Weekley Memorial Church
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From: http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/020619/writing/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Excerpt from "Summer Reading" By Anita Skeen ( June 2002 ) 
"The church I grew up in was not a cathedral, but a modest stucco building
with a sanctuary for probably 400 people, hard walnut benches that curved
down toward the altar, and stained glass windows that had no pictures, no
graven images, but only panels of yellow, green, and brown that filtered
the morning light.
"As in the library, there was a quiet, a sense of purpose among those collected, an attention to words and their power to change lives. My first poetry was the poetry of the King James version of the Bible delivered from the pulpit, the cadences of such lines as I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help ... I understood that. I lived on a hill. When I felt bad, I climbed higher into the woods. When I came down, I always felt better, even if I didn’t know why or where my help came from. Now, 50 years after I sat in that sanctuary, Weekley Memorial Evangelical United Brethren Church (quite a mouthful for a kid, eh?) has become the home of the Charleston Light Opera Guild. The congregation aged, the children moved away, the church closed its doors. But there is still music, and poetry and story in that building, for which I am grateful." *Reprinted with permission. 
A Brief History of the Guild For over fifty years the Guild has provided a showcase for local musical talent. Back in 1948, the only outlet for local vocal talent was in church choirs. Several enthusiastic vocal teachers in the community, along with their students, met to form an organization to produce light operettas, and the decision was made to produce Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore as their initial offering. HMS Pinafore played in January of 1949 to a standing room only audience at the Charleston High School Auditorium. The year 1960 opened with Oklahoma under director Tom Murphy and ushered in the era of the Broadway musical for the Guild. By this time the Charleston Civic Center Little Theater was available and has been used for all "main stage" Guild productions since that time. The Guild secured a workshop during the mid-sixties in East Charleston and was able to rehearse, build and store sets, costumes, props, and supplies and later to present small musicals in its home. In 1996 the Guild purchased a new workshop and theater. It was the former Weekley Memorial Methodist Church on the West Side of Charleston. The investment was over $700,000 and was made possible by the use of $225,000 of Guild funds and through contributions from generous supporters who believed in the Guild’s future in the Kanawha Valley. Cinderella opened in the new theater in the summer of 1996 to capacity audiences. The Guild was also awarded the Mayor’s Award for Artistic Achievement in 1996. |