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: Spillover
Sunday, October 11, 6 p.m. (meeting over Zoom: details to follow)
We’ll meet via Zoom to discuss David Quammen’s Book “Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic,” a masterpiece of science reporting that tracks the animal origins of emerging human diseases.
The emergence of strange new diseases is a frightening problem that seems to be getting worse. In this age of speedy travel, it threatens a worldwide pandemic. We hear news reports of Ebola, SARS, AIDS, and something called Hendra killing horses and people in Australia―but those reports miss the big truth that such phenomena are part of a single pattern. The bugs that transmit these diseases share one thing: they originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. David Quammen tracks this subject around the world. He recounts adventures in the field―netting bats in China, trapping monkeys in Bangladesh, stalking gorillas in the Congo―with the world’s leading disease scientists. In Spillover Quammen takes the reader along on this astonishing quest to learn how, where from, and why these diseases emerge, and he asks the terrifying question: What might the next big one be? This book was published in 2012 and could not be more timely today.
Stay tuned for info on how to join in the conversation.
- G.T. Humanists Virtual Meeting: Rabbit Hole
Monday, September 14, 7 p.m.
We’ll meet via Zoom to discuss the excellent 9-episode New York Times podcast “Rabbit Hole.” What is the internet doing to us? The Times tech columnist Kevin Roose discovers what happens when our lives move online.
Available on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rabbit-hole/id1507423923 or on the NYT website here: https://www.nytimes.com/column/rabbit-hole
Stay tuned for a link to join in the conversation.
- G.T. Humanists Bike Ride to Jolly Pumpkin
Traverse City Central High School north parking lot (off Eastern Ave.)
Sunday, September 6, 2 p.m.
We’ll meet at the TC Central High School parking lot (the north parking lot off Eastern Avenue) and ride up Peninsula Drive to Jolly Pumpkin Restaurant & Brewery. Some of us are crazy about their pumpkin cake! They have ample seating outside on the lawn, so we will be able to practice social distancing. The distance to the restaurant is about 9 1/2 miles one way.
- G.T. Humanists Sunset Paddle on Boardman Lake
Hull Park launch site in Traverse City (next to the library)
660 Hannah Ave.
Monday, August 17, 7 p.m.
We’ll meet at the boat launch at Hull Park (next to the library) for a sunset paddle of Boardman Lake. This paddle can be as leisurely or as strenuous as you like. You can just bob around for a while as you chat with your fellow Humanists, or you could paddle all the way around the lake, or you can paddle down the Boardman River a ways and paddle back up (slow easy current) or paddle to the south end of the lake and up the river (faster current) as far as you can go (unlikely that you can make it farther than the former Sabin Dam area, although I know of one hardy paddler who has gone up the rapids).
BYOB (Bring your own boat) and paddle and any other supplies you may need. Send your RSVP and any questions to Linnaea at lmelcarek@gmail.com.
- G.T. Humanists Zoom Meeting: History Will Judge the Complicit
Monday, July 13, 7 p.m.
In lieu of a speaker, we will discuss an article by Anne Applebaum, published in the July/August 2020 issue of The Atlantic Magazine. The title of the article is “History Will Judge the Complicit: Why have Republican leaders abandoned their principles in support of an immoral and dangerous president?” The article can be read here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/07/trumps-collaborators/612250/
Contact Heather Kingham at 503-422-6515 for information on how to join the discussion via Zoom.
- CANCELED: G.T. Humanists Ride the Betsie Valley Trail
Due to a rainy forecast and concerns about the ability to keep socially distanced while on the trail (and picnicking on Frankfort beach afterwards), we’ve decided to cancel the bike outing on the Betsie Valley Trail, previously scheduled for Sunday, July 26. Sorry to those who were looking forward to it! Someday we will ride again!
