in your area, update the information for an existing ROFTers group, or have ideas for strengthening the ROFTers group network, please contact Carter Skeel, Director of Institutional Advancement, at cskeel@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.

To find a local ROFTers group, please review the list below. Groups are listed alphabetically by state; groups outside the United States are listed last.


ALABAMA 

Birmingham 
Corresponding Secretary
(Trying to Form)

Mobile
Mr. Christopher Colby
(Trying to Form)

ARIZONA

Phoenix
Mr. Andy Halaby
(Active: Meets first Wednesday of each month)

CALIFORNIA

Escondido
Mr. Aidan Beveridge
(Trying to Form)

Greater Sacramento Area
Mr. Thomas Wallace
(Active: Meets second Saturdays)

West Los Angeles
Rev. Walter Mees Jr. and Ken Frese
(Trying to Form)

San Diego
Ms. Janet Cooper
(Trying to Form)

Santa Barbara
Drs. Andrew & Jana Mullen
(Trying to Form)

Thousand Oaks
Ms. Linda Nicolosi 
(Trying to Form)

COLORADO

Denver (Wheat Ridge)
Mr. Dennis Floyd
(Active since 2003)

Greeley-Loveland
Paul Wilson
(Trying to form)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington
Ms. Genea Callahan
(Active)

FLORIDA

Land O' Lakes 
Mr. Patrick Wheeler
(Trying to Form)

St. Petersburg
Mr. Robert Ross
(Trying to Form)

West Palm Beach
Mr. Garry Collins
(Trying to Form)

GEORGIA

Atlanta
Kirk Susong
(Active: Meets quarterly)

Macon
Ms. Jacqueline Kennedy-Dvorak
(Trying to form)


IOWA

Ames
Rev. Russell Melby
(Trying to Form)

Dubuque
Mr. John Keough
(Trying to Form)

ILLINOIS

Chicago
Mr. Clyde Taylor

Decatur
Mr. Gary Burlington

Decatur
Fr. David Eynon
(Trying to Form)

INDIANA

Bloomington
Mr. Robert Todd and Mr. Lester Prosper
(Trying to form)

Indianapolis
Mr. Brandon Brown
(Active: Meets last Wednesday of the month)

KANSAS

Wichita
Mr. Malcom Harris
(Active)

KENTUCKY

Frankfort
Mr. Mark Thornewill
(Trying to Form)

LOUISIANA

Lafayette
Mr. Thomas Noell
(Trying to Form)

MAINE

Camden
Mr. Jeffrey Lewis
(Trying to Form)

MARYLAND

Annapolis
Mr. and Mrs. Collan and Sarah Rosier
(Trying to Form)

Baltimore
Mr. G. Edward Dickey
(Active)

Easton
Mr. Jim Duncan
(Trying to Form)

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston
Mr. Matt LeBlanc
(Active)

Taunton
Mr. Joe Rico 
(Trying to Form)

Worcester
Mr. John Edward Keough 
(Trying to Form)

MICHIGAN

Ann Arbor
Mr. Paul Malocha and Mr. James Davis
(Active: Meets second Tuesday of each month at Grand Traverse Pie Company)

Grand Rapids
Mr. Derek Kooistra
(Active: Meets monthly)

Novi
Mr. Marc Sierra 
(Active)

Port Huron / Sarnia, Ontario
Mr. Edward Amsden
(Trying to Form)

Tri-Cities Area
(Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Ferrysburg)

Mr. William Werner
(Active)

Washtenaw County
Mr. James Davis
(Active)

MINNESOTA

Farmington
Mr. Steve Clark
(Trying to Form)

MISSOURI

St. Louis 
Mr. Demetrios G. Tsikalas
(Active: Meets almost every month)

NEBRASKA

Lincoln
Mr. Richard Trzupek
(Trying to Form)

NEVADA

Las Vegas
Mr. John Lynn Gullickson
(Trying to Form)

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Wolfeboro
Mr. James O'Rourke
(Active: Meets bimonthly, except in the summer, on the first and third Tuesdays in the morning at St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Alton)

NEW JERSEY

Allenwood
Mr. Bill Lang
(Trying to Form)

NEW YORK

Buffalo
Ms. Sandra Ham
(Active)

Earlton
Mr. Wayne Sheridan
(Trying to Form)

Garnerville
Fr. Joseph Fallon
(Trying to form)

New York City
Ms. Nona Aguilar
(Active)

Rochester
Mr. James P. Burns III and Ms. Alisia Chase

NEW MEXICO

Albuquerque
Mr. Michael Sides
(Active)

Los Alamos
Mr. Andrew Henrick
(Trying to Form)

NORTH CAROLINA

Durham (Duke University)
Mr. Dale Steinacker
(Active: Once a month on Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the Center for Christianity and Scholarship)

Eastern North Carolina
Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth
(Active: Meets the first Friday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at King's Barbecue Restaurant in Kinston)

Charlotte
Mr. Taylor Schmidt
(Active: Meets second Friday of each month at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery)

NORTH DAKOTA

Mr. Willy Dillingham
(Trying to Form)

OHIO

Cincinnati
Fr. Henry Hoffmann
(Active)

Cleveland
Ms. Grace Pelley
(Trying to form)

Columbus
Mr. Adam Pasternack
(Active)
Eventbrite sign-up link here.

Toledo
Mr. James Coffey
(Trying to Form)

Steubenville
Ms. Prudence Robertson
(Trying to Form)

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City 
Mr. Jason Sutton
(Trying to Form)

Tulsa
Mr. Robert Bearer
(Active)

OREGON

Milwaukie (near Portland)
Mr. Phil DiGregorio

Roseburg (Eugene–Ashland)
David Kester
(Trying to form)

PENNSYLVANIA

Lancaster
Mr. Steven Wissler
(Active: Meets four times a year in March, May, September, and November on the third Thursday from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Lititz Public Library)

Lehigh Valley / Allentown area
Mr. and Mrs. Frank and Molly DeVito
(Active: Meets third Wednesday of every month)

Philadelphia (Abington) 
Mr. Maurice Lee
(Active: Meets monthly)

Philadelphia (Mount Airy)
Ms. Deborah Conley
(Trying to Form)

Philadelphia (Center City)
Mr. Anthony Hennen
(Trying to Form)

Pittsburgh
Mr. Daniel Barbero
(Trying to Form)

State College / Altoona
Mr. Shelby Bowden
(Active: Meets once a month in State College)

RHODE ISLAND

Providence
Mr. David Zizik
(Trying to Form)

SOUTH CAROLINA

Greenville
Mr. Robert Markway
(Active)

Beaufort
Mr. David Simpson
(Active: Meets second Tuesday of the month at noon at Blackstone's)

Kingstree
Fr. Scott Francis Binet
(Trying to Form) 

TENNESSEE

Maryville
David R. Duggan
(Trying to Form)

TEXAS

Austin
Karl Stephan
(Active: Meets every third Monday, except for the double-month issues, at St. Francis Anglican Church)

Dallas
Mr. Curt Lampkin
(Active: Meets last Saturday of the month)

Dallas / Fort Worth
Mr. Aaron Closson
(Active)

Denton
Mr. Michael Morris
(Trying to Form)

El Paso 
Mr. Rene Nevarez 
(Active)

Houston
Mr. Justin Baker
(Trying to Form)

Mount Pleasant
Mr. Drew Nelson and Mr. Mike Schutt
(Trying to Form)

San Antonio
Phil Strauch Jr.
(Active: Meets almost monthly)

UTAH

Logan
Mr. Isaiah Jones
(Trying to Form)

VIRGINIA

Charlottesville
Mr. Edward Maillet
(Active) 

Falls Church
Michael Krell
(Trying to form)

Virginia Beach / Hampton Roads
Mr. Jerry Wasserberg
(Trying to form)

Reston / Online
Mr. Bob Bowe
(Active: Meets online, email Bob Bowe for more information, include “ROFTers” in the subject line)

WASHINGTON

Battle Ground
Mr. C. R. Wiley
(Trying to Form)

Langley
Mr. and Mrs. Fred and Carol Olson
(Trying to Form)

La Connor
Mr. Richard Doerflinger
(Active)

Bellevue
Ms. Kathi Lehr
(Active: Meets monthly on a Tuesday night in Bellevue, contact Kathi Lehr to confirm)

Spokane
Mr. Matthew Wood
(Active)

WISCONSIN

Kenosha
Ms. Bethany Gates
(Trying to Form)

Oshkosh
Ms. Vicki Marxen
(Trying to Form)

Racine
Mr. Fred Beuttler
(Active: Meets once a month on Sundays evenings) 

CANADA

British Columbia 
Mr. Gordon Dirks
(Trying to Form)

Ottawa
Mr. Daniel Bezalel Richardsen and Mr. Joel Reinhardt
(Active)

Toronto
Eric Onderwater
(Trying to Form)

Victoria
Mrs. Kathryn Kearney
(Active: Meets once a month)

AUSTRALIA

Canberra
Mr. Mike Swan
(Active)

Sydney
Mr. Patrice Daly
(Trying to Form)

JAPAN

Tokyo
Mr. Martin Triggs
(Trying to Form)