New Memory Cafe Stirs Connection and Kinship for Persons with Dementia

Shelf Reflections

The newsletter of the John P. Webster Library at First Church, West Hartford August 14, 2026

NEW PROGRAM!

Memory Café

Wednesday, September 16, 2-4 p.m.

in the Library Reading Room

A Memory Café offers people with dementia and their care partners the opportunity to enjoy social interaction within a small group in a safe, welcoming environment with others who understand them because they share similar circumstances. Each month features conversation, community, refreshments, and uplifting activities, such as music, storytelling, therapy pet visits, crafts, and more.

The theme for the JPW Library's first Memory Café is Reflections: Growing Up. Program staff from the CT Museum of Culture and History will share images, artifacts, and music from the 1940s - 1960s to spark reminiscences and conversation. A dementia specialist and library staff will be available to offer support and ensure that everyone feels welcome.

Space is limited, and registration is required. To participate, each attendee must be accompanied by their care partner for the entire hour. Please call the JPW Library at 860-232-3893 or email us at jpwebster@whfirstchurch.org to register. Please tell us the names of both attendees and a telephone number or email at which you can be contacted.

The BOHMAN BOOK REVIEW

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert

In the last half billion years our planet has experienced 5 major mass extinctions, defined by Kolbert as times in which “the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted.” Science tells us that in this moment, we are experiencing the 6^th major mass extinction. In The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert, a writer for The New Yorker, describes each of the previous mass extinctions, and illuminates the drastic affects human beings have had on the planet. Importantly, while these have been disproportionately negative, Kolbert notes humans have the capacity to help, and we have done so in the recent past.

Kolbert writes about what can be a dense topic in an engaging and approachable manner. While the subject matter is distressing, she does not write to scare her audience. She writes simply to educate, and perhaps with the hope that upon realizing the situation we are in, we will choose to take action to care for all creatures on this planet.

-- Molly Bohman, Assistant Librarian

Introducing: Living Spirit, Living Justice

For generations, people of faith have heard God’s call to show up,

speak out, and serve, putting their beliefs into action through compassion

and outreach. At First Church, our outreach initiatives continue

that tradition every day.

Living Spirit, Living Justice explores the places

where faith, justice (or injustice) and action meet. We’ll welcome speakers

who invite us to think, learn, and consider how our faith can shape

the way we live and work in the world. Our first event is a guided

walking tour in Farmington to the sites connected to the

amazing story of the slave ship Amistad (details below).

I hope you will join us!

October Guided Walking Tour

The Odyssey of the Amistad: A Trail to Freedom

A Living Spirit, Living Justice Event

Saturday October 3, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

First Church of Christ, Farmington (75 Main St.)

Cost: $20 per person

In 1841, Farmington residents sheltered 38 people from the Mende tribe in Sierra Leone who had rebelled against enslavers and seized the slave ship Amistad. The town’s Congregational church and other abolitionists in the community welcomed the newly freed Africans and rallied behind the legal case that ultimately secured their freedom.

Join us as we explore the lives of the Mende people and the abolitionist-era people of Farmington. After a presentation at the church, guides will lead a 1.5-mile walking tour to key sites throughout the village. The tour will last 1.5 to 2 hours. The event runs rain or shine. Please see Jennifer with questions or concerns.