Music & Faith Forum and Bach’s Lunch

Last spring, Stephen Gourley, the Director of Music at The Village Chapel, Pinehurst, invited me to be his guest as part of a Music and Faith Forum, a series of conversations with local church musicians focusing on topics related to the importance of music in the church and the ways that music contributes to the health of a community of faith.  Each forum will be held on the second Wednesday of each month from September through March.  I am the featured guest this week, Wednesday, September 10th.

 “Moore County is full of thriving faith communities, and music plays a central role in all of them, and in different ways,” says Gourley. “I am excited to present a number of my colleagues in this setting and give them the opportunity to share the ways music impacts their churches and their lives.”

The series kicks off this Wednesday at 10 A.M. in The Village Chapel’s fellowship hall.  I hope that you will consider attending Wednesday’s forum, which will give you some insight about sacred music, how it shapes communities of faith, and the work that I do here at Emmanuel and in the wider community.  Come and enjoy a cup of coffee and be part of a meaningful discussion related to your spiritual life.  No cost or registration required.

Future guests in the series include Dr. James Brown on Oct. 8, from Pinehurst United Methodist Church; Maggie Graziano on Nov. 12, from Sacred Heart Catholic Church; Taylor Hickey on Jan. 14, 2026, from Pinehurst United Methodist Church; Ed Martel on Feb. 11, representing Community Presbyterian Church in Pinehurst; and Amy Shortt on March 11, 2026, from Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church. 

On Friday, September 12th, at 12 Noon, the Bach’s Lunch Recital Series will continue in its 16th Season with a concert featuring John Hatcher and City Lights Jazz.  Hatcher, a longtime parishioner and a retired Spanish and French professor at Sandhills Community College, has spent a lifetime performing jazz.  With his tenor saxophone and harmonica, Hatcher will join forces with City Lights Jazz, a professional quartet based in Raleigh. 

Vocalist Meghan Causey, pianist Jonathan Markow, percussionist Bob Jackson, and bassist Ben Palmer, are the core of City Lights Jazz.  They will entertain attendees with an afternoon of some of the greatest compositions of American jazz.  Friday’s concert will feature standards by Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, McCoy Tyner, Kurt Weill, Burt Bacharach, George Gershwin, Charles Trenet, and others.

The 2025-2026 Bach’s Lunch Series will offer a wide variety of music this season.  On October 3rd, the North Carolina Baroque Chamber Orchestra will present a program of Baroque chamber works by Bach, Corelli, Telemann, Vivaldi, and Handel.  The All-American Brass Quintet, an arm of the 82nd Airborne Division Band and Chorus of the United States Army, will play a program of exciting brass repertoire and patriotic selections on November 14th in honor and recognition of American veterans.

A newly formed jazz ensemble, Mid-Century Modern, featuring local musical legends, vocalist Lisa Gessner, pianist Dr. Paul Murphy, and bassist Dr. Larry Arnold, will perform on January 30th. 

On February 6th, the Treblemakers, an advanced group of the Carolina Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, under the direction of April Collins, will offer a concert featuring Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, selections from Handel’s Water Music, and Telemann’s Don Quixote Suite. 

The Emmanuel Choir will offer a Passion cantata, Olivet to Calvary, by J.H. Maunder, on March 20th.  Popular in the early part of the 20th century, the work recalls some of the events in the last days of the life of Jesus.    

The 4HANDS Duo, featuring pianists Dr. Kristina Henckel and Dr. Amanda Virelles will return to the stage on April 17th.  The series will conclude on May 1st, with a concert by the New Horizons Band and Swing Band, directed by Mollie Wilson.

All concerts begin at 12 Noon.  All are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch to enjoy during the concerts.  For further information, please contact me directly at hferguson@e-mmanuel-parish.org.  Concerts are free, with the invitation to support the programming through a free-will offering.