Program for Sunday, August 22, 2021

Delilah Sampson Gibbs left us with very few but very intriguing and fascinating records. She is known as a “widow and last of her tribe” in this vicinity. She is a mysterious figure in Wellfleet’s history. Her step-mother-in-law was Patience Gibbs, a Negro woman born in Yarmouth, who lived on Patience Brook. Drusilla Cole Laha was a white woman who was a member of the Congregational church along with Patience. All three women were known as healers of the sick. Women and people of color often have not left us with much historical record. Their lives were often not recorded with diligence, but are worth examination. Sheryl Jaffe’s talk will focus on these women and the story of Delilah’s land.c2

Pre-register for this program at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqcuusqTgrEtT-wWb0GMhRyO1v8094qQO9

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.  Meeting platform will open at 9:30 for informal socializing. Program will begin promptly at 10:00.

Sheryl Jaffe has been the coordinator at the Wellfleet Historical Society & Museum for three years. She is also an artist and a teacher, a swimmer and a papermaker. She holds a BA in Multicultural Art Education from the University Without Walls and an MA in Art Education from the University of Massachusetts.

Program for Sunday, August 15, 2021

Amy Sanders paints in the lesser known medium of dry pastel, and uses the beauty of the natural world as her inspiration. Her highly realistic style renders the intricacies of both wildlife and landscapes, surpassing what can be captured in a photograph. Join her for a short demonstration of this medium along with a discussion of its history and technique. The roots of the soft pastel medium, with its intense colors and permanence,  can be traced back to prehistoric cave paintings, and is now enjoying a modern resurgence of popularity. Questions, comments and observations will be welcome throughout.

Pre-register for this program at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqd-mgrjovG9BC5tW3b_ciW_ODq-RixD8M

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.  Meeting platform will open at 9:30 for informal socializing. Program will begin promptly at 10:00.

A year round resident of the Outer Cape for the last 34 years, Amy Sanders lives in Truro on a property originally deeded to her ancestors by the King of England. In 2016, she opted to open a new chapter in life and shift from a career as a special education teacher to that of being a fine artist. Amy works closely with the nature all around her, both as an artist and as a volunteer at Wild Care. An award-winning artist, Sanders is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, and a respected art juror in the art show circuit. Her work resides in collections throughout New England and is represented exclusively by the Addison Art Gallery of Orleans, Massachusetts.

Program for Sunday, July 25, 2021

The 2020 Apocalypse “exposed weakness and rot in institutions whose integrity Americans had long taken for granted,” historian Andrew Bacevich explains in the introduction to his latest book. Join him for a reflection on recent events and America’s changing role in the world. How do we escape the endless fantasy of American power? After recognizing the hubris and error of American Exceptionalism, how might we act as a nation in a world transformed?

Pre-register for this program at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvcuGvqT0rG9GUAadEreEZIyfwN4ldfsNy

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.  Meeting platform will open at 9:30 for informal socializing. Program will begin promptly at 10:00.

 Andrew Bacevich grew up in Indiana, graduated from West Point and Princeton, served in the army, became an academic, and is now a writer.  He is the author, co-author, or editor of more than a dozen books, among them The New American Militarism, The Limits of Power, Washington Rules, America’s War for the Greater Middle East, and After the Apocalypse:  America’s Role in a World Transformed.  He is president and co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a Washington think tank.

Program for Sunday, July 25, 2021

Fear, then Connection: Provincetown’s Response to the AIDS Epidemic

There is perhaps no other community so profoundly affected by HIV and AIDS as Provincetown and these effects have been archived at the Provincetown History Project.

The first cases were diagnosed in 1982. By 1996, the virus had claimed the lives of 385 people—more than one-tenth of the town’s permanent population. The town rallied support for those afflicted and when news of Provincetown’s support services began to emerge, many who were diagnosed with the illness moved there to live out their final days and found a healing refuge.  Join us at as we remember the epidemic with three men who lived through it: Scott Penn, John Braden and Stephen Kovacev. 

Pre-register for this program at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMlcOuqpjMjGNb5fJr5ESkaQMBw7wGmVUff

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.  

Scott Penn was born and raised in Hyannis.  He was the Executive Director of Outer Cape Health Services from 1986 to 2001.

John Braden moved to Provincetown in the early 1990’s after being diagnosed with AIDS. Although he expected to die there, he has survived and prospered and now oversees WOMR as its Executive Director.

Stephen Kovacev is a 68 year old athlete living with AIDS in Provincetown. After nearly dying from the disease in 1997, in 2014 he became the first AIDS survivor to complete the Boston Marathon and he continues to run marathons around the world today.

Program for Sunday, July 18, 2021

What are the most important issues being addressed by the Unitarian Universalist Association today?  Join Pat O’Brien and Karen Dattilo for a report on the organization’s current goals and activities. They will update the audience about highlights from the General Assembly, including the WARE lecture by Stacey Abrams and Desmond Meade. They will report on what the organization hopes and suggests our Fellowship follows with interest and commitment. There will be ample time for questions and discussion.

Pre-register for this program at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtc-CtrT4tEtapi-MPXvzzM5iDw3f-6HJw

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Meeting platform will open at 9:30 for informal socializing. Program will begin promptly at 10:00.

Pat O’Brien and Karen Dattilo are members of the Nauset Fellowship Unitarian Universalists who served as our congregation’s delegates to the UU General Assembly held virtually on June 23-27, 2021.

Program for Sunday, July 11, 2021

Cape Cod’s outer beach has always been known for its shipwrecks. Between 1626 and the mid-20th century, this solitary 40-mile stretch of beach and sandbars saw the demise of over 3,000 vessels. It’s been said that if all the wrecks were raised, one could walk from Provincetown to Chatham without getting his or her feet wet. Join Cape Cod historian Don Wilding, author of the new book, Shipwrecks of Cape Cod: Stories of Tragedy & Triumph, for a look back at some of these disasters, such as the Jason in 1893, the Monomoy Disaster of 1902, and the Castagna in 1914, as well as the heroism of the U.S. Lifesaving Service.

Pre-register for this program at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkdeigrD0uGda8YmNcLzLTI9seQGEICW9H

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Meeting platform will open at 9:30 for informal socializing. Program will begin promptly at 10:00.

Since the start of the millennium, Don Wilding has been telling stories of Cape Cod Outer Beach history. An award-winning writer and editor for Massachusetts newspapers since 1985, Don has contributed the “Shore Lore” history column for The Cape Codder newspaper of Orleans, and is the author of two other books: Henry Beston’s Cape Cod: How The Outermost House Inspired a National Seashore and A Brief of History of Eastham: On the Outer Beach of Cape Cod. He is also a tour guide and lecturer, and has taught local history classes for adults on the Outer Cape.

Program for Sunday, June 13, 2021

A native plant enthusiast, Kristin Andres promotes sustainable land care practices and the use of native plants in the landscape. Kristin describes herself as slightly obsessed with observing and photographing nature and strives to share her passionate appreciation of nature whenever possible. Kristin will introduce us to some plant species, including those growing in the Association to Preserve Cape Cod’s educational demonstration garden, and discuss how native plants can have a positive influence on water quality and climate change. Learn more about the Association’s Native Plant Project here.

Pre-register for this program at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrd-yrqj0sGtCcA8PTGL4vn9hpgA-MGHw9

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Meeting platform will open at 9:30 for informal socializing. Program will begin promptly at 10:00.

Kristin Andres is the Associate Director for Education for the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC), an environmental advocacy organization. Before joining APCC as a staff member, she worked for the town of Chatham as its first Conservation Agent for more than 15 years. Kristin serves on several boards and committees, including the Ecological Landscape Alliance, Chatham Friends of Trees, Friends of Sylvan Gardens, Senior Environmental Corps and the town of Chatham South Coastal Harbor Plan Committee. She’s the regional liaison for Grow Native Massachusetts and an honorary trustee of the Chatham Conservation Foundation. She writes a biweekly column for the Cape Cod Chronicle on topics of ecology and the environment. 

Program for Sunday, June 20, 2021

 “If you’re trying to understand what it feels like to live with Alzheimer’s . . . then you need to read this book.”  — Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice

Career journalist Greg O’Brien joins us again after first telling us his moving story several years ago. In On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s, O’Brien used his skills as an investigative reporter to chronicle the progression of his own disease.  On Pluto has won the Beverly Hills International Book Award for Medicine, the International Book Award for Health, was an Eric Hoffer International Book Award finalist, as well as a finalist for USA Best Book Awards. It has been translated into Mandarin for distribution in China, into Italian for distribution in Italy, and a foreign edition is distributed in India. In his presentation, O’Brien will update us on his courageous battle with the disease and what he has learned during his difficult journey.

Pre-register for this program at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUoc-Cuqj0uE9fs68GguVedjYK0EsLfCinb

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Meeting platform will open at 9:30 for informal socializing. Program will begin promptly at 10:00.

Greg O’Brien was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease several years ago, after a series of brain scans and clinical tests, and after serious head traumas that doctors say unmasked a disease in the making. He has used his research and reporting skills to increase understanding and acceptance of the condition and to advocate for dementia-friendly policies and environments. With New York Times best-selling author David Shenk, he co-hosts the podcast, “The Forgetting,” produced and distributed by WGBH-TV in Boston and NPR. O’Brien also serves on the Board of Directors of the distinguished UsAgainstAlzheimer’s in Washington, DC, is an advocate for the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund of Boston, and has served on the national Alzheimer’s Association Advisory Group for Early Onset Alzheimer’s.

Program for Sunday, May 16, 2021

David Hoffman and Leslie Warner will describe cohousing — a form of intentional community that was developed in Scandinavia and has become popular in the United States.  They will focus, in particular, on their experience of living in a cohousing community in Acton, Massachusetts and the potential for creating affordable housing on the Cape and elsewhere.  David was one of the founding members of New View Cohousing, and Leslie moved there more recently.  

Pre-register for this program please click here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. 

David Hoffman is a mediator and attorney at Boston Law Collaborative, LLC and teaches at Harvard Law School.

Leslie Warner is a career coach and serves as the Assistant Director of Alumni Career Services at Tufts University

David and Leslie have a summer home in Eastham.

Program for Sunday, May 30, 2021

What are people reading during the pandemic? Has that changed over the course of things? How will changes in reading patterns affect the way resources are delivered post-pandemic? The Eastham Public Library serves the community not just through its collections but also as a vital hub of social interaction. Tricia Ford and Debra DeJonker-Berry will reflect on life at the library during the pandemic, how libraries have adapted, and trends in what people are reading during the pandemic. They’ll talk about new collaborations among libraries and community organizations, and about how what they have learned will shape library practices and programming into the future.

Pre-register for this program at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcuigpz0uHNxCZhJJL3ykGz-tSJcUMu0A

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Meeting platform will open at 9:30 for informal socializing. Program will begin promptly at 10:00. 

Now in her seventh year as the Director of the Eastham Public Library, Debra DeJonker-Berry moved to Provincetown in 1993 to become the Library Director. Almost 30 years, later, while still a “washashore,” she has learned to love everything about this place – but especially the people, their love for the environment and community, and their willingness to listen and learn. All of which is so very evident in the community’s support for public libraries. 

Tricia Ford relocated to Eastham in 2011 to work at the Eastham Library, where she immediately fell in love with both Eastham’s character and Eastham’s characters.  In 2012, she left the Eastham Library to become the Director of the Truro Public Library.  Although she never would have predicted being a librarian as a profession, she became attracted to the glamour, glitz, and of course the money.   She trained to be a newspaper librarian and worked at the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Los Angeles Times, before shifting her focus to public librarianship.