Love thy (new) neighbor
Pancake supper and concert raise money for resettled Afghan family
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
March 3, 2022
A March 1 concert at the White Horse Black Mountain raised money to assist in securing long-term housing for an Afghan family that resettled in the town earlier this year. The show was one of a pair of events supporting the efforts of Black Mountain Presbyterian and St. James Episcopal Churches. Photo courtesy of Black Mountain Presbyterian Church
If Black Mountain’s reputation for warmth and hospitality could manifest into a physical location, it would’ve been found near the center of town, March 1, as smiling volunteers served pancakes at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church and performed sound checks in neighboring music venue, White Horse.
It was on this stretch of Montreat Road, where Rotary Club volunteers served hungry guests for a suggested donation of $10 and a lineup of local musicians followed with a concert next door, the community offered heartfelt gestures of friendship and support to its newest members.
In the seven months since the U.S. Armed Forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan, 76,000 evacuees have been resettled in communities throughout the country. Two families arrived in Black Mountain in January, through the Catholic Charities Community Services program, which partnered with St. James Episcopal Church and Black Mountain Presbyterian to assist an extended family of 13.
St. James Episcopal Reverend Judith Whelchel and Black Mountain Presbyterian Pastor and Head of Staff Mary Katherine Robinson have shared responsibilities as points of contact for their respective churches.
“There has been a great outpouring of people wanting to support,” said Black Mountain Presbyterian Associate Pastor David Carter Florence, who is among the team of people working to accommodate the family in recent weeks. “The challenge has been logistics, and how to best support them.”
A conference center in town offered lodging for four months, and the churches secured a short-term rental to accommodate the family before the summer, but a long-term residence quickly emerged as a priority, according to Florence.
“Housing has been one of the top concerns,” he said. “They will have a rental for a few months while we attempt to buy something, because renting is expensive. We want to make sure they have housing that’s affordable and sustainable.”
Rotary Club member Jim Richardson makes pancakes in the parking lot of Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, March 1, for an event that raised money for a resettled family from Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Black Mountain Rotary Club
John DeWitt, a member of Black Mountain Presbyterian, learned of his church’s efforts to support the resettled family, shortly after a discussion at a Rotary Club meeting.
“We had a discussion about what we could do to help in this situation,” DeWitt said of the Black Mountain Rotary Club conversation. “We wanted to find out if there was some way to support, because this is a community effort.”
The Rotarians agreed to host a pancake supper at Black Mountain Presbyterian that would raise money to assist in the search for the family’s long-term housing. Around 10 volunteers, including Rotarians and their spouses, set up a griddle, cooked dinner and served plates to guests who dined in and others who picked up orders.
“The response was great,” DeWitt said. “We worked our tails off trying to keep up with the pancakes.”
The dinner ended at 7 p.m., as a benefit concert, organized by Bob Hinkle, the church’s interim music director Aaron Price and director of operations, Sam Webber, got underway at the White Horse.
The concert featured performances by the Big Deal Band with Autumn Wheeler; Jay Brown and Aditi Sethi; Aaron Price and Jeff Thompson and others. A raffle was held throughout the show.
John Brown prepares batter at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, March 1, for a pancake supper supporting an Afghan family that resettled in the community in January. Photo courtesy of Black Mountain Rotary Club
The events raised around $6,000 to support the effort, which, according to Florence, enabled the family to build a solid foundation in their new country.
“There’s this great spirit of everyone working together on this,” Florence said. “We don’t have to be from the same church or religion or share the same point of view, we just need to help our neighbors.”
Black Mountain Presbyterian and St. James Episcopal are continuing to raise funds to provide a permanent housing solution for the family. Donations supporting the Refugee Resettlement Fund can be made to the community fundraising site linked here.