This annual event was established in 1982 by Tom and Mary Jo Harrison of Trinity United Methodist Church, in honor of their fathers, W.S. Harrison and J. Paul Shaw. Each year, a different, well-known preacher was invited to perform a weekend of interdenominational services for West Asheville and Buncombe County as a whole. In a newspaper interview for the 20th anniversary of the mission, Mrs. Harrison stated the purpose has always been “the drawing of people together from all denominations and races for worship and inspiration.”
The mission ran from 1982 through 2004, and each year Mrs. Harrison compiled all the photos taken, pamphlets given out, planning correspondence, thank you notes, and other ephemera in scrapbooks. These scrapbooks were donated to Buncombe County Special Collections by Mr. Harrison, shortly after Mrs. Harrison’s death in 2024. The collection was processed that summer and is now available to view in the West Asheville Library. Digitized versions of the scrapbooks are available on archive.org – below is the 1991 scrapbook, featuring Rev. Stephen Brown.
Featured Preachers:
1982: Rev. Stephen W. Brown
1983: Sir Alan Walker
1984: Dr. Myron Augsberger
1985: Dr. Arthur Caliandro
1986: Rev. Peter Marshall
1987: Rev. Joel C. Gregory
1988: Rev. Martin Minns
1989: Rev. Barbara Brokhoff
1990: Dr. Jim Fleming
1991: Rev. Stephen W. Brown (invited back for the 10th anniversary)
1992: Dr. Zan W. Holms Jr.
1993: Dr. H. Stephen Shoemaker
1994: Dr. H. Eddie Fox
1995: Dr. Alastair C. Walker
1996: Dr. Mark Rutland
1997: Dr. James Buskirk
1998: Rev. P. Douglas Small
1999: Dr. And Mrs. Louis Evans
2000: Rev. Jessica Moffat
2001: Bishop Cecil Bishop
2002: Dr. R. Scott Colglazier
2003: Dr. Robert Tuttle Jr.
2004: Dr. Mark D. Baker
Contributed by Mel Hall, July 2024.