Talks & Thinkers
Upcoming Events
With a warm welcome we invite Randolph Croxton to kick off our Fall Knowledge Friday series! A pioneer in green architecture with a lifelong interest in the military sciences, Mr. Croxton is a Sag Harbor gem, working hard to preserve the historical legacy of our small seaside town. The preservationist, author, and true renaissance man will discuss his own story, sharing the experiences that shaped him and how a fascination with Sag Harbor has led him to fiercely protect and honor its integrity.
Croxton wrote the introduction to the Sag Harbor Historical Museum’s Sag Harbor in the Revolution, an important book that was published this year to commemorate the village’s history and role relative to our nation’s 250th anniversary. Therein, he illuminated the Battle of Sag Harbor, the heroic patriot attack on the British fort and garrison, and this town’s pivotal role in the 1776 formation of a nation. An elder at the Old Whaler’s Church, Croxton’s rich knowledge of our local landscape is indispensable and an incredible asset to our community.
Grab a ticket to hear from our special guest and Dear Mazie curator, Amber Esseiva the Senior Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Institute for Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University (ICA at VCU). Esseiva is joined by Jessica Bell Brown, Executive Director of the ICA at VCU. The two will discuss the importance of Meredith’s legacy, the impetus for the show, as well as navigate guests through the curatorial journey. Following the discussion, guests will be led upstairs to the main gallery for the first look at the visiting exhibition.
The first of its kind, Dear Mazie, explores the life and enduring influence of pioneering architect, educator, and artist Amaza Lee Meredith through newly commissioned works by leading contemporary artists.
Featured Artists include AD—WO (Emanuel Admassu and Jen Wood), The Black School (Shani Peters and Joseph Cuillier), Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, Kapwani Kiwanga, Abigail Lucien, Practise (James Goggin and Shan James), Tschabalala Self, Cauleen Smith, Donnamarie Barnes, Michael Butler, and Hank Willis Thomas.
Join us as we honor Amaza Lee Meredith, one of the beloved Sag Harbor Saints on our windows and celebrate an important milestone in The Church’s history as we welcome the first presentation a traveling exhibition developed by another museum: Dear Mazie,.
October 4 - What do you want?
Still, Small Voice draws its name from the idea of the "still, small voice" within—a quiet, inner voice that guides us in moments of reflection. This monthly gathering, started in 2023 as an artistic experiment, now returns as a community-led practice with rotating facilitators. It invites participants to engage in silent reflection and thoughtful sharing, centered around a question about creativity, community, and being human. We forever ever grateful for Nanao Anton & Erling Hope for their contributions, inspirations, and commitment.
This is a space to hear your and others’ authentic voices & own it in community, free of judgement or reaction, as necessary
This is not group therapy, a study group, a political action group or Quaker Meeting.
Please review our Community Values before attending.
Experience the beauty and wisdom in listening to and exchanging stories firsthand by joining us for this very special evening of storytelling. Programmed in tandem with our exhibition Dear Mazie, which celebrates the pioneering local legend and Azurest Co-founder, this program is a celebration of the enduring legacy and spirit of the historic Black Beach Front communities here in Sag Harbor.
Gain a deeper perspective and intimate understanding of our local historic Black beach front communities as we traverse memories, reflections, and impressions from the people who know the landscape the best: its residents.
The program will begin with Donnamarie Barnes and Michael Butler, two artists included in the exhibition whose families have lived in the community for generations. Following their story sharing, hear anecdotes and narratives from individuals with deep personal and family ties, including descendants of Amaza Lee Meredith.
And join us as we warmly welcome Steve Williams, President of the Azurest Property Owners Association and Karen Sarah & Mark Price, residents of the historically Black community of Sag Harbor Hills.
Grammy Award-winning composer and drummer for
They Might Be Giants,Marty Beller comes to The Church
to share the insights of his 40 Year music career
Find your voice. Collaborate. Show up hungry. And grab every opportunity! These are the central threads running through Marty Beller’s career. The Church welcomes the Grammy Award-winning composer and the drummer for the iconic alt-rock band They Might Be Giants to the stage to present a fascinating interactive lecture. There will be plenty of time for Q&A (Marty loves Q&A)!
Designed to give students, aspiring musicians, and anyone passionate about the arts, an inside look at what a working music career looks like, Marty immerses attendees into a vibrant whirlwind of interactive experiences and shared stories. From recording studios to live shows, the big break, creative meetings, surfing the sea of inquiry and beyond, Marty utilizes decades of experience to create a clear understanding that the real world of a professional musician can take many shapes and sizes. The most important thing is to put every bit of energy you have into everything you do!
A warm welcome to Stella Sands - Sag Harbor’s own bard of mystery and intrigue. The best-selling author kicks off our Insight Sunday series this fall, inviting readers and aspiring writers to contemplate the origins of story, the development of characters, and more as she shares her unique reflections on writing as a craft. How did a trash-talking tattooed linguistic savant and an old-fashioned observational genius sleuth come to be the main characters in her highly acclaimed fictional debut Wordhunter? And what led to their return to enthusiastic readers in the newly released sequel, Codebreakers (August 11, 2026, Harper Perennial).
As best-selling author of six true crime books and a fictional mystery series, Sands offers audiences the rare opportunity to examine the creative similarities and differences between telling a gripping true story and creating a scintillating fictional one. Following the discussion and Q&A there will be a book signing with books available to purchase.
Thank you to our community bookseller Book Hampton of East Hampton for joining us for this program!
“It’s October in New Orleans, and all evenings are hallowed.” – Station of the Birds
Betsy Sussler, BOMB Magazine Founder and natural storyteller, creates magic at The Church with her newly released debut novel Station of the Birds (January 2026, Spuyten Duyvil Publishing). This unique evening sees live music, a live reading with the author and an illuminating discussion between Sussler and The Church co-founder April Gornik, plus a thoughtful Q&A with the audience, followed by a book signing. A warm thank you to Real East End Brass helping us to kick off the program with a special musical performance designed to deepen our connection to the landscape of the novel.
Set in the bayous, swamps, and drug dens of the Louisiana backcountry and New Orleans, Station of the Birds is a thrilling family saga that takes readers through a physical landscape and a psychological one.
Following the story of Daryl Munroe, a well-educated, privileged, and disinherited prodigal son, readers are led to Munroe’s hometown in Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Swamp where he is hell bent on intimidating his father by setting up an illegal smuggling business. He joins forces with his estranged childhood friend, Michael Duvet, the son of a local jazz musician and together they begin a mysterious quest in an area steeped in myth & generational lore and entrenched by barriers of class and race. Part fever dream, part cautionary tale, Station of the Birds spins a narrative about fathers and sons, addiction’s hollow banging at the gate, and the ritual sacrifices rooted in agrarian culture.
Thank you to our community bookseller Book Hampton of East Hampton for joining us for this program!
October 25 - How do we “re-humanize?”
Still, Small Voice draws its name from the idea of the "still, small voice" within—a quiet, inner voice that guides us in moments of reflection. This monthly gathering, started in 2023 as an artistic experiment, now returns as a community-led practice with rotating facilitators. It invites participants to engage in silent reflection and thoughtful sharing, centered around a question about creativity, community, and being human. We forever ever grateful for Nanao Anton & Erling Hope for their contributions, inspirations, and commitment.
This is a space to hear your and others’ authentic voices & own it in community, free of judgement or reaction, as necessary
This is not group therapy, a study group, a political action group or Quaker Meeting.
Please review our Community Values before attending.
Join us as we honor Sag Harbor’s love for spooky season with our final Spooky-Palooza program!
Spark your creativity and spend quality time creating together during this fall fun creativity lab! Pick up a blank canvas, grab a ceramic sugar skull, color in some fun festive fall images, and more take home creative fun! Adults, don’t sleep on getting your ticket. Each year we witness the adults having just as much fun as the kiddos!
Spooky-Palooza is an ongoing collaboration between Sag Harbor Cinema, The Church, and Bay Street Theater that presents family fun for all ages all weekend long.
Janet Reitman, award winning journalist, contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, best-selling author, and Springs resident joins The Church’s Knowledge Friday series! The author of The Inheritance: An American Tragedy in Five Acts (Random House, October 6, 2026), speaks about writing the newly released and highly acclaimed narrative non-fiction work and invites audiences to learn more about her story.
Reitman is joined by Dini von Mueffling, CEO of the award-winning public relations firm and current The Church board member, who will lead the conversation covering Reitman’s one-of-a-kind experience that is chock full of insight and revelation. A riveting Q&A and book signing to follow the discussion.
The Inheritance, a stunning piece of narrative non-fiction, examines how 9/11 transformed America from a country revered for its democratic ideals to a nation defined by its fears, as told through the eyes of its nine characters. The Inheritance, devoid of an omniscient narrator or an introduction to set up a polemic, creates a stunning portrait through hundreds of hours of interviews with its subjects, allowing their stories and voices to illuminate the culture of fear that has impacted American values.
Learn about how Reitman, who also penned the national bestseller Inside Scientology: The Story of American’s Most Secretive Religion, integrated her experiences as a war correspondent in the Middle East, and covering post-9/11 America as a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, and as a current writer for the Times Magazine to tell the stories of nine Americans over three turbulent decade, creating magic in The Inheritance.
Thank you to our community bookseller Book Hampton of East Hampton for joining us for this program!
Amber Esseiva, curator of Dear Mazie, leads an illuminating conversation with Emanuel Admassu and Jen Wood, founding partners of the acclaimed art and architecture practice AD—WO, whose work is included in the exhibition. Together, they will shine a light on our current show, taking attendees through the exhibition’s conception, actualization, realization and its journey to Sag Harbor. Following the discussion there will be an insightful Q&A with the curator and her guests followed by an opportunity to view the exhibition outside our normal exhibition hours.
Calling all songwriters and music enthusiasts, here’s an opportunity to learn from East End’s own lyrical mastermind, Inda Eaton! Eaton joins us for our musical November Insight Sunday, inviting audiences to peer into her creative world and gain insight into her songwriting process. Using her song “Once” from her album Shelter in Place as a portal, Eaton will reflect on her process and examine the inspiration and impetus driving her work. Following the discussion there will be a delightful Q&A with the audience.
November 22 - What is pain for?
Still, Small Voice draws its name from the idea of the "still, small voice" within—a quiet, inner voice that guides us in moments of reflection. This monthly gathering, started in 2023 as an artistic experiment, now returns as a community-led practice with rotating facilitators. It invites participants to engage in silent reflection and thoughtful sharing, centered around a question about creativity, community, and being human. We forever ever grateful for Nanao Anton & Erling Hope for their contributions, inspirations, and commitment.
This is a space to hear your and others’ authentic voices & own it in community, free of judgement or reaction, as necessary
This is not group therapy, a study group, a political action group or Quaker Meeting.
Please review our Community Values before attending.
Celebrate a local living legend Dr. Georgette Grier-Key - esteemed culture leader and acclaimed historian, educator, and advocate! The current Executive Director and Chief Curator of Eastville Community Historical Society will shine a light on her story. How did a child with a dream became a woman making monumental strides in her community and worldwide? Her impact is profound and her work paramount in creating a more inclusive community that prioritizes, with pride, accurate historical narratives. Come join us as we learn from this incredible woman and community pillar. An enlightening Q&A to follow.
An influential leader in several arenas, Dr. Grier-Key’s legacy is actively and effectively shaping a civic and cultural landscape that celebrates education, preservation, art, history, and culture. Disrupting the frameworks that uphold institutional and structural exclusion and fiercely advocating for the education that distills the ignorance of cultural incompetency, the Medger Evers College Professor also holds several leadership positions throughout New York State. This includes the President of the NAACP Brookhaven Town Branch, advisory board member of the Preservation League of New York State, among others.
This Knowledge Friday is programmed in tandem with our current exhibition Dear Mazie, an exhibition that celebrates the life, legacy and enduring influence of Amaza Lee Meredith our nation’s first practicing Black female architect and Azurest co-founder. Dr. Grier-Key’s work is directly responsible for the preservation of the Azurest community and her trailblazing legacy a wonderful mirror to Meredith’s enduring presence in her community.
Experience a multimedia event that celebrates the 50th anniversary of E.L. Doctorow’s groundbreaking novel Ragtime and explore his life and legacy with someone who knew him best - his daughter, Caroline Doctorow. Join us in welcoming the acclaimed singer-songwriter, as she weaves together excerpts of the novel, radio interviews, family photos & anecdotes, and more. Caroline will also treat audiences to a live performance of several songs relevant to the occasion, noting how her father’s book found new life on stage as a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. Following the discussion, Caroline welcomes questions from the audience.
Published in 1975, Ragtime burst onto the literary scene and broke new ground as it wove together fact and fiction, creating a tapestry of early 20th-century America. Set against the backdrop of an era defined by seismic social and cultural shifts, the novel explores themes that remain strikingly relevant today: immigration, racial tension, and the evolving role of women in society. With its rich characters, masterful narrative, and profound insights into the American experience, Ragtime continues to resonate across generations.
Come explore the legacy of the late world-renowned author and one of The Church’s beloved Sag Harbor Saints.
Thank you to our community bookseller Book Hampton of East Hampton for joining us for this program!
Explore nature’s ephemeral metamorphosis with Roisin Bateman, an established artist born and trained in Ireland and Sag Harbor resident for forty years. Though not a traditional landscape painter, her work is known for its exquisite use of color to evoke nature’s continual change. Using her work Rising Air as the focus of exploration, Bateman will discuss her approach to making art and insights along the way. Following the presentation there will be a delightful Q&A with the audience.
In her pastel drawing, as in her use of thin layers of oil paint, beeswax in other works, Bateman illuminates the way colors appear and disappear in the crossing of air, water, warmth, light. Join us as we reflect on nature around and within us through an artist who sees more than what meets the eye.
Stop in ahead of the program, between November 20 – December 13, during our exhibition hours 11 AM – 5 PM, Thursday through Monday, to see Bateman’s work Rising Air in person.
Help us give Pari Stave, Head Curator at the National Gallery of Iceland in Reykjavík, a warm Sag Harbor welcome as she illuminates the Iceland chapter in the life story of Sag Harbor whaler Thomas Welcome Roys (1816-1877). From the remote fishing village of Seyðisfjörður, in Iceland’s East Fjords, Roys transformed whaling industry with his discoveries and his audacious (and ultimately failed) experiments in industrialized whale hunting and processes. Following the discussion, Stave welcomes questions from the audience.
In his Sag Harbor ship Superior, Roys sailed through the Bering Strait and into the Arctic Ocean, where he discovered an abundance of “new-fangled monsters,” the Western Arctic bowhead whale. This discovery would open the door to new travel patterns and new hunting grounds for whalers from all over the world. Roys also developed and patented whaling rockets to hunt faster and more powerful species that had until then eluded European whalers.
