The Monteagle Sunday School Assembly in Monteagle continues its 141st consecutive summer season of enrichment through Sunday, Aug. 6, featuring numerous visiting lecturers who will present morning and evening programs in the Auditorium 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 2023 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>.

Nationally recognized photographer Stephen Alvarez is passionate about preserving and sharing humanity’s oldest artworks—that’s why he founded the Ancient Art Archive in 2016. The project works to capture the earliest artworks around the globe, using photography and the newest image-based virtual reality technology. Alvarez is also an award-winning National Geographic photographer, filmmaker and explorer. The magazine has featured his work more than a dozen times, including on the cover of the July 2023 issue. Alvarez will share his stories and work in a Thursday evening lecture in the Auditorium: “The Art Beneath Our Feet: Discovering the Largest Cave Art in the Americas is On the Cumberland Plateau.”

Surely you’ve noticed brightly painted patterns on the sides of barns as you’re driving around. But how did this movement of quilt-like decorations get their start? Elizabeth Curtis will lecture Tuesday morning on “Barn Quilts: How They Started and Where They’re Going.” Curtis is the owner of Liz’s Barn Quilts. Her passion for this movement inspired her to help establish the St. Claire County Quilt Trail in Michigan, which has resulted in more than 1,000 barn quilts in 45 states.

This week’s Plateau talk and excursion features Stephanie Colchado-Kelley, who will lecture Wednesday morning on “What We Learn From the Land: Indigenous Narratives on the South Cumberland Plateau.” Colchado-Kelley is no stranger to many of us on the Plateau; through her work with the Office of Civic Engagement at Sewanee, as well as her advocacy for food access and community wellness through the nonprofit Growing Roots. Colchado-Kelley will lead a Plateau walk on the theme of “The Native Plant Space” at 1 p.m., Wednesday; meet at the Front Gate to join the walk.

This theme runs through the week’s subsequent morning lectures, too. Jess Wilson will lecture Thursday morning on “The Future of Farming and Rural Communities.” Wilson is perhaps best known locally for her years of service in the Rooted Here farmer’s market that shares local farmers’ bounties at the Sewanee Community Center. She is the president of the Southeast Tennessee Young Farmers Coalition. On Friday, Katharine Ray will lecture on “Navigating Nutrition.” Ray is the executive director of the Heimerdinger Foundation, an organization that provides about 800 meals per week to people facing cancer in the Nashville area.