Welcome to the Grand Traverse Humanists. If you value science, reason, and compassion and believe that humans are responsible for their own destiny, you have come to the right place. We are a community for the non-religious in the Grand Traverse area, offering a forum for discussing and advancing a secular worldview based on our common humanity. Our programs include monthly speakers and discussions, film and book groups, and various volunteer and social events. All are free and open to the public. Check out Upcoming Events below, or click on the calendar. Nontheists, agnostics, atheists, freethinkers, rationalists, humanists, and more…we welcome you to join us!
Grand Traverse Humanists Main Meeting
Second Monday of each month, 7 p.m.
Traverse Area District Library main branch, 610 Woodmere Ave., TC
Please note: MEETINGS AT THE LIBRARY ARE TEMPORARILY ON HOLD DUE TO
COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS
We have been holding virtual meetings over Zoom: check the upcoming events for details.
Upcoming Events
- G.T. Humanists Book Club: Stacey Abrams “Our Time is Now”
Sunday, March 28, 6 p.m. via Zoom
We will gather virtually to discuss “Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America” by Stacey Abrams. Amazon description: “A recognized expert on fair voting and civic engagement, Abrams chronicles a chilling account of how the right to vote and the principle of democracy have been and continue to be under attack. Abrams would have been the first African American woman governor, but experienced these effects firsthand, despite running the most innovative race in modern politics as the Democratic nominee in Georgia. Abrams didn’t win, but she has not conceded. The book compellingly argues for the importance of robust voter protections, an elevation of identity politics, engagement in the census, and a return to moral international leadership.
Our Time Is Now draws on extensive research from national organizations and renowned scholars, as well as anecdotes from her life and others’ who have fought throughout our country’s history for the power to be heard. The stakes could not be higher. Here are concrete solutions and inspiration to stand up for who we are now.
‘This is a narrative that describes the urgency that compels me and millions more to push for a different American story than the one being told today. It’s a story that is one part danger, one part action, and all true. It’s a story about how and why we fight for our democracy and win.’ –Stacey Abrams”Click here to register for the Zoom meeting.
- Virtual Meeting: Karen Puschel Segal, “From D-Day to the Founding of the U.N.”
Monday, March 8, 7 p.m. via Zoom
As we march further from 1945, fewer and fewer people remain who were firsthand witnesses to the rise of the postwar order, which has framed our world for the past 75 years. Hear directly from two members of our Greatest Generation, Dick Grout and Isabel Kulski, who were personally involved in military and diplomatic efforts 75 years ago. Karen Puschel Segal of the International Affairs Forum will introduce the two videotaped interviews and facilitate a Q & A afterwards.Click here to register for this free event; once you register, you will receive your own unique link to join the Zoom meeting.
- Virtual Meeting: “To Catch a Bird” with William Scharf
Monday, February 8, 7 p.m. via Zoom
Grand Traverse Humanists present William Scharf with a program called, “To Catch a Bird: the Art and Science.” William will talk about his background of bird capture in nine U.S. states and one foreign country, and his present project with the Leelanau Conservancy. He’ll cover his early work with birds of prey, island biology, and methods used to capture birds, with a special emphasis on arthropods parasitic on migrant birds in Leelanau County. To register for the meeting, click here.
William Scharf has a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (medical/veterinary entomology-bird parasites), is an honorary Elected Member of the American Ornithologist’s Society, and taught 30 years at Northwestern Michigan College. Since retirement, he’s held teaching and research positions with the University of Nebraska, Western Maryland College, and Lake Superior State University. He has many publications on birds, small mammals, fleas, lice, ticks, and tapeworms.
- Virtual Hungry Humanists: Casserole Night!
Monday, December 28, 6:30 p.m.
Join us for a virtual dinner at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom from the comfort of your home. Make your choice of casserole, then meet to show (and eat) your casserole creation. Healthy Chef Ali Lopez will be joining us at 7 to give us some yummy winter casserole tips and tricks.
Click here to register in advance for this free event.
You will receive your own link to join after registering.
- Humanists Book Club: “Born A Crime” by Trevor Noah
Sunday, January 17, 6 p.m. via Zoom
Grand Traverse Humanists will meet virtually to discuss Trevor Noah’s book “Born a Crime.” Description from Amazon: “Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.
Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.
The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.”Click here to register to participate in the discussion.
- Virtual Hungry Humanists: Pie!
Monday, November 23, 6:30 p.m.
We’ll gather virtually to enjoy pie together. Share your favorite pie recipe and learn about others’ favorite pies. Claudia Schmidt will attend and recite “The Art of Pie” by Susan Bright, long a favorite at her performances. Hope to see you there!
Register in advance by clicking here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErde2trT0pHd3OmCXwtDepMD092EvZHpwM
