Email information about faith-based events and what’s going on at your place of worship at least two weeks in advance to Bruce Steele at bsteele@citizen-times.com and Carole Terrell at cterrell@ citizen-times.com.

Covell wins national Christmas card contest

FLAT ROCK – Local professional artist Joan Covell topped 47 other artists and 69 artwork submissions from around the U.S. to win the first Christmas card competition held by the National Episcopal Church. Her depiction of the nativity scene, titled “Good Tidings of Great Joy,” received the most votes cast online nationwide.

Covell lives in Flat Rock with her husband, Mike, and attends the Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness.

To download the card, visit http://episcopalchurch.org/page/2014-episcopal-church-christmas-card. To learn more about Joan Covell, visit www.viewpointbyjlc.com.

Lonesome Road at Bluegrass Bash

HENDERSONVILLE – The Lonesome Road band will perform at 7 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Bluegrass Bash at First Presbyterian Church, 699 N. Grove St. at Seventh Avenue. The concert is free and open to the public. Complimentary cookies and ice cream will be served.

The band, which has been performing together for more than 11 years in the Southeast, Germany and Austria, plays a variety of music, from traditional to classic. To learn more, call 692-3211.

Ethical society

plans Winter Festival

ASHEVILLE – The Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville will meet and host its Winter Festival 2014 from 2-3:30 p.m. Dec. 21 at The Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road.

Winter Festival 2014, presided over by member Tom Heffner in collaboration with Ethical Culture leader Joy McConnell, will feature a traditional candle lighting ceremony as well as “This I Believe” statements from some famous and some ordinary people, including some local members.

Following the meeting, informal conversation and light refreshments will be available.

To learn more, visit www.meetup.com/Ethical-Humanist-Society-of-Asheville or www.aeu.org or call 687-7759.

Graham Library hosts

Christmas celebration

CHARLOTTE – The Billy Graham Library’s seventh annual Christmas at the Library celebration runs until Dec. 23.

The celebration includes a live Nativity, horse-drawn carriage rides, Christmas storytime for children, carolers, a light display, an ornamented Christmas tree, holiday shopping and more. Carriage rides are $7 per adult and $3 per child younger than age 12.

New for 2014 is a Star of Bethlehem, which illuminates the sky above the Nativity. A Christmas dinner is available Thursday-Saturday for $18.95 per adult and $8.95 per child age 12 and younger. RSVP to 704-401-3200.

Admission and parking is free. Visit www.billygrahamlibrary.org or call for more information.

Events at Grace Lutheran

HENDERSONVILLE – Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Ave. W., invites the community to participate in the following services and programs:

•A monthly prayer time in the sanctuary is offered from 12:15-12:45 p.m. the fourth Monday of the month. The next meeting is Dec. 22. Everyone is welcome to come together to pray. Silent prayers will be followed by open prayer from anyone who cares to speak. The prayer time closes with the Lord’s Prayer.

•Christmas Eve and Day services will be at 5, 7, and 9 p.m. Dec. 24 and 10 a.m. Dec. 25. The 5 p.m. service is bilingual in English and Spanish and oriented to children and families. Costumes encouraged and available for children who attend and do not have one so they may participate in the nativity play. The 7 and 9 p.m. candlelight worship services include music and Holy Communion. Nursery care offered.

To learn more about Grace Lutheran, call 693-4890 or visit gracelutherannc.com.

Beth HaTephila plans Christmas event

ASHEVILLE – Congregation Beth HaTephila is having its first “Chinese food and entertaining video” event at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 25. The event will be in Dave Social Hall at the congregation’s home, 43 N. Liberty St.

The video was created by Marty Gillen and includes funny and heart-warming clips. The evening will include food and desserts and entertainment. The cost is $18. To learn more, contact Carol Gillen at 253-2282 or carol@gillen.com.

Lunch program

at W. Asheville Presbyterian

ASHEVILLE – Each Tuesday from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., The Community on Haywood offers a program geared toward working people. The group meets at West Asheville Presbyterian Church, 690 Haywood Road.

A light lunch from a local cafe is available for $5 suggested donation. People attending are welcome to join open discussions of the Bible and its application to contemporary topics.

To learn more, email Kent@WestAshePres

.­org.

Asbury hosts 1800s-style

worship service

ASHEVILLE – An 1800s style Christmas Eve candlelight service is set for 5 p.m. Dec. 24 at Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church, 171 Beaverdam Road, the oldest Methodist church in Western North Carolina.

The service will feature period music on the hammer dulcimer and guitar, followed by candlelight worship at 5:30 p.m., complete with period attire, music, liturgy and decorations.

The service will feature Vance Reese on harpsichord, Leslie Welker on flute, Merritt Moseley and Carol Kinsey on guitar and Lorna Schultis on hammer dulcimer. To learn more, call 253-0765 or visit www.asburymethodist.org.

Miller receives crisis counseling certification

WAYNESVILLE – Barbara Miller, senior pastor at Daily Blessing Ministry, 32 Felmet St., recently received her pastoral crisis counseling certification from Homeland Crisis Institute. Miller was required to take a 40-hour course and take an exam.

“It is always so important that we continue our education to grow more and more in the Lord and be able to serve him the best that we can,” Miller said. “God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.” To learn more, call 242-7763.

Epiphany celebration at St. John’s

ASHEVILLE – St. John’s Episcopal Church, 290 Old Haw Creek Road, celebrates Epiphany at 7 p.m. Jan. 6 with a candlelight service of music that begins in the sanctuary and continues outside for the traditional burning of the greens and more singing. Afterward, enjoy light refreshments in the Parish Hall.

To learn more, visit www.stjohnsasheville.org or call 298-3553.

Community service offered

ASHEVILLE – The Community on Haywood meets the second and fourth Wednesdays. It also hosts a Bible and Brew Bible study at 5:30 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. The next meeting is Jan. 7.

Visit http://TheCommunityOnHaywood.org for all events and activities.

Parking and entrance is behind the church and across Virginia Avenue. To learn more, contact 258-0903 or Kent@westashepres.org.

Kids for Christ resumes Jan. 14

WEAVERVILLE – The Kids for Christ children’s program, offered 2:30-7 p.m. Wednesdays during the school year at First Baptist Church, 63 N. Main St., resumes Jan. 14. The program is for grades one-six.

The program includes a snack, recreational time, homework help, Bible study, choir and hand bells by invitation. An optional supper is $2 per child and $3.50 per adult. After supper, mission groups are planned. Register with Joy Sprinkle or Aileen Lawrimore at 645-6720.

Rabbi leads history-rich tour

ASHEVILLE – Rabbi Batsheva Meiri, of Congregation Beth HaTephila, will lead a tour of Eastern European sites, “Jewish Roots Journey to Europe,” from April 18-30. The group will consist of about 25-30 people, in addition to the rabbi and the tour guide.

The tour will explore Jewish history, European culture and Jewish communities from Warsaw to Prague to Budapest. In each country, the group will trace the Jewish roots and hear personal insights and reflections on the past, present and future.

Trip highlights include paying tribute to the six million at Auschwitz, visiting Europe’s oldest synagogue in the Old Jewish Quarter of Prague, celebrating Shabbat with members of the Prague Jewish community, visiting the hot springs pools in Budapest and cruising on the Danube River.

Meiri will partner with Keshet, the Center for Educational Tourism, for the tour. To learn more, including costs, accommodations and exact itinerary, email admin@bethhattephila or call 253-4911.

Help provide socks for seniors

HENDERSONVILLE – Opportunity House, 1411 Asheville Highway, is a drop-off location for Socks for Seniors. This project is sponsored by the Hendersonville Single Women’s Club. Bring in a new pair of winter socks 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

To learn more, visit www.opportunityhouse.org or call 692-0575.

Breakfast Bible study seeks members

HENDERSONVILLE – A Christian Men’s Breakfast Bible Study is open for new members. The ecumenical group meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Dixie Diner on U.S. 64 West in Laurel Park.

Every week, the four Scriptures from the weekly lectionary used in most Christian liturgical churches are discussed. Participants should bring their Bible of choice and no homework is required.

Participants buy their own breakfast. To learn more, call Bob Andersen at 697-0464.

Cloud Cottage holds meditation

BLACK MOUNTAIN – Following is the weekly schedule for mindfulness meditation at Cloud Cottage Community of Mindful Living, 219 Old Toll Circle. To learn more, call 669-6000 or visit cloudcottage.org:

•Peaceful abiding: 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

•Meditation in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh: 6 p.m. Wednesdays.

•Meditation in the Japanese Zen tradition: 8 a.m. Sundays, followed by book study until 10 a.m., hosted by the Rev. Judith Toy.

Grief and Beyond helps people adjust

WAYNESVILLE – The Grief and Beyond support group, for people who have lost loved ones, meets 4:30-6 p.m. every Thursday at Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church.

Sessions are facilitated by social worker Jan Peterson and include video segments and personal sharing. There is no charge. In a support group, you are not required to talk or cry, but you will be in a safe place where you won’t feel embarrassed if you do.

To learn more, call Peterson at 550-3638 or Tim McConnell at Long’s Chapel UMC at 456-3993, ext. 17.

Food ministry needs donations

CANTON – Rose of Sharon Ministries, North Canton Road, is open to anyone who needs a helping hand. Donations are needed to fulfill its mission.

The warehouse is open 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday or by appointment. Nonperishable food items are needed.

To learn more or make donations, call 400-2261.

Meditation days at Cloud Cottage

BLACK MOUNTAIN – Monthly family night at Cloud Cottage Community of Mindful Living, 219 Old Toll Circle, 6-7:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month, is open to families with children of all ages.

The next meeting is Jan. 14. Meditation gatherings are held every Wednesday at the center.

On family night, the Rev. Judith Toy will entertain children with stories, songs and snacks while their parents have the opportunity to meditate in silence. The children then will rejoin their parents for walking meditation and discussion.

“Mindfulness is a life skill that every child should learn early on,” the Rev. Toy said. “The Dalai Lama said that if every 8-year-old on the planet learned to meditate, we would have world peace within one generation.”

From 7-8:30 p.m. the second and fourth Mondays of each month, Roger Shikan Hawkins offers a 10-minute meditation followed by a talk and informal discussion, intended as a relaxed experience for people intimidated by the formality of the hall. Hawkins is an ordained Dharma teacher and author of “Great Doubt, the Spirit of Self-Inquiry.”

To learn more, visit www.cloudcottage.org or call 669-6000. All events are offered by donation.

For 10 years, the dream of a state-of-the-art performance center in Asheville has been waiting in the wings.

But in the new year, an ambitious effort to get the The Performance Center in Asheville built is poised to take center stage.

Asheville Area Center for the Performing Arts, the nonprofit behind the center, plans to go after new public and private partnerships in January. The organization also will research six undisclosed, potential sites for the 2,000-seat, $55 million facility.

Renewed energy behind the decade-old idea comes on the heels of a three-month study to determine the best design for the Asheville area, and which plan would contribute the most to Buncombe County’s economy.

And the board will need that energy: The center’s price tag would make it one of the the largest arts and culture investments in Asheville’s history.

Supporters, however, say the millions would be paid back through hundreds of jobs in a variety of local industries, millions in visitor spending and priceless exposure to educational, rich performing arts experiences.

A new performance center would also add artistic prestige to the city, they say, and put it on the same facility level as other North Carolina communities, such as Greensboro, which plans to open a $65 million center in 2017.

“We have wonderful venues all over Asheville,” said David Whitehill, executive director of Asheville Symphony. “But we don’t have that jewel venue, that jewel in our crown. I think Asheville has resoundingly gotten to the place where it needs that.”

Behind the numbers

Tom Tveidt, research economist with SYNEVA, which produced the study, determined that the proposed center would generate $19.5 million in new visitor spending. This “best guess,” he said, is based on visitor numbers at the U.S. Cellular Center and data from Durham Performing Arts Center.

The “19.5 million is obviously a big number, but it is not going to change the tourism market,” he said. Visitors spend around $1.5 billion in the area each year, he said.

According to his study, the center would support 351 jobs in Buncombe County, including 91 people in the restaurant and lodging industry and 57 in the retail trade. The model he uses determines those job numbers by taking the anticipated dollars that visitors would spend in industries, he said, and then estimating how the businesses would spend that money.

Tveidt noted the numbers are preliminary and based on “what they expected to happen,” he said. SYNEVA is an Asheville-based a private consultancy whose expertise is assisting public and private decision makers with local and regional economic analysis.

A preliminary study often “begins the discussion” for projects, Tveidt said. He recently did a similar study for a river park in Cullowhee, and the data was used in presentations with county commissioners, for example.

“It puts those numbers out there and gives people some context,” he said. “A feasibility study would go deeper. This is a 30,000-foot-view of a project. It’s a pretty good way to get the ball rolling.”

Tveidt also noted he “tries to be conservative” with his impact numbers. “I’m a local,” he said. “I always try to tone it down.”

A decade of change

The study, which started in early May, produced the latest vision for the center. Since the board of directors first convened in fall 2004, the performance center plan has changed dramatically.

Over the past several years, the organization has also had plenty of personnel changes. It hired a design architect, acoustic designer and a host of consultants to work on previous plans.

The nonprofit was also paying its executive director, James Baudoin, a salary of more than $200,000 a year. Baudoin is now volunteering his time.

In August 2008, Asheville City Council passed a resolution setting aside a 2.4-acre site south of City Hall for the center where city employees park vehicles. But that resolution expired in 2013, said Sam Powers, director of economic development.

The building at that planned location was initially projected to cost some $85 million, but a scaled-down version, with about 1,750 seats and a $30 million estimated cost, was announced in March 2012.

The nonprofit has about 450 donor households. In 2007, the organization raised enough money — $3 million — to receive a $1 million challenge grant from the Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation. All in all, the nonprofit has raised more than $4 million.

“We have not actively sought donations for the past two years as our focus changed from private (donors) to seeking advocacy from the public sector,” said Michael Stoll, president of the Asheville Area Center for the Performing Arts.

Mayor Esther Manheimer said she has met with center representatives “many times and am familiar with the various plans.”

“A performance center would be a wonderful addition to the rich cultural fabric of Asheville,” said Manheimer. “Yes, local government should support such an effort. However, the city is challenged to support the effort financially.”

The board is now considering six sites, all within two miles from the city center. Stoll said they are now studying the feasibility of each location.

What about Thomas Wolfe?

No matter the center’s location, Stoll emphasized the group does not think the facility will compete with other theaters, such as Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

“It’s my understanding that the performance center would be aimed at bringing performances to Asheville that Asheville doesn’t already have and in that way build upon the existing performance menu rather than duplicate it,” Manheimer said.

Chris Corl, general manager for the U.S. Cellular Center, is supportive of the project.

“A rising tide lifts all boats,” he said. “We are becoming more and more of a performing arts and music destination.”

Thomas Wolfe Auditorium can hold up to 2,431 people and hosts about 5-10 performance arts acts a year. One recent example: “The Nutcracker.” It is also the main venue of the Asheville Symphony season.

“In the last year or so we have been trying to gear ourselves to get more of those shows,” Corl said. The group is motivated partly to reverse the public perception of the rental facility.

“There is a rumor around, Thomas Wolfe can’t physically do that show,” he said. They also want the downtown center to be a full 360-degree facility, with rock stars playing the arena and the symphony and speakers in the auditorium, for example, he said.

Corl has also started the renovation process for Thomas Wolfe. “We are interviewing groups for structural and acoustical analysis,” he said. “We are interviewing the groups now and we have another round in late January.”

They will determine a price tag for the renovation after the study reveals what they need to improve acoustics, he said.

Whitehill said “there are some inherit limitations to Thomas Wolfe.”

He noted the acoustics are “not ideal for the symphony. It used to be a basketball court,” he said.

It was used basketball court until the arena was built in the 1970s, Corl said. Then, the slope was added.

Sketches of the center

Acoustics are priority for the performance center, Stoll said.

“The acoustics would be determined by the type of performance that would be in the hall itself,” he said. “There would be baffles that can be moved based on the type of music performed, from rock to country or a Broadway musical.

The study was based on an around 2,000-seat multipurpose hall, Stoll said.

The board doesn’t know exactly what the center would look like, but they mocked up plans for the economic and cost analysis based on other North Carolina centers and the needs of Nederlander, one of the largest theater operators in the country.

The company did three seasons in Asheville at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium several years ago, said Jack Meyer, vice president of programming. “It went OK,” he said. “The challenges we had were with the technical abilities and limitations.”

One issue: The loading dock, he said. The loading dock and storage area were part of the recent $12 million renovations at the U.S. Cellular Center.

“It didn’t work for us artistically and financially,” he said.

However, Meyer thinks Nederlander’s brand of Broadway shows could be successful in Asheville.

“Asheville is sophisticated,” he said. “I do believe there is an audience.”

Nederlander has operated the Durham Performing Arts Center since 2008.

“It has exceeded everyone’s expectations,” he said. “It has been overwhelmingly successful.”

In its first season, the center hosted 81 events. Last year, it hosted 194.

About 162,000 people attended shows in 2008-09; 383,000 came in the last year.

Meyer said the Durham project required a long process and a lot of community partners. “I think it’s good to have the community invested because that way, it really becomes their building,” he said.

Stoll said he believes Asheville’s center has to be financed through a private-public partnership.

He cites the success of the Steven B. Tanger Center for the Performing Arts project in downtown Greensboro, which is planned to open in May 2017.

The city committed $30 million toward the project, with $35 million coming from the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.

“We know the economics,” Stoll said. “We know the time is right” for an Asheville center.

Carol McCollum, secretary of the board, said the economic study adds validation to the idea.

“We have done our homework,” she said.

McCollum said she often travels to Charlotte or Greenville, South Carolina, to attend Broadway musicals. On a recent trip to see “The Book of Mormon” at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts, she said ‘hello’ to many familiar Asheville faces in the seats before the show.

“We want to turn that traffic around on Interstate 26,” Stoll said.

A look at the Peace Center

About an hour drive from Asheville, the Peace Center for Performing Arts in downtown Greeville, South Carolina, is the closest performance arts center comparable to the plans for The Performance Center in Asheville.

The Peace Center is the result of a public-private partnership launched in the mid-1980s.

A pledge of $10 million from the Peace family kicked off the fundraising. Other donors, from families to corporations to school children, raised the total to $42 million.

Construction finished in November 1990. In 1992, the organization launched a $6.5 million endowment campaign, and that goal was met in less than two years. The group has continued to raise money annually for new programs and renovations. In 2010, the Peace Center also completed an extensive $23 million renovation.

Here’s a look at the organization’s impact and draw in Greenville, according Tara McNamara, director of public relations:

360,000: People who come each year to the Peace Center.

600: Events at the center each year.

55,000: Students, families and educators who participate in the Peace Outreach Program each year.

$25 million: Amount the center generates annually in local economic activity.

500: People whose employment is supported, directly and indirectly, by the center.

50: Full-time employees.

130: Part-time employees.

Want to learn more about The Performance Center in Asheville?

Visit http://theperformancecenter.org.

What is the methodology behind the numbers?

Tom Tveidt, research economist with SYNEVA, which produced a three-month study to determine the best performance center design, estimated it would generate $19.5 million in new visitor spending. That estimate is based on visitor numbers at the U.S. Cellular Center and data from Durham Performing Arts Center.

Tveidt uses IMPLAN to produce economic impact estimates. The 35-year-old IMPLAN is software that produces data for more than 2,000 public and private institutions, including the Asheville Chamber of Commerce.

This program defines economic impact in several ways: Direct impact, meaning income associated with new jobs and new spending; indirect, meaning supplier purchases, goods and services; induced, meaning household spending and purchases. It also accounts for tax revenue.