Welcome to the Fall 2022 Cobscook Currents, the bi-annual newsletter of Cobscook Institute. “Wake” is the theme of this edition. Its dual meanings: “remembrance” and “return to consciousness” can be traced in the lines of the articles that follow. In 2001, during a retreat dedicated to articulating the values of Cobscook, Wayne Newell, a co-founder, inspired the group to place “love” as the central hub of all other facets of our guiding values. We remember Wayne and other important friends recently departed in this edition.

Last year more than 70 of us came together to grow our Access Fund, from matching donors to individuals who care about access, to raise an additional $22,000. The fund allows everyone in our community to participate in programming at Cobscook Institute regardless of their ability to pay.

“Have you hired a new director yet?” A community member recently asked Kara McCrimmon.

“Well,” she said, “We did just hire a new co-director. We don’t have just one executive director anymore. We’re trying something different.”

In 2018, Cobscook began the process of transitioning from a founding director to a new generation of leadership. It is a generation of equality of voice, shared vision and collective action. This transition has taken several forms, and by remaining focused on our mission and our values, we’ve settled on a model that fits who we are and who we want to be.

At Cobscook Institute, our vision has always been of a community that respects people and planet, and inspires, supports and sustains people to achieve their greatest potential. One of the ways we embody our vision is to hold a space that fosters respect for all people, because we can only achieve that goal when we are affirmed, loved, and seen for who we really are. That’s why our ongoing partnership with the Traveling Rainbow Project, led by the Downeast Rainbow Alliance (DRA), is crucial for furthering our mission of strengthening personal, community and global well-being.

Early on in Cobscook Institute’s story, Mary Belenky, a beloved educator and author of the notable “Women’s Ways of Knowing” and other works, gifted Cobscook with the tagline “your community home place.” Mary, who taught at the first Cobscook Gatherings two decades ago, passed peacefully with her husband by her side in 2020. While she has passed on, her gift to us remains. As a “homeplace,” Cobscook serves as a space to gather and learn together, make music, share meals, and celebrate the seasons. Increasingly, it’s also a place where the community comes together to mourn and remember. With nearly 20 years of rooting in this place on the shores of East Stream, people have gathered many times to remember members of the Cobscook community who have made a mark on this place and in our hearts.

As we awaken from the isolation of the pandemic we are investing in our community programming. Building programming is human-centered work – cultivating instructors, conducting social outreach, and building bridges. It feels like watering mint plants on our campus patio and welcoming a new visitor. It is walking down one of our many trails with a community member who has ideas they want to bring to life - and taking the time to listen and share and make plans for the next step. It is spreadsheets, web designs and phone calls and more visits. It is how the people of this place actualize our mission.