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
“Empty Bowls” Benefiting Flat Rock Backpack Program Scheduled for May 17, 2026
Local ceramic artists have begun to fire up their kilns for the 9th year to help hungry children across Henderson County. The Empty Bowls organization will serve a community meal benefiting the Flat Rock Backpack Program Sunday, May 17, in the Parish Hall of the Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock.
Advanced tickets are strongly recommended for the two seatings: 12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Attendees of the event may come any time during their seating window. Each ticket includes your choice of one hand-crafted bowl (all donated by area potters) and a soup-based meal with a variety of soups, breads, and homemade cookies. For those wishing to eat at home, take-away is an available option.
Tickets are $30 per person. Children under 12 eat free. Limited tickets may be available at the door on the day of the event. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.stjohnflatrock.org/empty-bowls.
Debby Staton, Flat Rock Backpack Program Coordinator said, “We are deeply appreciative of our community who keep us on their radar, always willing to pitch in as we continue meeting the needs of those who are food insecure.”
Please join us for this fun community event. Donations are gratefully accepted throughout the year. The Flat Rock Backpack Program has 501c-3 non-profit status with 100% of money collected going to feed children in six schools every weekend.
The Parish Hall is located across the street from the church at 1905 Greenville Highway. For more information write to emptybowls@stjohnflatrock.org or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.
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The Feast of St. John Helps Helene Survivors – Sunday, June 21 at Hubba Hubba Smokehouse
The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness invites you to celebrate its patron saint, John the Baptist, with the Feast of St. John. The sixth annual celebration will be held from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, 2026 at Hubba Hubba Smokehouse, located on Little Rainbow Row at 2724 Greenville Highway in Flat Rock.
The family-friendly celebration features food, fellowship and live music with the return of North Carolina based Chatham Rabbits. Sarah and Austin McCombie tour nationwide, have released four full-length records and still find time to run their farm in Chatham County.
Even though the event is free, this is a fundraiser for the ongoing Hurricane Helene Relief efforts in Bat Cave, Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. The funds will go to the Church of the Transfiguration in Bat Cave. Father John Roberts of the parish said, “Our focus is on meeting specific unmet financial needs for our community. Everything given to our Hurricane Recovery fund is restricted for rebuilding purposes. This is an ongoing effort and that will continue this year. Last year, we distributed over $105,000 out of this fund for unmet needs, small grants, and rebuilding efforts to over 50 households.”
Donation receptacles will be present at the event. For anyone wishing to donate outside the event, visit www.stjohnflatrock.org/donate. Check the box to write a comment and type “Feast of St. John.”
Guests should arrive early to get their food order in and find a seat. Yard games will be offered for children. Barbecue and other family-favorite foods and beverages will be available for purchase at Hubba Hubba Smokehouse. Seating at the picturesque outdoor courtyard is limited, so guests are encouraged to bring portable chairs.
If rain spoils the outdoor fun, the concert will begin at 6:00 p.m. inside the Parish Hall of the church at 1905 Greenville Highway in Flat Rock. Food will not be offered. For more information, visit www.stjohnflatrock.org or call 828-693-9783.
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Learn about Flat Rock History – Tours Continue at St. John in the Wilderness
Spring into local history as tours resume of the 175-year-old church building and grounds of the Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock. Church docents lead the guided tours of the church and churchyard.
Held on the third Saturdays of the month March through December, tours start inside the Church at 11 a.m. and last about an hour. Additional tours are offered on the first Saturday of the month from June through September. There are no rain dates and participants are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes.
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.“We are so fortunate to be able to share the story of this beautiful holy place with visitors. Our history has its roots in both the mountain community of Flat Rock and in coastal South Carolina, the home of our founders and early congregants,” said lead docent Polly Morrice.
The historically significant churchyard contains graves of notable historic figures and local citizens as well as those of unnamed 19th-century enslaved persons.
After the tour ends, participants may choose to explore the recently opened Trails of St. John, located behind the Parish Hall complex, directly across Rutledge Drive from the church.
“Our aim as docents is to convey what has shaped us, both the painful and the good, ranging from Civil War bushwhackers to Carl Sandburg’s memorial service,” Morrice reflected. “We do stress that St. John is not a museum, but a vibrant, welcoming church. We 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.