First Parish To Host First Democracy Festival

BREWSTER – Is all politics local, as former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Tip O’Neill said during his 20th-century tenure?

The congregation of the First Parish Brewster Unitarian Universalist Church — First Parish for short — believes that at least in part to be true. 

First Parish is hosting its first Democracy Festival on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the 1969 Main St. church.

The event’s goal, according to a church press release, is “to celebrate the democratic and civic values that unite us” as the country heads into the midterm election. “This Cape-wide Democracy Festival will inspire and connect people with meaningful ways to strengthen our democracy, protect our rights, and become active participants in civic life.”

Along with a Harvard professor who has written two books on democracy as a keynote speaker, the Democracy Festival will offer a visit from “Braver Angels,” a national organization that specializes in creating meaningful conversations and common ground between those whose political views differ, and opportunities to sign up to volunteer for any of 19 local and regional nonprofit organizations that will be onsite to explain their work. 

There will also be food trucks and family-oriented activities, and tents if it rains.

Most of the groundwork to prepare for what could become an annual First Parish event was done over the past six months by a committee of eight congregation members. Two members of that committee, Mark Culinane and Diane Barry Preston, spoke about how the Democracy Fest came about and what attendees can expect. 

“It’s based on a successful model that one of our members knew about as a congregant at a Universalist church in Concord,” Culinane said, adding, “and it’s my understanding that other organizations around the country sponsor something similar.”

He described one central goal of the day: “Our ambition is to kind of create a pathway to participation for community members who are looking to get involved, looking to be engaged on issues they care about.”

Not entirely coincidentally, 2026 is the 325th anniversary of the First Parish Brewster’s founding. Culinane said the Democracy Festival follows in the church’s traditions.

“One of the values of the First Parish Brewster is service, particularly community service, and finding ways to make the community around us more vibrant and stronger,” he said. “So it’s really consistent with that value, in that we want to continue to give people the opportunity to engage on the issues about which they care, particularly in an environment in which their democratic institutions are at times under threat. The nice thing about local and state organizations, the one participating in this event, is that individuals will have agency. You really can make a difference.”

With that in mind, Culinane said organizers asked the nonprofits that will be onsite “to bring at least one upcoming event” for which they need volunteers to play specific roles. 

As examples, he said, if the League of Women Voters and the Audubon Society recruit more volunteers, the festival will be a success, he said. 

First Parish congregant Barry Preston was happy to volunteer to serve on the Democracy Festival organizing committee. 

“I’ve found such a great community of such great people with a lot of social justice callings,” Barry Preston said. “So when this idea came up I said I’d love to help.” 

She said the committee is excited to have signed on as the day’s keynote speaker Harvard University’s Danielle Allen, the director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School and the author of a new book, “Radical Duke,” about an English royal who supported the American Revolution.

According to a First Parish Brewster press release, Allen “will discuss the challenges facing our democracy and the role each of us can play in protecting it.” Copies of her new book will be available through the Brewster Book Store. 

Barry Preston said Allen waived a speaking fee, while the book store agreed separately to provide her books for sale. “She didn’t even ask us for that,” Barry Preston said. “She just liked the opportunity to speak to this group.”

Barry Preston said she is also excited about “all four facets of this (festival).” She started with the “Braver Angels” organization, which she said was founded to help “bridge the divide” that so many experience right now. 

“We all talk about people sitting around the Thanksgiving table or across the fence who don’t share views, and these days we tend to be suspicious of people who don’t think like we do,” she said. “So it’s important to reflect about and agree on what our shared values are. And I believe we have a lot more in common than we give ourselves credit for.”

She said Braver Angels members “will speak and provide some tips and pointers on how to have conversations on shared values, not to change people’s minds about how they think, but to be more respectful, to understand people beyond just their political views,” Barry Preston said. 

Meanwhile, 19 local and regional non-profits will set up tables that Saturday and explain what they have to offer.

“That’s an opportunity for people to talk with AAPC (The Association for Preservation of Cape Cod), or the League of Women Voters, all kinds of different groups,” Barry Preston said. (For a full list of organizations, visit fpbuu.org/events-at-fpbuu/.) “Tables will be set up all four hours, so people can wander around to them and talk to them, and they’ll share ways that people can be more engaged at the local level in issues that are important like climate change and voters’ rights and helping women and children.”

The day will also offer a panel conversation about housing, which Barry Preston called “one of the biggest needs” on Cape Cod.

Several local officials will sit on a panel moderated by State Representative Julian Cyr: Brewster Select Board member Amanda Bebrin, also the director of housing advocacy at the Community Development Partnership; Orleans Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development Elizabeth Jenkins; and Brewster Assistant Town Manager Donna Kalinick.

“They will talk about what they are doing to try to address the problem,” Barry Preston said.

Barry Preston said the First Parish Brewster’s husband and wife ministers, Rev. Julia Jones and Rev. Scot Hull, are reaching out to other regional churches’ religious leaders and asked them to invite their parishioners to come to what will be a non-partisan event. And organizers put up flyers in Eastham, Orleans, Dennis, Harwich and Yarmouth and took out newspaper ads.

“We wanted to open it up to the whole community, and not just Brewster,” Barry Preston said. “This is not a denominational thing. This is a civic exercise.

“This is sort of a celebration of the values we hold dear,” Barry Preston said. “It’s really looking at what is the state of our democracy now, what can we do to strengthen it, how can we strengthen our commitment to our neighbors, and serve needs greater than our own.”