Southern Folk Advent

[RCCAtl]

MERIDIAN HERALD PRESENTS BROOKS HOLIFIELD, THE Sonny Houston Bluegrass Band,

Steven Darseyand the Meridian Chorale  in SOUTHERN FOLK ADVENT, OXFORD, GEORGIA, DECEMBER 1, 2012, 4:00 p.m.

 

The Sonny Houston Bluegrass Band will provide bluegrass-Gospel music and prominent theology professor and award-winning author E. Brooks Holifield will speak at Meridian Herald’s twentieth annual Southern Folk Advent® Service. The Meridian Chorale will sing and Steven Darsey will direct the music. The event will be held Saturday, December 1, 4:00 PM at Old Church on the Oxford College campus in Oxford, Georgia. Admission is free. Our founding preacher Fred B. Craddock will attend and bring greetings.

E. Brooks Holifield is Charles Howard Candler Professor of American Church History Emeritus at Emory University.  Described by his students as “brilliant” and “passionate,” Dr. Holifield is a renowned scholar, speaker, and author on American religious history. Last year, he was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.  

Since its inaugural service in 1993, Southern Folk Advent® has become an honored holiday tradition.  A form of Lessons and Carols, this service is based on folk hymns from the historic Sacred Harp tunebook, compiled in Georgia in 1844. The tunes are presented in a variety of formats, with the Meridian Chorale singing some in original arrangements and the congregation singing others both a cappella and with folk instrumental accompaniment. These hymns arose from the life experience of poor folk struggling to survive in the early 19th century south. Their haunting music embodies the struggles and dreams of generations singing and praying for the coming of Christ.  Noted composer and music director Steven Darsey will lead the music. His Georgia heritage and graduate work on the Sacred Harp have engendered a deep love for this music and the people from whom it sprang.

Built in 1841, Old Church springs from the same era and region as The Sacred Harp itself.  Old Church is near Oxford College of Emory University in Oxford, Georgia, on the corner of Fletcher and Wesley Streets. For more information and directions, www.meridianherald.org