An eclectic week of programming at The Church in Sag Harbor will begin Friday at 6 p.m. with “Love, Crushes, and Fiction: Book Talk,” a conversation between Ada Calhoun and Jessica Soffer, both of whose novels were published in February to wide acclaim.
Ms. Soffer’s “This Is a Love Story” landed on The New York Times best-seller list, and Ms. Calhoun’s “Crush” was named a most anticipated book of 2025 by Time, Vulture, Bloomberg, and Literary Hub.
“Crush,” Ms. Calhoun’s first work of fiction, brings wit and humor to a novel about the state of marriage, midlife, and what happens when both are upended by the sudden passion of a crush. Booklist said it “interrogates all that we think we know about love and soulmates, commitment and conviction, while tracking the long struggle to fully become oneself and do right.”
“This Is a Love Story” is a family saga about a couple’s enduring love intermingling with their son’s feeling of alienation. “Soffer’s saga goes down like bittersweet chocolate, with a hint of sugar to soften the sharp edge of loss,” wrote Elisabeth Egan in The Times, which named it the Book of the Week.
The writers will take questions after the discussion, and books will be available for purchase and signing.
In conjunction with its current exhibition, “The Ark,” The Church will host “Supporting a Biodiverse Future,” a conversation on Saturday at 4 p.m. with David Loehwing, head of sustainability and stewardship, North America, at Impax Asset Management, and Kevin McDonald, senior conservation policy adviser for the Nature Conservancy in New York.
The discussion, which will explore how private and public sectors are investing in the future of the environment, will be moderated by Anna Raginskaya, a partner of the Blue Rider Group, a financial advisory team at Morgan Stanley that works with nonprofits, foundations, and families.
Another engagement with nature underlies “Reconnecting With Mother Earth: Indigenous Animal Clans, Creation Stories, and Songs,” a presentation by Jeffrey Pegram, a Tsalagi Nation (Cherokee) singer and composer and member of the Wolf Clan. Set for Sunday afternoon at 3, Mr. Pegram’s program will explore the animal clans and symbols of Native American traditions and narratives.
Presenting creation stories and sharing traditional songs about the wolf, the bear, the eagle, and the turtle, Mr. Pegram will invite the audience to reconnect with Mother Earth through rhythm and sound. An Indigenous historian with a master’s degree in history, he has traveled the world singing traditional/contemporary Indigenous music for over 40 years. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.
Tickets to each of the three programs are $15, $10 for members.
Star Black, a published poet, photographer, and artist based in Sag Harbor, will return to The Church to lead a two-session writing workshop on Tuesday and next Thursday, from 10 until noon both days. The class, limited to eight participants, is sold out.
