Global Community Series in Banner Elk Begins September 10

Story by Corinne Saunders

The Global Community Center at Lees-McRae College will host events beginning on Thursday, September 10, that focus on the theme for this year’s Global Community Series, “The Power of Compassion: Crossing Barriers and Bringing Hope.”

Admission to events is free, and all events are open to the public. All events start at 7:00 p.m. and take place in the Evans Auditorium in the Canon Student Center, with the exception of the play “The Risks of Heroes.”

The series kicks off on Thursday, September 10, with a showing of the movie The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, which was released this April and was a Hallmark Hall of Fame feature.

Norm Conard will speak on “Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project” on Monday, September 14. Conard’s high school students in Kansas researched the life of Sendler, writing a paper and then a play—“Life in a Jar”—on the Polish Catholic woman who saved the lives of 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of a Warsaw ghetto during WWII, Crawford said.

“Their work turned into restoring her story and putting her heroics back into the limelight,” he added. “They actually got to go over and speak to her and others in Poland.”

The movie on September 10 will “provide a good foundation for what he’ll be talking about,” said Global Community Center Director Scott Crawford.

Sendler was born in 1910 and died in 2008.

“We’re really excited Norm Conard is coming,” Crawford said, adding that he will speak on not only the project, but also “the importance of our history and how uncovering these stories is part of being a global citizen.”

On Tuesday, September 15, Rabbi Hirschfield will speak on promoting acceptance and tolerance. Hirschfield is author of the book You Don’t Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right: Faith Without Fanaticism.

Hirschfield, based in New York, has a weekly radio show and was voted one of the top 50 rabbis by Newsweek, Crawford said.

He underwent a personal transformation years ago, having been a strong proponent for restoring Israel to its Biblical borders before realizing he can believe what he believes and still maintain respectful dialogue with others of different perspectives, Crawford said.

A light reception will follow both Conard’s and Hirschfield’s lectures. In Hirschfield’s case, his book will be for sale, and he will be available for book signings.

The Global Community Series typically features a week of activities each fall at Lees-McRae College. It began in 2005 when Tibetan monks came to campus, Crawford said. Prior to this year, the center had been housed in the chaplain’s office.

“It’s now a full-fledged branch of the college, growing and expanding,” he said. “We pick off a hot topic each year and explore that through these events.”

Collaboration between different departments this year will conclude the series with five performances of a play written by Dr. Janet Barton Speer, titled “The Risks of Heroes,” which also serves to kick off the fall performing arts series at Lees-McRae.

The play will be performed from Wednesday, September 30, to Sunday, October 4. The performances take place at 7:30 p.m. daily, except on Sunday, when the play begins at 2:00 p.m.

“The way I understand it, she breaks down individal stories [of] ordinary people who have risen to do extraordinary things,” Crawford said.

The four stories, told through dance, dialogue and music, include the story of Irena Sendler. A translator from Darfur who helped get the story out regarding events there, at a risk to himself, and girls in Afghanistan who attended school despite receiving threats and having people throw acid at them, will also be part of the play.

Tickets will only be available at the door and cost $12 for adults and $5 for students.

For more information, call Crawford at 828-898-8788 or email crawfords@lmc.edu.

For more information about Irena Sendler, click to www.irenasendler.org.

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