McGovern to give Ellsberg Lecture at UMass

AMHERST — U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern will deliver the fifth annual Ellsberg Lecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

McGovern’s talk, “The Patriotism of Peace and Democracy,” will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium and will be followed by a question-and-answer session. The event is free and open to the public.

The lecture comes a week before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Organizers said McGovern will discuss what he sees as the erosion of democracy in the United States and his vision for a more just world at home and abroad.

McGovern, who has served in Congress since 1997, is known for his work on hunger, human rights and foreign policy.

The lecture is hosted by UMass Amherst’s Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy, named for the late Daniel Ellsberg. In 1971, Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, a classified government history of the Vietnam War. The university’s Special Collections and University Archives acquired Ellsberg’s papers in 2019. The initiative hosts lectures, workshops, film screenings and other programs throughout the year.

For more information, visit eipad.org.

Haydenville church to hold lasagna, bake sale

HAYDENVILLE — There will be a homemade lasagna and bake sale this weekend, Oct.  10-11, from 12 to 2 p.m., at Haydenville Congregational Church.

Church cooks will sell homemade spinach and meat lasagna in half pans (four-plus servings, $25) and quarter pans (2-plus servings, $15) sizes. The lasagnas are fully baked and ready to be heated up or kept frozen for later. 

The church will also be selling a big range of baked goods, T-shirts, handmade aprons and more. Lasagna preorders will be filled first and remaining lasagna will be sold to walk-ins while supplies last.

A portion of the proceeds of the sale will go to support the Immigrant Solidarity Collective, a grassroots initiative spporting local families impacted by ICE. Preorder lasagnas by going to haydenvillechurch.org.

Peace walk Monday to follow Route 9

AMHERST — An interfaith peace walk honoring Indigenous Peoples Day and remembering peace activists Paki Wieland and Frances Crowe will follow Route 9 from Amherst to Northampton on Monday, Oct. 12.

The day begins at 8:45 a.m. with an interfaith worship service at Hope Community Church, 16 Gaylord St. The service will feature prayers and messages from local clergy and laity, drumming from the New England Peace Pagoda and a keynote by Associate Pastor Xinef Afrian.

Walkers will step off from the Amherst Town Common at about 10 a.m. for the roughly 9-mile walk. Stops include the Hampshire Mosque, 451 Russell St., Hadley, around 11 a.m., and the First Congregational Church of Hadley on Middle Street around 12:30 p.m.

The walk will end around 2 p.m. at the Friends Meetinghouse, 43 Center St., Northampton. A light potluck and a program honoring Wieland and Crowe will feature state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton. A silent, Quaker-style meeting for worship will follow around 5 p.m.

All times are approximate. Participants are welcome for any part of the day.

The walk was originally planned for July 4 but was postponed because of the heat.

Organizers are seeking walkers, support drivers, meetinghouse greeters and co-sponsors. For more information, contact Eric Wasileski at ericwasileski@gmail.com or 413-557-4536.

Cuppa Joe in Amherst will feature town clerk

AMHERST — Town Manager Paul Bockelman will be joined by Town Clerk Amber Martin at a Cuppa Joe conversation at Futura Coffee Roasters, 73 Cowls Road, Friday at 8 a.m.

Residents are invited to drop in to the 90-minute chat, being held in the Mill District in North Amherst, in advance of the Nov. 3 election.

Martin, whose tenure began in July 2025, set goals of expanding outreach to members of the public who haven’t typically voted, enfranchising the town’s student residents, developing better customer service standards, such as offering services in multiple languages and implementing more technology and online services.

In addition to overseeing elections, Martin’s office is responsible for maintaining accurate records, overseeing the census, posting public meetings, processing various licenses and responding to public records requests.