Twenty years ago Rev. Dorothy Boroush had an epiphany. Why not, every once in a while, preach as if she were someone else? She had been reading a biography of the Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first woman to be ordained in the United States, and thought this woman who would not be silenced in life should not be so by death. Reverend Blackwell was ordained in 1851 and led the congregational church in South Butler, New York.

Casting a Gimlet Eye on Christmas

In 1992 David Sedaris was simply David Sedaris, just another nobody cleaning apartments for a living. Sure, he was most likely the funniest dude out there swabbing strangers’ toilets, but who knew?

Then he took a job playing an elf at Macy’s for the holiday season. It did not go well. The job that is. Sedaris’s career is another story.

Holiday Meal

The Family-to-Family Program of the Vineyard Committee on Hunger is working hard to ensure that Island families in need have a great December holiday meal. During Thanksgiving the committee provided over 170 meals.

On Saturday, Dec. 18, there will be a giant fundraiser to celebrate Haiti’s strength and perseverance. The word giant is no mere hyperbole, either.

The music will be giant. Kahoots, Master Exploder, Philly D., Goodnight Louise, Deeja Di, DCLA, Island Thunder, Mercy Beat, Erich Luening, Meghan LaRoque, Rick Bausman and the Drum Workshop and Kevin Keady are all in, and the list is growing.

The activities will be giant. There will be a potluck, an art auction, hula hooping with Coco the Clown, and much, much more, organizers promise.

Tisbury Travel Club

The Tisbury Travel Club is headed to Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts to be exact.

The club will be heading out on Jan. 10 leaving on the 8:15 a.m. boat and returning at 5 p.m.

The cost for the trip to Boston is $42, which includes admission to the museum. The travel club is a nonprofit organization and anyone can take part in the trip.

For more information on the current special exhibits showing at the museum visit mfa.org.

To make a reservation, call 508-696-4205.

Goethals — Merry

Sam and Edie Goethals of Needham and West Chop announce the engagement of their daughter Lauren Goethals to Joseph Merry, son on David and Jeanne Merry of West Tisbury.

A September 2011 wedding on the Vineyard is planned.

You would never think that Jan Riley was trigger-happy.

She is a gentlewoman to the core, no Annie Oakley here. It was not a gun that gave her the itchy finger, nor the brief but insistent call of hunting season.

Here it is heading into actual winter and I have yet to get my bulbs into dirt. I do have to give myself a bit of credit, however, since I was much more moderate in my ordering than in the past.

Turkey and black vultures have been reported recently in Vineyard Haven. Rob and Wendy Culbert suggest that there is a winter roost of vultures somewhere in Vineyard Haven. I suggest it might be in the area between the Tisbury town hall and the Old Stone (Sovereign) Bank.

Editor’s Note: The following essay and accompanying photograph are taken from the book Martha’s Vineyard Now and Zen by Susan Klein and Alan Brigish. They appear here with permission and were submitted to the Gazette by the authors this week to mark the occasion of the change in ownership last week. Martha’s Vineyard Now and Zen is for sale in Island bookstores and online at mv-zen.com.