WTZQ AND SUNDAY MORNING HYMN TIME PRESENT
THE CHURCH BULLETIN BOARD
Local and out of town announcements for special services and gospel concerts are listed – along with local church and club announcements for regular weekly or monthly events.
If you have something you would like listed on WTZQ’s Church Bulletin Board send it via email to wtzqchurchbulletins@gmail.com
Special Notice: If your church has special services or singings coming up that you would like to promote on the Sunday Morning Hymn Time Page of WTZQ.COM and to have announced on the Sunday Morning Hymn Time Radio Program –please send an e-mail to: wtzqchurchbulletins@gmail.com
# # #St. John in the Wilderness – Church Trail System Opening
One of the oldest churches in the mountains, St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock, will soon share its wooded acreage with hikers and nature lovers. The church will open a new trail system called The Trails of St. John the weekend of September 6 -7 at 1895 Greenville Highway, approximately two miles south of downtown Hendersonville.
All are invited to celebrate this special event. The ribbon cutting for the Grand Opening of The Trails of St. John will take place Sunday, September 7, at 1:00 p.m. Members of Holy Hikes WNC are expected to attend as the national chapter salutes five years of monthly hikes across North and South Carolina mountain trails.
The expansive wooded setting in the heart of Flat Rock recently revealed long hidden historical and archaeological secrets. The new trails meander along the west side of Greenville Highway intersecting the nearly disappeared “Old Jerusalem Path” which connected the parsonage with the church in the 1800s.
These discoveries and the proximity to nearby Carl Sandburg National Historic Site suggested a ripe opportunity for a new trail system featuring the “New Jerusalem Path” at the Trails of St. John, now available to church and community members for recreation and contemplation. Reverend Joshua Stephens, church Rector, prays that “our community will find inspiration as well as rest and renewal here on this holy ground.”
Long before the railroad opened up Western North Carolina, Charlestonians endured a week-long carriage ride on rough dirt roads to escape the heat and disease of low country summers. They made Flat Rock their “Little Charleston of the Mountains” each May through September. In 1827, Charles and Susan Baring built their summer home and a chapel which became St. John in the Wilderness, the first Episcopal church in WNC, now on the National Register of Historic Sites. The church witnessed the tribulations of slavery and Civil War as well as the joys and sorrows of the last two centuries while growing and serving Flat Rock and the larger community.
The Trails of St. John will be open to the public from dawn to dusk each day with information posted at kiosks on the property. Special events highlight the opening weekend. A children’s mountain bike race will be held Saturday, September 6 from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm. To register, visit www.stjohnflatrock.org/sjw-mtb. After the 11:00 am church service on Sunday, refreshments will be served at 12:30 pm before the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1:00 pm.
For more information, visit the website: www.stjohnflatrock.org/trails.
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Friends of Music and the Arts Presents Amber Joy Koeppen – Award Winning Harpist
Amber Joy Koeppen brings her angelic harp playing to St. John in the Wilderness Sunday, September 21 at 4:00 p.m. for a free concert in the spacious Parish Hall at 1905 Greenville Highway across from the church in Flat Rock. Handicapped accessibility and free parking are available. Donations will be gratefully accepted for the Friends of Music and the Arts Series.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible has numerous references to harp music which has been said to have healing properties. One of the oldest musical instruments in the world, the harp originated in Mesopotamia more than 2,000 years ago.
Classically trained, Amber Joy Koeppen mastered the modern harp more than 20 years ago, winning First Place in the Rosen-Schaffer Competition for Young and Emerging Artists. She has continued to receive many awards for her solo concert performances while also performing with the New York City Ballet, the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Teaching children and Adults in her private music studio enables Amber Joy to share her passion for artistic excellence and creativity with her students who are also award-winning active musicians. In addition to her promotion of arts education, she currently serves as Director for Appalachian State’s Community Music School providing musical education in the North Carolina High Country in partnership with Hayes School of Music.
The September 21 concert will feature an afternoon of harp music highlighting works of composers such as Gliere, Piazzolla, Debussy, Salzedo and more.
Harpist Amber Koeppen will share an eclectic collection of some of her favorite works for solo harp and will also be joined by two special guest students for the incredible experience of hearing three harps playing together. Come enjoy an engaging concert full of great music and interesting stories.
For more information visit www.stjohnflatrock.org
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Learn about Flat Rock History: Tours Continue for St. John in the Wilderness
Exploring local history is available this summer on select Saturday mornings with tours of the Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock.
The guided tours of the church are led by church docents. The historically significant churchyard contains graves of distinguished political figures and local citizens as well as those of unnamed 19th-century enslaved people.
Tours start inside the Carriage Door entrance of the Church promptly at 11 a.m. and last about an hour. They are available on the first and third Saturdays of the month through September. October through December, tours will be held on the third Saturday only. There will be no rain dates and participants are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes.
“One of the joys of attending a beautiful holy place like St. John in the Wilderness is sharing it with our visitors. Our history is intertwined not just with the history of Flat Rock, but with that of coastal South Carolina, the home of our founders and earliest congregants,” said lead docent Polly Morrice.
The tours are free, but reservations must be made online through the church’s website, www.stjohnflatrock.org/tours. Space is limited for each tour.
“As docents, we strive to communicate the sweep of what happened and how it shaped us, the good and the sometimes painful,” Morrice reflected. “We do like to remind visitors that St. John is not a museum, but a vibrant, welcoming church. We’re still moving forward and welcome all who would like to make more history with us.”
The church is located at 1895 Greenville Highway. For more information call the church office at 828-693-9783 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.
St. John in the Wilderness History
In 1827, Charles Baring, a member of the Baring banking family of England, built a home in Flat Rock. He and his wife, Susan, wanted a summer place to escape the oppressive heat, humidity, and malaria of the South Carolina Low Country where they lived.
The Barings built a chapel on the property of their newly constructed home. Soon after it was built, the small wooden structure burned down in a woods fire. In 1833, work began on a second church built of handmade brick.
In August 1836, the Barings deeded their chapel to the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and 20 members of the Flat Rock “summer colony” of Low Country planters and merchants formed an Episcopal parish. In the 1890’s, St. John in the Wilderness became part of the Diocese of Western North Carolina; it is the oldest parish in that diocese.
With almost all its congregation traveling home to the Low Country after the summer season, the church operated mainly during that season for its first 120 years. So rapid was the growth of the Flat Rock summer community during the 1830’s and 1840’s, however, that the parish membership outgrew the small chapel. In the early 1850’s, the decision was made to rebuild the church, doubling its size. The English chapel-style structure that stands today is, with only a few minor modifications, the church that was completed in 1852.
The tours are free but advance reservations must be made online through the church’s website, www.stjohnflatrock.org/tours. Space is limited for each tour.
The historically significant churchyard contains graves of distinguished political figures and local citizens as well as those of unnamed 19th-century enslaved persons. “As docents, we strive to communicate the sweep of what happened and how it shaped us, the good and the sometimes painful,” Morrice reflected. “We do like to remind visitors that St. John is not a museum, but a vibrant, welcoming church. We’re still moving forward, and welcome all who would like to make more history with us.”
The church is located at 1895 Greenville Highway. For more information call the church office at 828-693-9783 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.
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