The ‘Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord’ concert to benefit ACTS is coming up quickly, and Executive Director Thomas Blackwell is looking forward to the Oct. 11 performance at McGregor Hall. Blackwell has been in the role since January, and this will be the first chance he’s had to attend.
So far, local performers like Evelyn Couch, Eric Hargrove and praise teams from Harriet Baptist Church and Clearview Church are among those taking the stage over the course of the concert, which begins at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $5 and are available at the door. Children 12 and under get in free.
Sponsorships are available and there’s still time to sign up to perform, Blackwell said on Monday’s TownTalk. The deadline for both is Oct. 6.
And while the concert will be a feast for the ears, Blackwell said it’s a way to support the mission of ACTS to feed people – and not just with food.
“We want to feed people spiritually, not just bodily,” he said.
ACTS continues to provide hot meals at lunchtime, but since the COVID pandemic, those meals have been served outside.
He estimates that ACTS is serving between 200 and 300 plates a day, but some of those are take-home plates, so the number of individuals is lower than that figure.
“There are a lot of people who just need a little help,” Blackwell said, quoting statistics that state there are close to 4,000 children in Henderon alone who are food-insecure.
Blackwell said volunteers, as well as the cook, are working to put a plan together to return to providing meals indoors for those who rely on hot lunches at ACTS.
“We really want to bring people back inside, to build relationships,” he said. “We want Gospel opportunities in all that we do.”
Blackwell said he sees the mission of ACTS as part of The Great Commission, taking Jesus’s message to the corners of the world. Henderson is one of those corners, too, and the work of ACTS is a way to fulfill that mission close to home.
People “need hope, dignity, compassion,” he said, “someone to point them to Jesus.”
Follow ACTS on Facebook, where Blackwell keeps an updated list of particular needs for food donations and more. With school back in session, for example, the Backpack Buddies program is up and running, so there’s a need for single-serve food items for students to take home on weekends.
Contact Blackwell at ACTS 252.492.8231 or via email at tdblackwell@actsofhenderson.org
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