The Monteagle Sunday School Assembly in Monteagle continues its 142nd consecutive summer season of enrichment with an interdenominational worship service at 11 a.m. in the Assembly’s Warren Chapel. The season will continue through Sunday, Aug. 4, featuring numerous visiting lecturers who will present morning and evening programs that are open free of charge to the public; unless otherwise noted, morning lectures begin at 10:45 a.m. and evening lectures at 7:45 p.m. Anyone interested in a full schedule of the Monteagle Assembly’s 2024 program is welcome to pick one up at the Assembly Office (tel. (931) 924-2286), or to peruse the schedule on the Assembly’s website at <www.mssa1882.org>.

After working in public health for five years, Jill Melton helped bring Cooking Light, a magazine in Birmingham, Alabama, from infancy to a household name. She used that experience when she moved to Nashville, where she started Relish magazine — a publication that grew to become one of the largest food publications in the country with more than 16 million readers. For her next challenge, Melton cashed in her 401K — no investors involved — to start Edible Nashville, which is part of the Edible Communities (ECI) network. ECI has more than 80 magazines throughout the US and Canada, all run by independent publishers and editors. ECI harnesses the power of all the local markets to expand the voice and action. Since the first issue rolled out in March/April 2014, Jill has grown Edible Nashville to a 360 brand, complete with signature Farm Dinners taking place three times a year, cooking classes, partnerships, a robust website, newsletters and an active presence in the local farm to table movement. She will lecture on “How to Eat with the Season and the Importance of It” Thursday morning in the Auditorium.

The next day, visitors will continue on the theme of eating well with a lecture from Perre Coleman Magness, a freelance food writer, recipe developer, and the cook behind the website The Runaway Spoon, which features creative recipes with a southern slant. Known as PC, Magness describes herself as “like most people,” in that she’s somewhere “between a food snob and a food schlub.” Her Friday morning lecture, taking place in the Auditorium, is on “Re-Discovering Southern Food and Writing About It.”

Political scientist and Ole Miss faculty coach Liz Norell will explore how themes in George Washington’s Farewell Address can help us understand what to do in this fraught political moment in a pop-up lecture Monday at 2:30 pm in Warren Chapel. This addition to the program aims to provide understanding of the political forces that have created our fractured politics—and actionable ways to push back against the forces seeking to divide us further.

Additional events in the week ahead include the following:

Tuesday, July 23, 10:45 a.m., Warren Chapel — Janet Riley lectures on Journey Through the Chautauqua Trail: Finding Meaning, Inspiration, and Relevance in a 150-year-old Movement.

Tuesday/Thursday, July 23 & 25, 2:30 p.m., Pulliam Center — Mauro Antonio Barreto leads a two-day photography workshop. Advance registration required as space is limited; gate ticket required each day; no fee.

Tuesday, July 23, 2:30 p.m., Writers’ Grove — Janet Riley reads from her forthcoming book, “Chautauqua Summers.” Rain location is Warren Chapel.

Wednesday, July 24, 10:45 a.m., Warren Chapel—Ned Murray lectures on the Cumberland Plateau Trails.

Wednesday, July 24, 1:30 p.m., Meet at Auditorium — Ned Murray leads a trail hike. Advance registration required; no fee.

Wednesday, July 24, 2:30-4:30 p.m., Shady Dell — Make-and-Take Workshop with Virginia Curry to create zentangle decorative balls. Advance registration required; limited space; $10 materials fee.

Thursday, July 25, 7:45 p.m., Auditorium — the MSSA Archives Committee features an encore of “Hear Them Now: Lost Voices of the Assembly,” with Richard Boeth.

The Mission of the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly is to be a welcoming community of Christian faith where people gather to engage in spiritual growth and renewal, lifelong inquiry and learning, recreational, and cultural enrichment, while being good stewards of our natural resources and our Assembly heritage.