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!
Upcoming Events
- 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
- Volunteering at Safe Harbor
Tuesday, December 1, 3:00-9:00 p.m.
As in recent years, Grand Traverse Humanists will prepare a dinner for Safe Harbor.It will be different this year. We will be preparing dinner only – no overnight, evening, or breakfast shifts are needed. There will be two shifts: 3-6 p.m. to prepare dinner, and 6-9 p.m. to serve and clean up afterwards.
Precautions to protect guests and volunteers are built into the plan. We will have a smaller number of volunteers in the kitchen at a time and for a shorter duration than in the past. One sub-team will prepare food then another will serve it from behind a barrier. We will all wear masks. As a commercial kitchen, Safe Harbor has an exhaust fan that can eject air from the room drawing in fresh air. The guests will come into the dining area in shifts and one of us (with mask and gloves) will need to sanitize tables between groups of guests.
Please volunteer to be part of this effort. Safe Harbor is important despite COVID!
Text, call, or email: Scott Blair 231-313-7214, or scott.blair@jacobs.com.
- Virtual G.T. Humanists Meeting: Election Reflections
Monday, November 9, 7 p.m.
By the time of this meeting, we will have just had an election, and we want to talk about it! No matter what the outcome (if we even know the result yet), discussing it together will help us process what’s happening and see what’s likely to come. This will be a virtual meeting via Zoom–register in advance here:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUldO-vpj4tHNweKlGY5OTi43wYYGhUI1Fq
And if you’re reading this before the election, don’t forget to vote!
- Virtual Hungry Humanists: Soup!
Monday, October 26, 6:30 p.m.
Hungry Humanists will hold a virtual event to share food and camaraderie via Zoom. This month, the theme is soup! Join us online at 6:30 for food and conversation. Then at 7:00, Healthy Chef Ali Lopez (also a former GT Humanist presenter) will join us to share some healthy soup cooking tips and entertain any questions you may have.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckcOitqzkjG9FFYUSxQM86GccBg1nUpy9n
- Virtual Hungry Humanists: Fish!
Monday, September 28, 6:30 p.m.
Hungry Humanists will hold a virtual event to share food and camaraderie via Zoom. This month, the theme is fish or any seafood. Join us online at 6:30 for food and conversation. Then at 7:00, Healthy Chef Ali Lopez (also a former GT Humanist presenter) will join us to share some of her favorite fish cooking tips and entertain any questions you may have.
Register in advance for this meeting:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcucOmtqTkoEtPcux7TbB_kRXOsOzw9dMD_
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Hope to dine with you (virtually) soon!
