Pam Lindsey and Kim Cheves led the 15 three-year-olds in the performance. A couple of children had to warm up to the occasion, perhaps longing for more sleep in their pjs! Others enthusiastically participated, with one little girl even creating her own dance moves. They danced to Frosty the Snowman, performing choreography with their black, plastic top hats. They shook wrist-rattle jinglers to accompany their singing of a bee-bop version of Jingle Bells – a big hit. They sang the “good-bye” song, with the lyrics “please remember, I love you”… and a couple of children had to take a break to run across the room and give Mommy a hug. At the performance’s conclusion, each child was invited to speak into the microphone and tell the audience his or her name. Then, as quickly as they arrived, they were gone, and the next class began to pour in to perform for their parents. This scene played out, with varying details, eight times during the day. Had I been Pam or Kim, I would have dropped onto the floor out of utter exhaustion after the final class left the room!

Thank you, Pam and Kim, for leading these fine performances. I am sure the memories of the event will be a gift treasured by the parents, grandparents, teachers, and children for many Christmases to come.—TRS
 

SONGS AND STORIES AROUND THE CORNER

On December 31, the countdown to the new year wasn’t the only countdown going on… you may not know it, but we also have a countdown running until the Winged for the Heart: Folk Songs and Stories event.

The time is near – 8:00 pm on Saturday, January 27, 2007. The place is here – Performing Arts Center at Fannin County High School. The leaders are dear – Dr. Fred Craddock and Dr. Steve Darsey. Have no fear – admission is free. –TRS
 

REVISITING THE “WOMEN’S SPHERE”

It’s hard to believe this is the third year in the Helen Lewis Lecture Series! We know you will want to be present for Dr. Bill Leonard’s lecture Friday, March 2, 2007. The topic he has selected is this: Revisiting the “Woman’s Sphere”: Implicit and Explicit “Feminism” in Appalachian Churches.

Dr. Bill J. Leonard is dean and professor of church history at Wake Forest University Divinity School in Winston-Salem, NC. He has held teaching posts at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Samford University, and Seinan Gakuin University (Fukuoka, Japan). Dr. Leonard holds the B.A. from Texas Wesleyan College, the M.Div. from a Baptist seminary, and the Ph.D. from Boston University. He is the author or editor of 15 books, including A Dictionary of Baptists in America, Christianity in Appalachia: Profiles in Regional Pluralism, and Baptist Ways: A History, a survey of Baptist history from 1600 to 2000 (Judson Press 2003). His most recent book is entitled Baptists in America, published by Columbia University Press (2005).
Immediately prior to Dr. Leonard’s lecture, we will enjoy music from Blue Ridge Grass. This five-member local group is a true crowd-pleaser; you may wish to visit their website – www.blueridgegrass.com - and enjoy a sample of their music prior to March 2!

The music begins at 7:00 pm. As are all of our programs, the event is free of charge. The venue will be the Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Center – aka the old Fannin County Courthouse – located at 420 West Main Street in Blue Ridge. If you need directions or have questions, please give us a shout. I look forward to seeing you there! - TRS
 

THE GRAND TALLY

Of the coins, that is…
A few folks braved the cool weather and dropped by for the Coins for Craddock celebration in mid-December. We are glad they came. Others brought their coins by, and others mailed checks that equaled the amount of their collected coins. Whatever the method, we are grateful for your generosity.

The grand total of money raised via Coins for Craddock during 2006 was $1,695.43. Not bad at all, especially given that we started this program mid-year. A special thanks to all who participated. Now, I invite you to ring in the new year with a new jar! -TRS


GOODSEARCH

One morning mid-December, I received a check in the mail for the Center for $7.27. Having received several similar “checks” at my home, I was skeptical. Usually, endorsement means I’ve signed up for a travel club, or credit card insurance, or a host of similar programs that can only get you to enroll by using such means. I decided to do a little research, and I found that we have an unknown friend, or friends, that signed us up to participate in a little program called “goodsearch”.

I ask you to join them. Doing what? Searching the internet. For each search you do through goodsearch, the Center receives one penny. It can really add up. Think of it as a coinless “Coins for Craddock”!
Here’s how it works: each time you search the internet, you go to goodsearch.com instead of google, atla vista, or whatever search engine you normally use. The first time you go to goodsearch, you type “Craddock Center” in the box that asks “who do you goodsearch for?”. Then, you type in your search text. The next time you visit goodsearch, the site remembers that your searches benefit the Center, so you don’t have to re-enter that information.

That’s it. It’s not a scam. If 100 of our friends do two searches per day, the Center will receive a check for $730 at the end of the year. The more you search, the more is donated to the Center. There’s even a progress meter so you can see throughout the year how many searches benefited the Center each month.
The searches are powered by yahoo, so the search results should meet your expectations.
My gratitude to whomever enrolled the Center in this program. What a brilliant idea!

Do you goodsearch? - TRS


I DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW OLD I AM

Let me explain. We had a calendar in my childhood home. The Depression was on and luxuries did not exist, but we had a calendar. It was a large calendar, hanging in the kitchen on the wall beside the fireplace. We seldom used that fireplace since the cook stove heated the kitchen. The calendar came from a drugstore and it carried bold advertisements of Lydia Pinkham’s Compound. At suppertime, on the last day of each month, with some ceremony and wise sayings about the passing of time, Momma tore off that month, revealing a new month about which she spoke with hope for better days. After supper Daddy cut the numbers of the old month into squares and taught us games with the numbers. He called it “ciphering”.

One year, at the end of November, Momma inadvertently tore off both November and December. She laid December on a table, while on the wall Lydia Pinkham was boldly announcing January. The putting of January of the next year at the end of every calendar was well intended, I am sure, but in our home that year it proved to be disconcerting and confusing. We still had December, to be sure, but it was on the table, and from the table Daddy took it. Meaning no harm, with no malice aforethought, and totally unaware of the anxieties about to be released, he rolled December into a taper, stuck one end into the fire, lit his roll-your-own cigarette, and tossed the still burning taper on the hearth where it burned itself out. December was gone.

We had good parents and they did the best they could guessing what day it was. But guessing won’t cut it in December; December has Christmas in it. No child should have to ask: “Is it Christmas yet?” And certainly no child should get the answer: “We’re not sure.” But awful as all this was, an even darker thought hung heavy in the mind: How many other months have been lost in similar fashion? Have there been other 11-month years? Or perhaps 10-month years?

So all my life, I have made adjustments in my calculations, and, I must admit, usually in my favor. Am I 43 years old? I’ll take that. But on honest days (and they are few) when someone asks, “Fred, how old are you?” I come clean and say, “Probably 107, give or take.”

In the meantime, Happy New Year, whenever that is.—FBC

RENEWAL TIME

For those who pledged to participate in the Children’s Enrichment Program scholarship drive, we invite you to submit your payment for year two. We receive calls and emails from time to time by folks wondering how much they have paid and how much they owe – if you would like such guidance, we’re happy to accommodate your wishes!

Let me again express our deepest thanks for your support. The scholarships have been essential to the program’s operation, and will continue to be. If you’ve never officially signed up, you may still do so – all that is required is a willing heart and whatever money you can spare to help this program. –TRS

Fast Facts:

• Number of children served weekly by Children’s Enrichment Program: 940
• Ages of children served by the program: 3 to 5 years old
• Program put on at Head Start and PreK Centers in these counties: Gilmer, Fannin, Pickens, Union, Towns, Cherokee (NC), Polk (TN)
• 90% of children in Head Start must come from families below the federal poverty line.

We extend you our best wishes for a blessed and happy 2007!