As another successful season comes to an end, the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra welcomes the community to their final concert of the 2022-23 season — a Fayetteville Celebration.

The family-friendly concert will be held at Huff Concert Hall on Methodist University’s campus on Saturday, May 13. Featuring Fayetteville’s beloved symphony orchestra and several gifted collaborators, the Fayetteville Celebration will be a night of amazing talent and beautiful music.

“We’re closing this season with my personal favorite,” said Meghan Woolbright, Marketing and Office Manager for the FSO. “Our mission is to educate, entertain and inspire our community. No matter where you come from or who you are — we want you to come and enjoy symphonic music.”

Including their seven concerts this past season, the FSO has made good on their “music for everyone” initiative with their popular Symphony Movie Nights and free community concerts throughout the year.

Educational programs such as their upcoming summer camps and youth orchestras keep the symphony connected to the community while building the next generation of musicians in Fayetteville.
The community-oriented nature of the organization makes this last concert especially profound, as it’s a collaborative effort between the FSO and others who strongly uphold the arts in Fayetteville.

The Cape Fear Regional Theatre, along with trumpeter Kris Vargas, Ukrainian opera singer Alina Cherkasova, and the Con Fiero Vocal Experience, are all scheduled to perform.
Selected pieces for the Fayetteville Celebration include “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” by Astor Piazzolla featuring Concertmaster Fabián Lopez on violin, Jose Moncayo’s “Huapango,” and “An Orkney Wedding” by Peter Maxwell Davies, to name a few.

“There will be so many different types of music,” Woolbright shared. “There will be some gospel from Con Fiero and a little bit of jazz from Kris Vargas. This is such a diverse group of collaborators — we’re really excited.”

The Fayetteville Celebration begins at 7:30 p.m. and will run about 90 minutes long. For those looking to make a night of it with dinner and drinks downtown, a trolley service departing from 310 Green St. at 6:30 p.m. will drop off concertgoers at Huff Concert Hall free of charge, no reservation necessary.

Tickets are available on the symphony’s website or at the door on the night of the concert. Children under six years of age may attend for free. Tickets for those 6-18 are $5. Discounted tickets for seniors, veterans, Cumberland County School employees, and Methodist University faculty are $25. Tickets for college students are $8, and adult general admission tickets cost $32.

The FSO is already planning the 2023-24 season, and full-season tickets will be available for purchase at the Fayetteville Celebration concert.

“We’ve got a really exciting season lined up for next year,” Woolbright said.

To purchase tickets or learn more about the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org/.

The North Carolina General Assembly is bustling with activity. Lawmakers are considering a dramatic increase in parental control over the education of their children, major changes in school governance and the structure of state government, pro-consumer reforms of the state’s energy policies, an acceleration of pro-growth tax cuts, huge investments in public buildings and infrastructure, tighter restrictions on abortion, and dozens of other high-profile measures.

Even if none of these passed, the current session would be notable for the passage of Medicaid expansion, which brought more than a decade of rancorous debate to a close. But many other consequential bills will pass.

Here’s hoping the 2023 session will be remembered in part as the “affordable housing session.”

Because North Carolina is an attractive place to live and work, prices would be rising across many of our housing markets even if Washington policymakers hadn’t bungled their way into an inflation crisis.
What’s making it much worse, however, is the extent to which local regulations unnecessarily raise the cost of building, selling, and renting homes to willing consumers.

Lawmakers have filed several bills to address the problem. One of them, House Bill 409, recently passed that chamber with a gigantic 106-7 margin and now awaits action in the North Carolina Senate. It confirms the right of North Carolinians to build accessory dwelling units, known as ADUs, on their property even if it’s currently zoned for single-family housing.
ADUs — sometimes called granny flats or tiny houses — are already allowed on single-family lots in many communities. And H.B. 409 doesn’t prevent a locality from regulating certain aspects of their construction or use. But it does prohibit localities from requiring that only family members may live in such units, for example, or from imposing minimum parking requirements.

Another measure, Senate Bill 317, would offer property-rights protection in a different situation: when developers purchase large parcels of land (at least 10 acres) and designate at least 20% of the homes they build as “workforce housing,” most of which must be sold to households of modest means. By meeting these conditions, developers would receive exceptions from some costly local regulations.

“This bill is a targeted free-market response to our housing crisis,” said one of the primary sponsors, Sen. Paul Newton, “and it is intended to ensure houses get built.”

I agree. Still, there are passionate critics of these bills, and of others that seek to curtail the regulatory power of counties and municipalities. They argue that localities possess the authority to impose housing and zoning codes for good reason — that people who already live in or near the affected communities ought to have a say in what’s built there.

Now, just to be clear: in North Carolina, at least, the relationship between local governments and the state isn’t comparable to the relationship between state governments and Washington. In the latter case, delegates from already sovereign state governments met in 1787 to fashion a new federal constitution. It was then ratified through a state-by-state process. Subsequent amendments, starting with the Bill of Rights, were also ratified by a process in which states were represented and after which a requisite number of state electorates had to approve.

By contrast, North Carolina localities have only the power granted to them by the legislature. I do think localities should retain some regulatory authority over land development, though primarily to ensure proper connections to adequately provided infrastructure.

But they shouldn’t be able to use housing or zoning codes to enforce some residents’ preferences over others — including future residents who don’t yet live in a given jurisdiction and whose interests are represented by those who aspire to build and sell homes to them.

This distinction is simple to state but, admittedly, challenging to implement. I see legislation such as H.B. 409 and S.B. 317 as striking a better balance between the legitimate powers of local governments and the legitimate rights of property owners.

The result is likely to be more-affordable housing for North Carolinians.

Currently the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, together with the democracy to which it is foundational, has increasingly become an endangered species. It is under attack by calls for censorship coming from both the Left and the Right.

From the Left it takes the forms of political correctness that has a stranglehold on many of our colleges and universities with its proscribing certain words and of the pernicious movements of so-called “wokeism” and cancel culture. An example of politically correct ideology run amok was Stanford University’s banning the use of the term “American,” though, after the predictable outrage, they backed down saying that they had intended merely to discourage the use of the word. An egregious example of cancel culture was the removal of a statue of Thomas Jefferson from New York City Hall’s Council Chamber because a council member felt “uncomfortable” with it.

From the Right it takes the forms of banning books from libraries, forbidding the teaching of certain topics like gender, critical race theory, and racism. A frightening statistic from a recent survey is that 62% of college students said it is “at least sometimes acceptable” to shout down a speaker, and one in five students said that using violence to stop a campus speech is “sometimes acceptable.”

What motivates all these calls for censorship is that the speech objected to may give offense to some. Thus, some Muslims at Hamline University took offense at an alleged image of Mohammed that a professor showed in his class which they thought blasphemous even though no one knows what Mohammed looked like. Had the image borne an inscription that did not identify it as Mohammed there would have been no problem. That professor was summarily fired.

Books have been removed from school and public libraries because only a single parent has deemed them offensive — a tyranny of one! There is no end to this madness. These are echoes of 1984. The 11th Commandment of these self-appointed zealots and scolds is, “Thou shalt not offend!” But why shouldn’t we? We have an unwritten right to offend by our speech if we wish, though we may be impolite or imprudent in doing so, but we have no God-given right not to be offended. Indeed, we are sometimes justified in giving offense. Thus, Socrates rightly gave offense to the Athenian leaders as Jesus did to the religious authorities.

Nevertheless, our exercise of free speech is in some cases justifiably restricted and sanctioned by law. These are cases when the speech actually or potentially harms others. These restrictions are justified by what the nineteenth-century English philosopher, John Stuart Mill, calls the “harm principle.” It was anticipated by Thomas Jefferson in his comment advocating the right of freedom of conscience: “The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” It was later articulated more fully by Mill in his classic defense of free speech, On Liberty: “the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”

The limits that Mill places on our actions are determined by our duties to society among which are “not injuring the interests of one another; or rather certain interests which, either by express legal provision or by tacit understanding, ought to be considered as rights.”

Note that Mill distinguishes between generic interests and those that “ought to be considered as rights.” Individuals have an interest in material things like food and shelter necessary for their self-preservation, and no less an interest in immaterial things like peace of mind for their psychological well-being.

Furthermore, the public has an interest in ensuring its safety, and the state has an interest in maintaining its security — these interests may or may not conflict with those of the individual. These are generic interests. But individuals also have interests in their opportunity to speak freely, to assemble peacefully, and to exercise their conscience by worshiping, or not, as they choose. These interests are rights.

What Mill says about actions in general applies particularly to speech insofar as speech is a form of action. Speech ought not to injure either the generic interests of others or their rights. Speech injurious to the generic interests of others includes blackmail, perjury, libel, or false alarms like yelling “Fire” in a crowded cinema when there is no fire.

Examples of speech injurious to the rights of others include the press’s publishing information that would compromise the defendant’s right to a fair trial, or someone’s making public another’s medical history in violation of their right to privacy. Unquestionably, these kinds of speech do not qualify for protection under the First Amendment and are outlawed — no one has either a moral or legal right to such speech.

Should, then, offensive speech also be restricted? I think not. My reason is that offensive speech, unlike libel and incitements to riot, are not injurious to either others’ generic interests or their rights and so do not violate the harm principle. Offensive speech does not cause material harm to anyone: it neither injures nor kills them, deprives them of their wealth, nor damages their reputation. It merely offends one’s sensibilities; taking offense is a form of indignation. As the saying goes, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never
hurt me.

I cannot imagine that the Muslim students offended by the depiction of Mohammed or the council member discomforted by Jefferson’s stature were so psychologically devastated that they consigned themselves to psychiatric care.

People have been fired from their jobs for offensive speech such as making racist or homophobic remarks. But the only justifiable grounds for firing them is their inability or unwillingness to do their job.
However, such people should be censured if not censored. Mill distinguishes between legal and social penalties. Legal penalties, for example, would be those imposed by the courts on libelous speech. Social penalties, on the other hand, would be those imposed by the court of public opinion and would in some cases be appropriately imposed on offensive speech.

Mill again: “The acts of an individual may be hurtful to others, or wanting in due consideration for their welfare, without going to the length of violating any of their constitutional rights. The offender may then be justly punished by opinion, though not by law.”

Thus, the appropriate penalties for personnel making offensive remarks in the workplace would be their being shunned or remonstrated against by their colleagues.
In conclusion: We ought to enjoy to the maximum the right of freedom of speech, foundational to democracy, unless it materially harms others.

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command conducted a Change of Responsibility ceremony on Meadows Field at USASOC Headquarters on Fort Bragg May 1.

Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, USASOC commanding general, officiated the ceremony by bidding farewell to Command Sgt. Maj. Michael R. Weimer and welcoming Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann as the incoming command sergeant major.

“It’s a special day for USASOC,” Braga said. “I’m honored to be part of this phenomenal opportunity to mark Mike’s achievements and dedication to our team and also privileged to welcome JoAnn and her family here today.”

The change of responsibility ceremony is steeped in military traditions and serves the dual function of rendering honors to the departing senior enlisted leader and providing official transfer of authority to the incoming command sergeant major.

“Welcome back to the USASOC family,” Weimer addressed to Naumann and her spouse, Sgt. Maj. Thomas Baird, during the ceremony. “Neither of you are strangers to this formation, and I couldn’t have been more excited... when the commander made the decision that you were the best athlete to replace me. I have the utmost confidence in your ability to continue the high standard of leadership required to shepherd this amazing formation with its current missions but also evolving it for 2030 and beyond.”

Naumann previously served as the Special Operations Command-Korea’s command senior enlisted leader. She enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1996 as a voice language analyst, completing the Arabic Basic Course at the Defense Language Institute and Advanced Individual Training at Goodfellow Air Force Base. Naumann’s assignments include serving as the Joint Special Operations Command J2 senior enlisted advisor, command sergeant major for the 15th Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation), and JSOC Intelligence Brigade.

“Thank you for the opportunity to serve the men and women of ARSOF (Army Special Operations Forces),” Naumann said.

“It is my honor to be a part of this team. I’m excited to be back at Fort Bragg … You’ve managed to invest in people while driving the mission forward, and you’ve certainly done that during your time here at USASOC. I know well how much you invest in people because you’ve done that for me. I can’t imagine a more exciting time to be joining the USASOC team.”

“Our nation and the world are at an inflection point,” she said. “We’re challenged by new adversaries and rapidly advancing technologies, yet ARSOF is absolutely leading the way, and that is because we have the best people. To the men and women of ARSOF, you are the most talented professional, and dedicated people I know.”

Weimer has been serving as USASOC’s senior non-commissioned officer since August 2021. His next assignment is serving as the 17th Sergeant Major of the Army.

The Cape Fear Botanical Garden’s upcoming event, A Garden Gathering, Farm-to-Table Dinner, will raise awareness and support for Cape Fear Botanical Garden’s mission. The event is scheduled for May 17, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The Cape Fear Botanical Garden’s mission is to transform people’s relationship with plants and the natural world. Further, according to the Garden, their vision is to create and sustain a national caliber institution with gardens and programs of exceptional quality.

Cape Fear Botanical Garden is a premier destination in the region for people to connect with nature and to expand their horizons through educational and cultural programs.

The Garden Gathering is presented by Mercedes-Benz of Fayetteville, and all proceeds from this event go towards sustaining the gardens and the various programs at Cape Fear Botanical Garden.
The Garden Gathering, Farm-to-Table Dinner event starts at 5:30 p.m. with the Floating Cocktail Hour in the garden, followed by opening remarks at 6:45 p.m.

Then, at 7 p.m. is the Cape Fear Eye Associates Stroll followed by an al fresco casual Farm-to-Table dinner prepared by Elliot’s on Linden featuring locally sourced ingredients and sustainably grown cuisine served on the Snow's Pond Lawn. The event will also feature live music, raffles, an auction, and more.

The Cape Fear Botanical Garden is a nonprofit founded in 1989 and situated on 80 acres. It was founded with the dual purpose of providing a learning environment for the horticulture students at Fayetteville Technical Community College and offering a resource for the local horticulturists. It is a conservation and exhibition site for plant species and communities native to the Cape Fear River basin.

The garden features diverse landscapes, including nature trails, a natural amphitheater, steep ravines showcasing unique plant life, and more. Additionally, Cape Fear Botanical Garden hosts a range of events, such as weddings, military balls, ceremonies and business gatherings.

This event is sure to delight and inspire. Explore Cape Fear Botanical Garden and learn about the diverse plant life that thrives there while enjoying their commitment to local culture and environmental sustainability.

There are a number of ticket options. One ticket is $150, including dinner, open seating and non-valet parking.

The 4-ticket package is $690, including a Household Garden Membership (valued at $90), reserved seating for 4, dinner and valet parking for the ticket holders. The 8-ticket package is $1,450, including a Patron Garden Membership (valued at $250), reserved seating for 8, dinner, and valet parking for the ticket holders. The valet parking will be provided courtesy of Valley Auto World.

Cape Fear Botanical Garden is located at 536 N. Eastern Boulevard in Fayetteville. For more information visit www.capefearbg.org/.

Fayetteville Technical Community College announced that Tammy Thurman will be the keynote speaker for the College’s 61st Annual Commencement exercises.

Graduates will be recognized in two ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on May 12 at the Crown Coliseum. Thurman will deliver the keynote address at both events. The public is welcome to attend.
Thurman is the Senior Community Relations and Government Affairs Manager for Piedmont Natural Gas, where she seeks to build sustainable relationships with community stakeholders and groups. She is also a member of the FTCC Board of Trustees, a position she’s held since November.

Thurman has been dedicated to community service, serving in various capacities for a number of years. She attributes her desire to encourage and help people in part to her own experience of surviving Stage 2 ovarian cancer.

She is a member of the Board of Visitors at Fayetteville State University; the Advisory Board for the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities; and the Board of Trustees at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

She is the immediate past chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber and chaired its CEO/President search/nominating committee.
She is also a member of the chamber’s Military Advisory Council and has chaired the SIM (Spouses in Military) Conference for the Chamber and the USO of North Carolina at Fort Bragg.

Thurman is a previous member of the United Way of Cumberland County’s Board of Directors, has co-chaired the Go Red for Women campaign by the American Heart Association, served as an event judge for Ethics Bowl competition, and been a member of The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County’s “True to Yourself” Black History Month committee.

She has been recognized numerous times for her service. Thurman is the recipient of the 2019 Governor’s Award for Volunteer Service, the 2020 Chairman’s Award, the 2022 Woman-Owned Business of the Year Award and the United Way of Cumberland County’s Loaned Executive of the Year award. She has also been nominated for the Athena Award twice.

Thurman, who is a native of Dunn, holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. Augustine University. She is an author of the book “Women Crushing Mediocrity.”

Let us go then, you and I, where famous quotes are misinterpreted and spread out against the sky, like a patient etherized upon
a table.
Apologies to T. S. Eliot for grinding the opening lines of his epic poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” into this affront on English literature. You can decide whether to read it or use it to wrap fish.

Today we shall examine the event horizon of collected quotes to see what harm we can do to their meaning. One would hardly think someone named J. Alfred Prufrock would have a love life. However, Prufrock children are proof that Mr. Prufrock looked good to Mrs. Prufrock.

There are many profound quotations just waiting to be ingested into wisdom. This column will ignore all of those to focus on the frivolous instead. If you are expecting anything other than my usual drivel, please stop reading and turn to the crossword puzzle. This is just more of the same random typing. Today’s quotations deal with lots of things: Pessimism, the human condition, inspiration and robots.

Let’s look at pessimism first. One of my personal favorites is “It’s always darkest before the storm.” Who can forget the scene in “Apocalypse Now” when the Cajun soldier gets out of the boat and is nearly eaten by a tiger? In fear he yells: “I didn’t get out of 8th grade for this!” Classic.

“The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward chaos.” That is the yin to the yang of Reverend Martin Luther King’s famous quote.

“The beatings will continue until morale improves.” Sounds like a plan.

“The ax forgets. The tree remembers.” Precious memories, how they linger.

Aristotle said: “Envy is the pain caused by the good fortune of others.” A couple of thousand years later, Gore Vidal echoing that cheerful thought said: “Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.”

Speaking of death: “After you are dead, how would you like to be remembered? Answer: Occasionally.”

Emily Dickinson reminds us: “Because I could not stop for Death/ He kindly stopped for me/.”

Don Marquis, creator of Archie and Mehitabel, foreseeing TV Preachers, explained: “A Pharisee is someone who prays publicly and preys privately.” Religiosity at its finest.

Next up, the human condition: An Arab proverb says: “It is good to know the truth and speak it, but it is better to know the truth and speak of palm trees.”

A Chinese proverb intones: “When a finger points at the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger.”

Dorothy Parker’s back handed compliment: “This wasn’t just plain terrible. This was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it.”

Rod Stewart on humility: “Think of me and try not to laugh.”

Cheery Russian proverb: “If you wake up and you’re not in pain, you know you are dead.”

Motto on a T-shirt in Asheville: “I do not intend to tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death.”

Mark Twain on the afterlife: “Go to Heaven for the climate. Go to Hell for the company.”

Huck Finn on deciding to help Jim escape slavery: “All right, then, I’ll go to Hell.”

John Prine marveled at another man’s potential saying: “He’s got muscles in his head that ain’t never been used.”

Inspiration: Jack London summed it up saying: “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”

George Will on aging: “One of the consolations of old age is the knowledge that one isn’t going to die young.”

Tennessee Williams on creativity: “What is talent but the ability to get away with something.”

Andy Warhol echoed this saying: “Art is what I can get away with.”

Our old buddy Voltaire getting three sheets of music to the wind, reminds us: “Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the life boats.”
Undoubtably, the greatest philosopher of all time is Ernest T. Bass of Mayberry, USA. The importance of being Ernest cannot be overemphasized. Ernest unselfishly shared his wisdom. Ponder Ernest’s quotes to guide your life accordingly.

Mr. Bass on love: “I’m a little mean, but I make up for it by being real healthy. Say you’ll be mine. Say you’ll be my Beloved.” On courtship of Charlene Darling: “First I wrote her a love note asking her to go on out with me. And then I tied it on the prettiest rock you ever did see. And then I give it the prettiest toss ya ever did see right through the front window.”

“And if you wonder who I be, It’s me, It’s me. It’s Ernest T.- Whoo hoo!” If we were all more like Ernest T. Bass, the world would be a better place.
In conclusion, let us never forget the famous words said to Gort the Robot in “The Day the Earth Stood Still” — “Klaatu, Barada, Nikto.”

Three years ago, the world came to an unexpected halt with the onset of COVID-19 and the subsequent efforts to stop its spread.

Three years later, the world has come back to life — but at a cost — or so it seems to Pastor Robert James of First Baptist Church and other worship leaders in the Fayetteville community.

“We haven’t really come back,” James explained. “The world is not the same. There’s still a dark cloud — a need to come together and call God for help. We need to be revived.”

With a revival in mind, Pastor James and leaders from Hay Street United Methodist, One Church Covenant Fellowship, First Presbyterian Church, and Luke AME have come together to create the first-ever “Revive All” in Fayetteville. From Sunday, May 14 through Sunday, May 21, First Baptist Church will host a city-wide revival to restore the community’s heart, mind and spirit.

“This is the church’s response to the reality we find ourselves in post-COVID,” James said. “If anyone has a background in hope, resurrection and renewal — it’s Christians. Our entire faith is based on belief in bringing back what has died.”

The event’s name, “Revive All,” is less a clever play on words and more a comment on the scope and objective of the project. While worship, prayer and the ubiquitous revival tent will be present — if a revival has “rules,” then the “Revive All” seeks to break them.

While an annual revival is a typical event in the Christian faith, what Pastor James and his co-sponsors are attempting to do is unique. Five ministers of different churches and denominations will spend each night of the “Revive All” focused on a specific spiritual element in need of revitalization.

“We’ve been forced to retreat into ourselves for so long, people have missed a sense of community … they don't realize how much they need each other,” said James.

“Every night of the ‘Revive All,’ we’re asking God to revive just one thing.”

Starting Sunday, May 14, the “Revive All” will each day revolve around themes such as joy, family, grief, and commitment to bring unbroken focus to the elements of spirituality and worship that really matter. The inclusion of different denominations is an attempt to erase ideological division, which can so often keep people from coming together in faith.

The “Revive All’s” aim is to remind the people of Fayetteville that irrespective of faith-based traditions, “we still need each other. We all need a community of people to care for,” said James.

“At the end of the day, we’re united in our faith,” James continued. “All of our reasons and traditions may differ — but we are the same at the core and root. The needs in our community are larger than one church or denomination.”

Due to the influx of cultures, religions, and beliefs into the area, Fayetteville has been a receptive site for this groundbreaking initiative.

“It seems to be seeped into the ground here,” James said. “It [The Revive All] has not been a hard sell. We’ve gotten amazing contributions … people believe in what we’re trying to do.”
Ultimately, the “Revive All” is a community-wide celebration of things both lost and remembered, a rallying cry for the faithful to take up arms against the chaos and uncertainty of the past few years.

Each night’s thematic focus is the church’s holistic attempt to heal what’s broken by reviving each part of the spiritual body to save the whole.

Schedule of Themes

• Sunday, May 14: Revival of Joy in Worship at 6 p.m.
• Monday, May 15: Revival of Faith and Family at 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 16: Revival of Community and Church at 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 17: Revival of Grief and Hope at 6 p.m.
• Thursday, May 18: Revival of Christian Unity at 6 p.m.
• Friday, May 19: Revival of Repentance and Commitment at 6 p.m.
• Saturday, May 20: Revival of Missions and Service at 8 a.m.
• Sunday, May 21: Living Revived Lives at 11 a.m.

Each theme has a related activity to bring the community together in worship. A family-oriented service will include hot dogs, snow cones, games, and a bounce house on Monday.
Tuesday, “Revive All” worshippers will hear testimony and a message from guest speaker Bishop John Godbolt, co-pastor of One Church Covenant Fellowship, on the importance of community.

Wednesday, a special memorial service led by Rev. Marvin T. Clowney, chaplain for Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, will be held. Thursday, five worship leaders from different churches and denominations will preach jointly on the question, “Why, Jesus?” Friday, a community-wide Communion service. Saturday, worshippers will go out into the community to spread love through acts of kindness and service.
Sunday, congregants will return to their traditional houses of worship, and all participating pastors will preach the same sermon: “How to Live a Life Revived.”

“This is a chance to not just go to church but be the church,” James said. “I’m consistently scared and excited. God trusts us a lot to put something like this together. I don’t know what will happen — I just know what I hope.”

First Baptist Church is located at 201 Anderson Street in downtown Fayetteville. Except for May 17, when the service will be conducted in the sanctuary of First Baptist, all services will be held in a tent at the rear of the First Baptist building at the corner of Anderson Street and Maiden Lane.

The “Revive All” is intended to be the combined efforts of churches across Fayetteville and surrounding areas. If any pastor or church member would like to join the effort, contact Rev. James at 910-728-6880.

Chances are your mama, like mine, advised not talking about politics, religion, or sex in polite conversation. My mama told me I could never go wrong by keeping my thoughts on those topics to myself. It has been like skiing uphill.

I have long since violated her admonition regarding politics, both in many a conversation and in print on this very page. Now I am tackling religion with the expectation that not everyone wants to hear “just the facts, ma’am,” but here goes.

The secularization of western society that began in our peer European nations in the 19th century seems to have arrived and accelerated in the United States. The Gallup organization reports that church, synagogue, or mosque membership was at 73% when it was first measured in 1937 and held fairly steady until the late 1990s when it took a nosedive. By 2020, Gallup found that less than half of us, 47%, reported organized religious membership. The Wall Street Journal and researchers at the University of Chicago recently found that while 62% of Americans said religion was very important to them in 1998, only 39% agreed with that in 2023.

All of that said, many Americans still hold religious beliefs and pray regularly even though we may not belong to a house of worship. Mark Chaves, a Duke Divinity School professor put it this way, “The decline in religious belief and interest is much slower than the decline in organizational participation.” University of Chicago research finds a small percentage of people, 7%, who identify as atheists

The founders of our United States were largely Protestants from the Church of England, itself established for a decidedly secular reason. King Henry VIII wanted a divorce so he could marry his girlfriend. Whatever their religious backgrounds, our founders were so adamant that government and religion be separate matters that they wrote separation of church and state into our Constitution. The words “under God” were not added to our pledge of allegiance until 1954, and it has been the subject of many lawsuits over the years.

That separation has been a tough standard from our beginning.
Americans of all sorts have used religion to articulate their own beliefs on all sorts of political, social, and cultural issues, including alcohol and drugs, slavery, abortion, civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights, immigration, race, and the list goes on and on. We invoke religion to justify why we support laws and governmental policies that discriminate against people who are different from us, people we perceive as “other” in some way. This is not new, and pundits describe the current outbreaks of religious justification of all manner of discrimination as “culture wars.”

Thomas Jefferson, a Christian, contributed enormously to the framework of our nation, and he put it this way. “I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”

In other words, each of us is free to practice any religion we choose and are free to choose none at all. What we are not free to do is use the power of government to impose our religious beliefs on our fellow Americans.

And, not to worry. I will not be sharing my thoughts on sex any time soon.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III will deliver the 2023 undergraduate commencement address at Fayetteville State University on May 13, according to the university’s communications office.

The ceremony will be at 9 a.m. May 13 at the Crown Coliseum. Austin, a retired Army four-star general, is the nation’s first African American secretary of defense, according to a news release.
Additional information about FSU's commencement and graduate programs can be found on the university's website. The ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. May 13 at the Crown Coliseum.

“We are honored to have Secretary Austin deliver this year’s commencement address commemorating an auspicious occasion for our students, their families and our entire Bronco community,” said Chancellor Darrell T. Allison. “His leadership and selfless commitment to service of country is undeniable. As a strong partner with the military-connected community and the No. 1 HBCU in the nation that enrolls military-connected students, this historical moment of having Secretary Austin inspire our FSU graduates is greatly validating.”

Sworn in as the 28th secretary of defense on Jan. 22, 2021, Austin previously served a tour as the Army’s vice chief of staff. He concluded his uniformed service as commander of U.S. Central Command, responsible for military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan, according to the news release. In that assignment, he led U.S. and coalition efforts to battle ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Austin retired from active duty in 2016. His 41-year career in the Army included commands at the corps, division, battalion, and brigade levels, the release said. He was awarded the Silver Star for his leadership of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In 2010, he became commanding general of U.S. forces in Iraq, the release said.

A native of Mobile, Austin was raised in Thomasville, Georgia. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a bachelor’s degree and a commission in the Infantry. He holds a master’s degree in counselor education from Auburn University and an MBA in business management from Webster University, the release said.

Austin is also a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced courses, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College. He is married to FSU alumna Charlene B. Austin, Class of 1979.
Since retiring from military service, Austin has served on the boards of Raytheon Technologies, Nucor and Tenet Healthcare, the release said.

Methodist University celebrated more than 250 undergraduate and graduate students during its 60th spring commencement exercises Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6.

“I am so very proud of your accomplishments,” said Methodist President Stanley T. Wearden. “Not only have you completed challenging and important degree programs, but you have done so during a difficult time in human history. I hope you see in yourselves what I see in you — a deep reservoir of strength, character and compassion. These are qualities that will serve you for a lifetime of success.”

The university celebrated “Commencement Weekend” with three ceremonies for the Class of 2023 over two days: a graduate commencement and Baccalaureate service on campus on Friday and an undergraduate commencement at the Crown Coliseum on Saturday, according to a university news release.

Friday’s graduate commencement welcomed hundreds of family members and friends to Huff Concert Hall as more than 60 students received master’s and doctoral degrees. Methodist offers 10 graduate programs, including business administration, physician assistant studies, occupational therapy and physical therapy.

Mike Nagowski, chief executive officer of Cape Fear Valley Health, was the keynote speaker. Nagowski helped create a partnership between Methodist University and Cape Fear Valley Health to establish a medical school at Methodist.
Nagowski was presented an honorary doctor of humane letters degree recognizing his service to Fayetteville and the region.

“Adapting and overcoming the challenges that you were presented with was something few others have had to overcome,” Nagowski said in his keynote speech. “As the world and your job markets change — and they will change — you have learned to adapt and change. This is what will make you stronger and more valuable to yourself, your family, the work you choose to do, and your community. … Go forth with all that you have learned, adapt fearlessly to challenges of the world around you, and make a lasting impact in your communities.”

Before receiving their diplomas onstage, the graduates participated in a hooding ceremony, a long-standing tradition at Methodist. Someone selected by each graduate — often a parent, spouse, child, professor, or friend — hoods the graduate to mark academic achievement. Afterward, Wearden stood with graduates as they received their diplomas onstage.

The Baccalaureate service was held in Matthews Chapel to recognize the graduates. Ashleigh Adamson, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music performance, performed along with the university chorale. The Rev. Clay L. Barrow, senior pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Greensboro, spoke at the service.

On Saturday morning, family and friends filled Crown Coliseum for the undergraduate commencement. Former university board of trustees Chairwoman Mary Lynn Bryan was the keynote speaker.

Bryan was the co-chair of the Building Excellence Capital Campaign, which raised a record-breaking $42 million that funded construction of McLean Health Sciences Building, Matthews Ministry Center, and Union-Zukowski Lobby and Gallery.

Bryan was presented a University Medallion in recognition of her contributions. She then addressed the graduates with a call to action in their post-graduation careers.

“Graduates, I hope your experiences at MU have been all you have imagined they would be — challenging, surprising, fun, and, most of all, mind-opening,” said Bryan. “After you leave Methodist University, be sure to look back with thanks and pleasure. Take the Methodist University values with you and incorporate them into your personal lives. The times and challenges are great, but you are MU graduates. You have an education and the skills to make a positive difference in our world. Go forth and make MU proud.”

Several students were recognized for their time at Methodist, including Karma Choki, the first person from Bhutan to graduate from the university. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She waved her homeland’s flag onstage, and it will now hang in Berns Student Center, bringing the number of countries represented by MU graduates to 125.

The Algernon Sydney Sullivan and Mary Mildred Sullivan awards were presented to a student and two members of the university community to recognized commitment to service.

They are graduate Sean Coleman. who received a bachelor’s degree in engineering with a minor in mathematics and business administration, as well as university President Emeritus M. Elton Hendricks and his wife, Jerry A. Hendricks. During their 27-year tenure, they lived by the principle that a quality education is essential for fostering a life of virtue, according to the recognition.

Later in the service, Hendricks hooded his grandson, Tanner Hendricks, his third grandson to graduate from Methodist. It was during Hendricks’ term as president that both the hooding ceremony and the presentation of international flags at commencement began.

Tanner Hendricks, who majored in social work, was also this year’s Lucius Stacy Weaver Award winner. Voted on by the faculty, the award recognizes the student who best exemplifies academic excellence, spiritual development, leadership, and service.

Valeria Matute was name this year’s Distinguished Graduate. She was among five students in her undergraduate class with the highest GPA and was chosen to speak at commencement by her peers. Matute, who is from Venezuela, received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in professional tennis management.

“There were many moments when today may have felt unreachable or that it could not come soon enough,” Matute said. “But as we say in my country, ‘No hay que ahogarse en un vaso de agua’ or ‘Don’t drown in a glass of water.’ Sometimes, looking from the inside, semesters have felt as long as it takes to swim across the ocean, sharks and all. However, from the outside, it’s nothing more than a few gulps. … If we’ve learned anything from our time here, we should have learned how to keep our experiences in perspective.”

After Matute spoke, nearly 200 graduates participated in the hooding ceremony and received their degrees from Wearden, who left them with a final message during the symbolic moving of the tassels.

“Congratulations, graduates, family members, and friends. This is a significant achievement, and it will change your lives in many ways both tangibly and intangibly,” said Wearden. “Stay in touch, share your accomplishments with us, and stay involved.”

More than 250 undergraduate and graduate students will receive their degrees at Methodist University’s commencement on Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6.

The graduate ceremony will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Huff Concert Hall on campus, according to a news release. More than 60 students will complete one of the university’s 10 graduate programs.

At 10 a.m. Saturday at Crown Coliseum, about 200 graduates of undergraduate programs will receive their degrees.
A baccalaureate service is planned at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Matthews Chapel.

Provost Suzanne Blum Malley said the two ceremonies will replace a single commencement that was held in years past, the news release said.

“The faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of Methodist University are looking forward to celebrating the accomplishments of our graduates throughout Commencement Weekend,” said Blum Malley. “We know our graduates will carry a commitment to Methodist University’s mission and values as they embark on their next journeys as lifelong Monarchs.”

Both ceremonies will be live-streamed online. To access the live videos, go to the university’s event page for the graduate commencement and/or the Crown Coliseum live-streaming page for the undergraduate commencement.

More information on parking, tickets, venue policies, and more is at the undergraduate or graduate commencement pages.

The keynote speaker at the graduate ceremony will be Michael Nagowski, chief executive officer of Cape Fear Valley Health, the release said.
Nagowski played a pivotal role in the partnership between Methodist University and Cape Fear Valley Health to establish a medical school.

“Even with the challenges that came with the pandemic, these graduate students have worked hard to achieve this milestone,” Nagowski said. “I hope to inspire and encourage them as they embark on the next journey in their careers and remind them of their opportunity to make a difference.”
University President Stanley T. Wearden will hand graduates their diplomas on stage.

Among the Class of 2023 undergraduates is Valeria Matute, who was selected as this year’s Distinguished Graduate. Matute is among five students in her class with the highest GPA and was chosen to speak by her peers. The native of Valencia, Venezuela, will receive a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in professional tennis management.

Nursing major Karma Choki, a native of Bhutan, will be the first from her country to graduate from Methodist. As part of a long-standing tradition, the Bhutan flag will be permanently displayed in Berns Student Center along with the 128 flags from other countries across the world, the release said.

The keynote speaker for the undergraduate ceremony will be Mary Lynn Bryan, who chaired the university’s board of trustees from 2012 to 2017 and is a board member dating back to 1997. Bryan has lived in Fayetteville since 1983.

Friday’s baccalaureate will recognize this year’s graduates with a more personal service in Matthews Chapel. It will feature music by the MU Chorale and senior Ashleigh Adamson, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in music performance.

The Rev. Clay L. Barrow will speak on “A Charge to Keep I Have.”

Prime Movers of Hope Mills will host a free Family Fun Day May 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. After two great events in 2021 and 2022, Family Fun Day is back this year with even more in store for guests.

Guests who come out to enjoy Family Fun Day this year can expect to see plenty of small business vendors and food trucks, a beer garden, a DJ, a kids zone, lawn games, face painting, and a petting zoo. With activities like that, the whole family is sure to have a good time.

The organization called the Prime Movers exists to close the communication gap between millennials and the Board of Commissioners. Their main objective is to boost millennial involvement in the neighborhood and the town of Hope Mills. Events like Family Fun Day help the organization's goal of bringing people together.

Family Fun Day will be held at Hope Mills Golf Course, located at 3625 Golfview Road in Hope Mills.

For more info about this event, visit https://www.facebook.com/hopemillsprimemovers2020/.

To kick off the 2023 National Arena League football season, the Fayetteville Mustangs began its inaugural season with a 68 — 43 victory over the Orlando Predators.

The newly minted NAL franchise serves under team owner and president Dr. Robert Twaddell. The local business proprietor and medical professional of 26 years is excited to bring the Mustangs to Fayetteville.

In April, Up & Coming Weekly caught up with Dr. Twaddell, Coach Charles Gunnings, players and front office staff during the team’s Meet & Greet to discuss the 2023 season. The Meet & Greet was held at Bubba’s 33, the official restaurant of the Fayetteville Mustangs.

Dr. Twaddell shared his team philosophy and the impact he’d like to achieve in Fayetteville and the surrounding area.

“I’m excited to see and to hear the roar, glee and cheers of young fans and families filling the stadium and supporting their home team,” he said.

“The team’s focus is centered on faith and family. I am excited to bring back competitive arena football to our city,” he added.

The tickets are affordable, starting at $15 each. And the team is looking to partner with potential co-owners and businesses to ensure the Mustangs are here to stay, Twaddell said.

Coach Charles Gunnings, a former NAL player with more than 15 years of experience, has won championships in multiple arena football leagues.
Gunnings shares the president’s philosophy. With the task of preparing the players to perform at the highest level, he talked about his role as coach and his process of building a competitive team. He talked about the single most important rule: player’s trusting one another.

“Our team has players that performed at the collegiate to the national level. We have a lot of alpha males so they all understand the time and commitment required to win games. However, winning at anything demands trust,” he said.

As Coach Gunning continued, he discussed the importance of taking care of the players families. “Our players perform better knowing that our owner, coaching staff, and front office truly care and support the family structure.”

The commitment to the youth and family extends into the community.

“I encourage youths from the ages of 9 to 13 years to join the F ayetteville Mustangs Youth League summer youth program,” Gunnings said. “Each team will play on the same turf, arena, and environment as the Mustangs at the Crown Complex. Each youth player will receive a free game day voucher for every Mustangs home game.”

With the Mustangs off to a winning start, Up & Coming Weekly spoke with Liberty City native and leader of the team. #12 Quarterback, Rakeem Cato, has an impressive passing completion rating of .734% over the past two games.

When asked about the upcoming season, he talked about having a great football camp prior to their game with the Orlando Predators. He believes the Mustangs have the right players to make a solid playoff run and ultimately securing the championship.

The 2023 season is in full swing with the Fayetteville Mustangs scheduled to host the following teams in May. Tickets are currently on sale at www.fayettevillemustangs.com/tickets for all home games.

Fayetteville Mustangs May 2023 Schedule at the Crown Complex
May 7, Home Game 2
Fayetteville Mustangs vs. San Antonio Gunslingers (Faith and Family Night). Doors open at 2 p.m., Kickoff at 3 p.m.
May 19, Home Game 3
Fayetteville Mustangs vs. Carolina Cobras (Education Appreciation Night). Doors open at 6 p.m., Kickoff at 7 p.m.

The North Carolina Military Historical Society’s annual symposium will be in Fayetteville this year.

The North Carolina Military Historical Society was incorporated in 1966 and is interested in preserving and sharing the unique military history of North Carolina in a variety of ways. Andrew Duppstadt, Treasurer of the NC Military Historical Society, tells Up & Coming Weekly that there is a chapter in Fayetteville, but this will be the first time the symposium has been held in Fayetteville.

“For many years, the symposium was held in Raleigh, but starting in 2022, we branched out, hosting the symposium in New Bern. This year is Fayetteville. In 2024 we will probably return to Raleigh, and in the future, may hold symposiums elsewhere around the state,” Duppstadt said.

This year’s event will focus on some current and historic Military installations in North Carolina. There will be presentations on Camp Lejeune, Camp Davis and Fort Fisher during World War II, the history of Fort Bragg, and the U.S. Coast Guard in North Carolina.

The day’s schedule is flexible, so people can attend a lecture and leave as their schedule permits. The symposium will kick off at 9 a.m. The first lecture will be at 10 a.m. by Paul Peeples. Peeples is a native of Fayetteville and a veteran of twenty years with the United States Marine Corps. He will be talking about Camp Lejeune during World War II.

Following his presentation, Cliff Tyndall, a recently retired History and Geography Professor at Bladen Community College, will provide a presentation on Camp Davis and Fort Fisher during World War II. His lecture starts at 11 a.m.

There will be an hour-and-a-half break for lunch. The symposium will resume at 1:15 p.m. with a presentation about the history of Fort Bragg. That will be provided by Dr. Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton, a professional archaeologist, researcher, and cultural resources manager.

The final presentation, scheduled for 2:15 p.m., will be given by Atlanta Area Historian for the U.S. Coast Guard, Dr. William Thiesen. He will be talking about the U.S. Coast Guard in North Carolina. At 3:15 p.m., there will be a special opportunity to tour the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Museum. Learning about state and military history is beneficial.

“I think the study of North Carolina’s Military history gives lessons to current generations,” Peeples said.

“One example is the Battle of Guildford Court House in the Revolutionary War. The results of Guildford Court House lead the British Commander, Lord Cornwallis, to go to Yorktown with the army he commanded, where it would be surrounded, cut off from reinforcement or evacuation, and compelled to surrender,” he said.

Attendees may take home more than knowledge.

“Each year at the symposium, we hold a book raffle. Raffle tickets are drawn numerous times throughout the day, and folks can pick from a wide array of military history books,” Duppstadt said.

“We are happy to be hosting this in Fayetteville and hope local folks will come out, see what we’re all about, and hopefully decide to become members of the Fayetteville Chapter.”

The symposium will take place on Saturday, May 6 and is free and open to the public. The presentations will be in the Pate Room of the Cumberland County Headquarters Library. The FILI Museum is located across the street from the library, within walking distance.

For more information on the NC Military Historical Society, visit www.ncmilitaryhistoricalsociety.org.

The Fort Bragg Fair is an annual event that takes place every spring and has become a staple for the community. This fair is open to everyone in the area and not just those on Fort Bragg. You don’t even need an installation pass to attend.

“The great thing about this event is that it’s not just open for our Fort Bragg community, but we open it up to the surrounding community. So it’s a great opportunity for our neighbors to come and enjoy it with us,” Jen Fayson, special events coordinator of Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, said.

“They’ve been coming to Fort Bragg for 30 plus years and they are extremely excited to be back again this year and be able to offer this to Fort Bragg and to Fayetteville, Spring Lake and our surrounding areas.”

The fair will run from May 3 to 14 at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds on Bragg Boulevard. Gates open at 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Admission to the fair costs $16 for the general public and $14 for military and DoD civilians, Monday through Friday. The fair costs $21 for the general public and $19 for military and DoD civilians on Saturdays and Sundays. Children under 36 inches tall are free.

There are special discounts available. On Monday through Friday, $11 Customer Appreciation tickets are available from 5 to 7 p.m. Mothers will also be able to attend the fair for free on Mother’s Day, May 14, if they are accompanied by a child 17 years old or younger.

Admission includes unlimited rides and live entertainment throughout the event, although concessions and games are an additional fee. There will be about 28 rides in total and an entire area for younger kids.

“They’re bringing back some of the favorite rides,” Fayson told Up & Coming Weekly.

“They've got the bumper cars, the Ferris Wheel, of course, and all types of fair food is going to be available for purchase once they get in.”

Parking is free and open to the public. Parking is available off Bragg Boulevard. ADA parking is accessible from Bragg Boulevard via Howell Street. There are prohibited items at the fair. This list includes dogs, outside food or beverages, alcoholic beverages, handheld weapons, tents, and glass bottles/containers. The only exceptions to this list are service dogs.

“It’s a great family atmosphere at the fair. We do security checks before anybody comes in. I say it’s one of the safer fairs that they can go to, and it’s just a sense of community. So it’s a great it’s just a great attitude and a great atmosphere out here at the fair every year,” Fayson said.

For more information about the Fort Bragg Fair, go to https://bragg.armymwr.com/calendar/event/2023-fort-bragg-fair/5926373/23406.

Spring is here, the flowers are blooming, and plants are thriving. Fayetteville is home to many farms, horticulture lovers, and rich soil to plant your favorite plants and foods.

The perfect place to experience horticulture and plant life in Fayetteville, is at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, and they’re giving the community a full day to learn, plant and be one with nature at Gardenmania on May 6.

This is their 4th annual event, the family friendly celebration lasts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is packed with workshops and activities for all ages.
No matter how green your thumb is, you’re sure to learn something from the four keynote speakers in attendance and get your hands dirty with the demos and activities from the staff.

They are a lot of rural and lower income areas around downtown, with the Botanical Garden being so close to the area, they aim to create a safe place for the community to immerse themselves in nature and learn new skills that can deepen people’s love for horticulture.

There will be many garden masters and health enthusiasts in attendance and speaking at Gardenmania. The Beekeepers Association will be discussing the importance of pollinators and handling bees with care in nature. Food nutritionists will be discussing the importance of food and nutrition in nature and how food is medicine.

Dr. Todd Beasley, owner of Horitcation, will explain how horticulture is connected to the roots of NASCAR and how the association has been able to become more diverse and progressive.
There will also be a discussion on native plants as well as demonstrations on what kind of food you can grow in your own house and garden.
Gardenmania is sure to bring fun and education to anyone in attendance. With additional plant sales, animal exhibits, and vendors galore, the botanical garden looks to provide everyone with the experience to be one with nature.

Be sure to come out May 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to enjoy the celebration of gardening. Garden member tickets are $10, non members are $15, kids under the age of 11 get in free.

“Jelly’s Last Jam” is a musical which premiered in 1992 and was written and directed by George C. Wolfe. It is a tribute to the life and career of one of the pioneers of jazz music in the early 20th century — jazz pianist Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known as Jelly Roll Morton. It will be showing at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre from May 4 to 28. The show is rated PG-13.

The musical features a talented cast, and this production will shine a light on the gripping and remarkable story of an artist while also honoring Jelly Roll Morton’s connection to his roots and jazz music, all brought to the CFRT stage.

Up & Coming Weekly was able to talk with Director and Choreographer Brian Harlan Brooks and the lead actor André Jordan. It was a fascinating conversation that shed light on the behind-the-scenes process of bringing this show to life.

Brooks started as a dancer and believed in telling stories and expressing feelings and emotions through dance, which made it a natural transition for him to start telling stories through directing.

He is also a trained actor and stated, “They are different skill sets, they have intersecting abilities, but they are different skill sets. So, being trained as an actor and performing as an actor and being trained as a dancer allowed me to meet the middle of directing and choreography.”

Lead actor André Jordan provided insight into playing a historical figure. “It has been a challenge, but it has been a very exciting challenge.” Jelly Roll Morton is the first African American figure he has the honor of portraying.

When addressing the process of preparing for a legendary musical and how much they draw from the original show, Brooks said he didn’t want to see how the musical was done before.

“As a director, sometimes you want to be really in your imagination.”

However, he did listen to the soundtrack.

“I feel inspired to read it and... look at the documentary and look at the intentions of the writers and the composers and then come up with my own ideas for the staging and choreography. This show originally was a tap show and I’m not using tap at all. So in order to do that, I really want to allow my imagination to run wild with it as opposed to having images of what somebody else created in my head.”

When asked if they could, for one day, play a different role from “Jelly’s Last Jam,” what would it be, Jordan said he would want a chance to sing Miss Mamie’s part in “Michigan Water Number.”

Brook's choice was the Chimney Man role because it’s similar to his role as a director. Brooks also noted that he liked how well-written the role of Anita is because it does not stick to the stereotypical way strength is shown in a Black woman but as a clear, strong woman. Further, he could not pick just one, but Chimney Man is close to his current role as the director.

The discussion moved to the cultural significance of “Jelly’s Last Jam” and the topic of
how the musical discusses Blackness and how it can not be defined as just one thing.

“Part of the pain Jelly goes through is that he finds himself stuck between a Creole identity, a Black identity, and not being white. And Creole in Jelly Roll Morton’s life was about its proximity and closeness to being white and being above whiteness,” said Brooks.

What they hope people take away from this show is something to help in their own lives.

“My hope is that people will come to this show and leave with something that will make their lives and themselves better,” said Jordan.

“I believe when you go through someone’s individual life, it also becomes universal because all of us can identify with some parts of rejection, some parts of not really feeling like you belong in certain places, and trying to find where you belong, and I think we all can identify with that... Hopefully makes the world a better a place one individual at a time,” said Brooks.

Their passion and excitement about this musical are inspiring and gives an appreciation for the art of musical theatre.

“Jelly’s Last Jam” is a musical experience you won’t want to miss. Performances run from May 4 to- 28, but grab your tickets soon because some performances are already sold out.

Tickets range from $19 to $37. Wednesday, May 10, is Military Appreciation Night (active duty, veterans and their families get 25% off the ticket price), and Friday, May 12, is Teacher Appreciation Night (teachers and their families get 25% off the ticket price).

For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.cfrt.org/.

A young girl named Hilda sits by her Grandmother’s bedside and starts thinking this is where she wants to be. She wants to be in a hospital and help sick people get better.
Hilda Edwards believes that was the day God put the dream to be a nurse into her heart. From that day forward, nursing became her calling.

Knowing that nursing was her calling helped her while in school, along with knowing that she could overcome any obstacles through hard work. When things got difficult, she recalled, “All I could think about was helping people.” It was clear that nothing would stop her from becoming the nurse she was meant to be.

After completing her nursing degree in 1979, she worked in various departments as a Registered Nurse, including the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), Obstetric and Gynecology, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Psychiatric, and Pediatrics.

Those experiences provided her with “an insurmountable amount of knowledge about different things.” Furthermore, she also learned a lot from the patients. Her concentration, however, was in pediatrics. She missed pediatrics and talked about how she worked with some good nurses and loved her job. Regardless of where she worked, she focused on the patients and their families and did her best.

Edwards believes that nursing is a calling and more than just a job. She explains, “This job takes a lot of heart and soul... if you’re in it for the money, you might as well get out. You have to have a heart for people.” She also emphasizes the importance of going into nursing to be of service and help people. “We are our brother’s keeper. You have to be willing to give of yourself,” she says. She would constantly go that extra mile for the patient and their family that put their trust in her because they knew she would take good care of their child.

Throughout her career, she has witnessed firsthand the toll that nursing can take on an individual. She has seen good nurses she worked with leave because of burnout. Burnout is a concern because it could lead to decreased job satisfaction and reduced quality of care that a nurse may provide to their patients. Her advice for avoiding burnout is to “know where your boundaries are.”

There were many times while Edwards was working when there was no time for breaks for the nurses because of how busty and hectic it could be. “Working on the floor, you really learn teamwork,” she says.

Furthermore, she believes that nurses need some emotional support because the job can be taxing on the heart. At times being understaffed plus long hours, combined with the emotional toll of caring for sick patients, is overwhelming.

While working in pediatrics, she recalls, “I sat on the bed many nights and cried.” Even though time has passed, she still remembers the patients who got better and those who, sadly, did not. However, she would do it all again because she believes nursing is her calling.

Despite the challenges that come with the nursing profession, Edwards says that the rewards outweigh the difficulties. “It’s just a joy you get out of making people feel better... It’s the best thing, I’ve met a lot of patients and mothers, fathers and they still remember me. It makes my heart feel happy and warm,” she says.

Edwards believes that nurses deserve more pay and more respect. “Nurses are the eyes and ears of doctors,” she says. Further, nurses are also educators for patients and their loved ones. They provide instructions for patients on what to expect and how to take care of themselves once they return home. Nurses wear many hats: healers, nurturers, management, educators, and more.

Currently, Edwards is working in case management and still helping people and being of service.

Registered Nurse Hilda Edwards is an example of the dedication and passion nurses bring to their work daily. Her commitment to caring for her patients, going that extra mile, and doing her best is a reminder of what it truly means to be a healthcare professional.
“It’s a very rewarding occupation. I would not have changed it for the world,” she said. “I’ve been rewarded in many ways by being a nurse. Just by helping other people.”

Nurses Week is a time to honor and celebrate all the many roles that nurses play every single day. They are the backbone and frontline of the healthcare field.

One registered nurse who is making a difference in Fayetteville is Ashley Justice. A nurse for five years, Justice’s nursing career began a little differently than many others.

“I was actually a translator in the Air Force for twelve years and I really enjoyed it but as you can imagine, I was overseas a lot. It was time to settle down and find a job that I could enjoy and that I found challenging that also didn’t require me to travel as much,” she said.

There are over 20 types of nursing specialists so for those that are thinking about nursing, there are plenty of avenues to choose from.
Ashley spoke a bit about which career path she’s taken as a nurse.

“Eventually, I decided to go into Psych and get my Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Degree and I’m working as a RN right now but I did just finish school so we’ll see how that goes,” Justice said.

“I started in Neuro and I found that I enjoyed working with the patients,” she said.

“Neuro is a lot like Psych, patients aren’t really themselves. It’s for a different reason like brain tumors or dementia, where as in Psych, it’s the neurotransmitters aren’t firing right basically. I wanted to get more specific and geared towards Psych so I started working in the Psych Emergency Department up at Duke.”

Justice was there for a year and a half and found it exciting because there were “people coming in basically at their worst, maybe they were having their first schizophrenic break or going through some bipolar mania thing like that. We would stabilize them. I did enjoy that but I wanted to work with inpatient after I got my Emergency Room experience.”
Justice has been at Cape Fear since November and said she enjoys the experience.

“You get to work with the patients more long-term and best case scenario, you do get to see them get better before they’re discharged. Worst case, we
do see them back so you kind of see a little of everything.”

When asked about a piece of advice she would give to a future nurse, Justice said “Be open minded because you might pick a specialty that isn’t right for you, but that doesn't mean that nursing isn’t right for you. There are so many avenues you could pursue. I mean you can do labor and delivery, pediatrics … there’s really anything available to you, it’s like a million jobs in the world.”

The month of May recognizes two important work forces which are vital to our community: teachers and nurses. Nurses and teachers help shape our communities and help us to thrive. During these special weeks, we honor their dedication, compassion and hard work.

Up & Coming Weekly had the chance to sit down and talk with Robin Kivett, an Associate Degree Nursing Instructor at Fayetteville Technical Community College.

Kivett became a registered nurse and graduated FTCC in 1981. She previously worked at Cape Fear Valley and was the Palliative Care Coordinator. She then transitioned to FTCC and became a teacher in 2019, which was a full-circle moment for her.

During her time as an instructor at FTCC, she helped oversee the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine being administered at the COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic held at FTCC on April 1, 2021. She also received a NISOD Excellence Award for her outstanding work at FTCC.

UCW: What inspired you to become a nurse?

Kivett: As a young girl, I always played teacher, and I always envisioned that I would be in education. At a high school career fair over at 71st, we had many vendors who had come from different colleges, and as we were walking by one of the schools of nursing, a girlfriend of mine said, ‘You know what? You would make a great nurse.’ I had never considered nursing. There's no one medical in my family.

But at the same time, later that year, I was voted the most compassionate. Not most likely to succeed and not anything else but most compassionate. And I really think for that it was sort of a light bulb moment for me that, maybe nursing is what I was meant to do. It's really ironic to me that I now have come full circle, and I've been able to blend nursing and teaching, and I'm doing both.

UCW: Why did you decide to switch careers to teaching?

Kivett: I always knew that there was a tug at my heart to come back to teaching. And so I think even as a nurse, I always recognized that I would eventually teach nursing. At the time, the position I had was eliminated. And so that pretty much was the impetus for me. That job change was very difficult because I loved that position. And I remember even sitting in the parking lot one day really kind of tearful about the fact that that position had ended and having a prayer moment and just really angry, ‘God, why is this happening?’ And I didn't really have that recognition, didn't really have that answer.

And then, I was sitting in my office after delivering an amazing class that day, and it was almost like this little tap on my shoulder that said, ‘Robin, this is why. Instead of teaching one family at a time, now you've taught 40 students, and each one of them can now go teach one family at a time.’ And I thought, okay, now I get it. This is where I'm supposed to be.

UCW: Can you share some challenges you have faced as a nurse and how you overcame them?

Kivett: The challenging thing for me is to look at health care across our nation right now. As nurses who feel that sense of allegiance with our patients, sometimes we have conflict. We have moral distress between what we're having to do and what is dictated by insurance and systems and that sort of thing. Whenever we feel like that maybe it is not the most patient-centered care. And I think that's probably one of the biggest challenges. We may not feel that it's safe, that we have to provide care for X number of patients, but we are what we are. That's all we've got, and we have to do the best that we can.

UCW: What is the most rewarding aspect of being a nurse and a teacher?

Kivett: Even though I was in a patient care setting previously, I was always that teacher to them and for them, for patients and their families, to finally have that aha moment of that understanding, those light bulb moments was just so rewarding because then they could make informed decisions and move forward with their care. So that was still teaching.

But in coming to the actual academic side of nursing, it is now I get to see those aha moments for students. I often find that students don't realize that they're learning what they think they're learning, but later they're like, ‘Oh my God, I do know that. Oh wow, I can do that. Or look at how I've grown.’ When you think about a brand new person who comes into nursing, and then two years later, they're actually a practicing nurse. It's just amazing. And that's the most rewarding thing for me is nudging them to the next class so that they can then graduate and do the work that they want to do.

UCW: How do you balance life and work with your job?

Kivett: I actually have to think that at this moment in time in the health care system, I don't know that we do. I think we do the best that we can. And even in academics, there's always something else to be done.

And I think, as a bedside nurse, I'm not sure that we do. I think that we do the best that we can,
But at the same time, there is that constant tug between taking care of your patients and taking care of your family, regardless of what your family looks like. If that's just a partner or whatever, you know, or your kids, I think it's just very difficult. One of the big emphasis this day and time is on nursing self-care.

The American Nursing Association has a big push on Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation, and I belong to that and then I encourage my students to be involved in that.

We're in desperate times in nursing and I think we really have to emphasize setting some boundaries. But it's very difficult not to go in for that extra shift or not to do that when you know that your coworkers are struggling to care for as many patients as they may be having to care for.

UCW: What is one thing that you want people to know about your career?
Kivett: I think that nursing is the best career. I had this conversation with a student this morning. Once they become licensed, once they pass the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination), being a nurse opens doors, literally.

I mean, I know that's kind of a stock sentence, but it really, it truly does because if I don't want to work in a hospital setting, I can work in an outpatient setting or a school setting or work in the prison system. If I enjoy working with older people, I can work with the elderly in a nursing home. If I don't care for that, I can work with pediatrics and children.

Nursing probably offers the most varied opportunities of any career path that I can imagine.

Dr. Shanessa Fenner, principal at W.T. Brown Elementary, wants all of her students to reach their highest potential. She calls them her “babies” and “my sweet faces.”

“Teachers run in my family,” Fenner said. “My mother was a teacher. My sister is a teacher. Teaching, I always thought, was awesome because you lay the foundation for the babies and teachers. That’s how I got into the field of education.”

As an educator, Dr. Fenner strives to stay connected with her staff, students and their parents.

“I build relationships with them. I talk to them, spend time with them, ask them questions. I’m a very authentic, open, accessible person when it comes to my staff, parents and my babies,” she said. “Everyone knows that you can come to me, ask me a question or come to me with a concern. I have an open-door policy.”

Dr. Fenner uses a consistent approach in building those ties to her staff, students and families.

“Relationships are everything. If you don’t have relationships, you don’t have anything.”

Over the years, Fenner has encouraged other educators to continue their educational pursuits. This includes helping them with their assignments and reading over their dissertations. She is a cheerleader for those who seek to obtain a higher degree. One of her former coworkers, Patricia Moses, detailed this further.

In 1998, Moses and Fenner were teachers at Lucile Souders Elementary School. Fenner taught second grade and Moses taught first grade.
Fenner asked Moses, “What are your long-term and short-term goals?” Moses said she was content with being a teacher and Fenner asked if Moses would complete her master’s. Other teachers then started asking Dr. Fenner about the completion of their higher level degrees. Moses went on to obtain her master’s.

A legacy of high expectations

Fenner has been the principal at Mae Rudd Williams Elementary Kindergarten School, Ireland Drive Middle School, Alger B. Wilkins Elementary School and now W.T. Brown Elementary School.

“It’s all about the legacy you leave,” Fenner said. “I want to leave a legacy that Dr. Fenner wanted everybody to learn and grow and be the best that they could be. She had very high expectations and she would tell you she would not lower them. You are going to rise to high expectations.”

A former student commented on the positive legacy Fenner brings to school. Nyasia Franklin had Fenner as a principal from Pre-K to fifth grade. Franklin, currently in the sixth grade, said Fenner is a great role model.

“She was very inspiring. She encouraged students. She was always willing to talk to you one-on-one,” Franklin said. “She always had your back no matter what. I love Dr. Fenner because she believes in me,” Franklin said.

Franklin’s grandmother, Ladoniya Miller, added: “Dr. Fenner is what every principal should strive to be. As a parent, I’ve been able to voice anything that I needed to say to her. She was always willing to speak with me,” Miller said.

“Just to sit and watch her and to know the things she’s achieved in her life makes me feel good. It, in turn, shows the students what they can achieve also,” she said.
Fenner’s dedication to her students, staff and profession have not gone unnoticed. She was nominated as a Cumberland County Principal of the Year twice.

Educational pursuit

Dr. Fenner has multiple degrees from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Her bachelor’s degree is from North Carolina Central University. She has two master’s — one is in Administration and one in Elementary Education — that she obtained from Fayetteville State University. Her doctorate degree is from FSU. She said her HBCU experience still influences her journey.

“It continues to shine and show up in everything that I do because both of those institutions taught me and gave me the confidence to be all that I can be, to give back to my community and volunteer,” she said.

In her heart, she wants all of her babies to get a doctorate degree. She encourages them to at least obtain a bachelor’s degree. Some former students let her know they are following her advice when they are in college.

This year, Fenner took her fifth graders on a field trip to Fayetteville State University. She made sure they could tour the school and eat in the cafeteria to give the students a feel of what a college experience would be like. She said exposure is the key for her babies.

“I want to sit in my rocking chair one day and turn on my tv and I want to see your face across that tv saying you did something great. I’m going to say, ‘That was one of my babies,’” Fenner said.

When asked what she wants to see more of in education, Fenner said she wants to go back to the concept “It takes a village to raise a child.”

“I want to see more parental involvement,” Fenner said. “I want parents sitting down every night with their children doing homework, flashing multiplication cards, reading to them, communicating more with my teachers, and building that positive home-school connection.”

Influence beyond education

Over the years, in her spare time on weekends, Fenner has written for 16 publications, including Up & Coming Weekly.

“It’s very therapeutic for me. I’ve always been able to express my thoughts and emotions on paper,” she said.

She said writing aids her love of meeting new people. She currently has a podcast called “The City Insight” featuring cosmetologists, barbers, fashion designers among others. She’s been doing it for a few months and tapes on the weekends. She says the podcast has been fun.
Fenner has also done work as an actress, a hair model, insurance agent, radio personality, TV show host, songwriter and adjunct professor.

What’s Next

Fenner plans on writing a book perhaps on leadership — or maybe even a romance novel, something that would be different for her, she said.

“I believe that we were placed on Earth to do great things and that is exactly what I am going to do,” she said. “You never know what is going to happen tomorrow and I am not going to be put into a box only knowing how to do one thing.”

Capt. Daniel Gordon is no stranger to difficult tasks. As an armor officer with the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade on Fort Bragg, Gordon has worked hard to succeed in his military career. He is using that focus and drive to compete in the Spartan Death Race in Pittsfield, Vermont.

The race, held June 30 through July 3, is an extreme test of the participants’ endurance, and Gordon is looking forward to it.

“I always kind of like to do things that push me out of my comfort zone,” Gordon said.

From running marathons and ultra marathons to participating in Spartan Races, Gordon has been preparing for the Spartan Death Race since September, and says he is looking forward to the grueling, four day event.

“I have done a lot of the regular Spartan races. I had done all the way up to the longest one they have, so this seemed like the next logical progression from that. It is something varied, something new, something I wasn’t sure I was able to do, so it was kind of that next challenge for me,” said Gordon.

The Spartan Death Race, held in a farm in Vermont, is considered to be one of the most difficult races in the world. Participants are subjected to several days worth of challenges before the actual race begins. Those who don’t make the timed events or who can’t complete the tasks are pulled from the event.

Gordon says the days of challenges leading up to the actual race were created to mentally and physically wear the participants out. Last year, they spent the first day carrying concrete bags weighing around 70 pounds up and down a mountain and building a rock wall. This was when the organizers made the first cut, Gordon said.

Instead of being able to relax after the strenuous day, the competitors hiked all through the night before they came to their next day’s challenges, which seemed to be centered around memorization skills. The race began not long after these challenges.

Sleep deprivation, hunger and body fatigue plague every participant, and according to the Spartan website, only 20% of those who enter the race actually finish.

This will be the second year that Gordon will be doing the extreme event. Last year, he came within four hours of finishing the race.

“The sun was coming up on the third day, and I knew they were going to call the race in the couple of hours, but I didn’t complete one of the challenges in time,” said Gordon. “I got cut with about four hours remaining. I was so frustrated because I got super close.”

This year, he is hoping for redemption.

“I’m looking forward to correcting the mistakes of last year. I don’t want to come up short. I trained really hard and put a lot of effort into it, just to come so close to finishing,” Gordon said. “It really put a sour taste in my mouth. I don’t like failing at anything. People in sports say they have unfinished business, it was kind of like I had to come back for redemption I guess.”

Gordon set the goal of finishing the race a few years ago, and has been working toward that goal ever since. Last year, he trained for four months leading up to the event. This year, he gave himself nine months to train. Balancing military life with training has been difficult, he said, but he tries to make time every day to work out. If he doesn’t get a run in before work, he’ll run after, going as far as eight to ten miles. On weekends, when he has more spare time, he’s able to do longer runs along with weight training.

But Gordon doesn’t seem to mind. He says the military has helped prepare him for these events.

“There are times when you are out in the field when you have to run on low sleep, not a lot of food. When we are in these races where people get super agitated or people have to operate without sleep, the military prepares you for that,” he said.

He said he finds a similar camaraderie with his fellow racers as he does with his military friends.

“I met some really cool people last year,” he said. “While you’re doing it, it isn’t enjoyable. But kind of like the military there’s a camaraderie with the people you do it with.

“It is a race, but especially in those first couple of days you are kind of helping each other out. It’s the same in the military, you build friendships through going through hard things. That’s what I’m looking forward to: the feeling of going through a hard thing with some cool people who are like-minded.”

Gordon finds the mental aspects of the race to be the most challenging to conquer.

“You just never know when it’s going to end. It could end at hour 69 or hour 72,” he said. “When you go above the 24 hour mark with very limited sleep, you just want to give up. You ask why are you doing this. Those questions creep in your head. You gotta just come back to center, come back to being in the moment.”

Fayetteville has a thriving poetry community, and what better way to show that off than with a poetry slam team. The team is a group of poets who compete in poetry slam competitions. These competitions involve poets performing their original work in front of a live audience and a panel of judges who score the performances.

The Detour Slam Team has been making waves in the community with their powerful performances. Their unique style and passionate delivery have earned them a loyal following. Now Fayetteville's own poetry slam team will be competing at the Southern Fried Poetry Competition June 7-10 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Detour Slam Team was founded in 2019 by LeJuane “El’Ja” Bowens. That year, the team was ranked in 11th place in the Southern Fried Poetry Festival. It was supposed to be a one-time thing since the competition was taking place in Fayetteville, but Bowens said that the reception was so big, they decided to continue.

In 2021, the competition went international since it was virtual. The Detour Slam Team ranked in 10th place. There are five local poets who will be competing this year. The team consists of Keith Sowell, Amanda Bullard, Nick Courmon, Shenika Whitfield and Letitia Brown.

This is the first year Sowell has been part of the slam team. He said that despite being born and raised in Fayetteville, he only heard about the poetry scene in that last year. He told Up & Coming Weekly that once he started to integrate into the community, he had to try out for the team and he got in.

“Being a poet in Fayetteville feels like being a part of a close-knit community that appreciates your creativity, passion and emotions. As an artist, you really don’t get that everywhere, so to constantly have that affirmation is a blessing,” Sowell said.

“I started my poetic journey here at Gray’s Creek High School back in 2015 when two teachers and a class of students initiated a team. Seeing all the pockets of poetry manifest and grow in Fayetteville over the past few years is inspiring!”

Bowens says the slam team has been invited to several community events to perform. He says it’s been rewarding to see so many people embrace the slam team.

“It definitely is a blessing and a humble moment to see that happen not only for myself but for the team members as well,” Bowens said.

Sowell says he is beyond excited to attend the Southern Fried Poetry Competition this year.

“I can be a very competitive person. So when put in a space with other poets that can challenge me, I believe I’ll be at my best as a performer and storyteller. That is only heightened when I get with a team of people who also take the craft seriously, like my teammates!”

The team is selling a small collection of their poetry for $10. The poems in this collection deal with stories that will take you on a journey of direction within life; both physically and emotionally. People can buy the book at https://bit.ly/413MZc8.

They are asking for donations to help cover the team’s hotel accommodations, rental, gas and food expenses. Their goal is $5,000. To help out, go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/detourslam2023.