Islanders Reverend Cathlin Baker and Bill Eville are this year’s recipients of the annual Creative Living Award. The designation, presented by the Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation, is a celebration of creativity, innovation, and community and was created to honor Ruth Bogan.
Baker is the minister and first female leader at First Congregational Church of West Tisbury, and her husband, Eville, is editor of the Vineyard Gazette.
“We are thrilled that Cathlin Baker and Bill Eville have graciously accepted this well-deserved honor,” said Paul Schulz, executive director of the foundation. “Cathlin and Bill have had an enormous impact on the Island since 2008.”
Baker and Eville made the permanent move to the Island 17 years ago with their children, Hardy and Eirene.
Baker has “taken an active role in addressing critical issues such as homelessness, food security, and human rights,” a press release about the award said. She’s served on the boards of Harbor Homes and leads the All-Island Clergy Association.
Eville spent summers on the Vineyard and can claim familial roots to the Island as far back as the 1700s. His memoir, “Washed Ashore,” was published in 2023, and he is the author of a weekly essay part of the Gazette’s email newsletters called “The Notebook.”
“Together with their children, they form a team, working on relentless weekly deadlines — the Gazette on Thursdays and church on Sundays — and committing to each other’s labors of love,” the press release said.
There will be a celebration in the fall in honor of the recipients.
Oh yippie! Two more worthy souls could not be found. Cathlin and Bill both stand for all that is good and brave and kind. Put together with their creativity and grace, they are examples of what is the best of us.
Hard to imagine a more fitting choice!
That’s right Kathie. Our best angels, in tandem.