News

LOCAL BRIEFS: 'A Christmas Memory,' Bounty is back, organ recital

By Lightning Reports, Published: November 4, 2021

Haire to present Capote story at St. John church

Truman Capote’s story, A Christmas Memory, will be presented as a one-man show by actor and theologian E.R. Haire Jr. at the Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness at 2 p.m. will be held Saturday, Dec. 18, and Sunday, Dec. 19. The performance will be in the Wilderness Room on Rutledge Drive across from the sanctuary.

The show is free to the public but attendance is limited to 30 people per performance and RSVP is required. Visit stjohnflatrock.org to sign up. Face masks and physical distancing are required. Temperatures will be taken at the door.

A Christmas Memory takes place during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Until he was 10 years old, Truman Capote lived with elderly relatives in a small town in rural Alabama. The story is a frankly autobiographical account of those years, especially of his relationship with one of the elderly cousins, Miss Sook Faulk.

The greatest examples of Capote’s skillfulness as a writer are found among the stories inspired by his early childhood and the relationships he forged growing up in the rural South.

A Christmas Memory first appeared in Mademoiselle magazine in the late 1950s, when Capote was 27 years old, and has since become one of his most beloved and bestselling works.

Capote was a flamboyant figure in both literary and cultural circles. Controversial, colorful and complex, he was a writer of uncommon grace. His best-known works include Breakfast at Tiffany’s, In Cold Blood, Other Voices Other Rooms, and The Grass Harp. Mr. Capote died in 1984 at the age of 59.

Earle Ross (E.R.) Haire Jr., PhD, is a native of North Carolina. His professional achievements combine acting and theology. In Los Angeles, he worked as an actor and at Paramount Studios. He earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree from Yale University Divinity School, focusing on drama and worship. In 2017 he earned a PhD. In Theology and Ethics from the University of the Edinburgh in Scotland.
Bounty returns in new location
After restrictions made it impossible for Bounty to serve its annual Christmas dinner in 2020, we are happy to say it has returned. This year brings many changes including a new location. Safety protocols are calling the event to be a take-out only event.
Immaculata Catholic School graciously hosted this ecumenical event for almost all of the 38 years. They have been awarded a grant to create a STEM Lab for the school. This grant will remove the school’s commercial kitchen making it impossible to continue to serve as host.
“After searching for the right space, we were blessed to find the Salvation Army in Hendersonville, just a few blocks away to carry on our event,” organizers said.”
Captains Phillip and Sherrie Stokes along with the entire staff have welcomed the organizers and event with open arms.
“It just makes sense for us to help in this way and Bounty of Bethlehem seems to be a natural extension of our Christmas Assistance programs already in place,” Sherrie said.
While the event may look different with take-out only, the heart remains. The mission of Bounty of Bethlehem has always been to be a meal for the community by the community. In order to serve as safely as we can, the sit-down portion of the meal has been eliminated. However, paring down the sit-down aspect of the day will change some of the volunteers needed. “We still need volunteers”, says Joanne Mummert, volunteer coordinator for over 15 years. “The meal will still need to be prepared taking several days/hours and packaged for pick up.” Volunteer signup is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4.
Since the mid-1980s Henderson County volunteers and supporters have come together to host the Community Christmas Dinner by Bounty of Bethlehem. for anyone and everyone to enjoy, no matter who they are, how they worship, or from where they come. All are welcome. Meals will be available for pick up only beginning at 12:30 and will be available until 4 p.m. or until they run out. Salvation Army is located at 239 Grove Street. Donations can be mailed to PO Box 742 Horse Shoe, NC 28742.

Organists’ guild sponsors recital

The Blue Ridge Chapter of the American Guild of Organists will sponsor a Young Artists Recital at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, at Grace Lutheran Church. Performers include Nolan Anthony, Makena James, Hunter Holbert and Brett Levi.
The national organization of the American Guild of Organists was founded in 1896 as an educational and service organization with a mission to foster a thriving community of musicians who share their knowledge and inspire passion for the organ. It is the goal of the guild members to advance the cause of organ and choral music, to increase their contributions to aesthetic and religious experience and to improve the proficiency of organists and choral conductors.
Organists, pianists, choral directors, church musicians and lovers of church music who are looking for a support group, ideas, opportunities for learning and growth and sharing musical suggestions are invited to become members of the Blue Ridge Chapter. Members will be available to answer questions before and after the program. The public is invited. There is no admission charge, but donations are accepted. Masks are required.