Cherished holiday memories embedded in Flat Rock
- cdavis884
- Nov 11
- 5 min read
By Missy Craver Izard
With the holidays approaching, many of us look forward to traditions we hold dear. Often, these revolve around food, shopping and the seasonal bustle — but beneath the surface lies the true meaning of the season. The spiritual essence of the holidays reminds us why we celebrate, offering a pause in a life that seems to rush by. It is in these moments, when we gather with family and friends, that the magic of the season truly reveals itself.
Nestled on a wooded hilltop above the northern gateway to Flat Rock sits the Church of St. John in the Wilderness, the oldest Episcopal Church in Western North Carolina. Like a shepherd keeping watch over his flock, St. John’s seems to stand guard over the village and its people. For almost two centuries, the marble plaques and epitaphs of its graveyard have whispered stories of summer residents who escaped the heat of the Lowcountry to build homes around the “great flat rock.”
St. John’s, like many churches, is woven into the fabric of holiday traditions. From Thanksgiving to Twelfth Night (Epiphany), families gather here for some of their most cherished times together. Though the form of these celebrations has evolved throughout the decades, their spirit — gratitude, love, family and community — remains unchanged.
The church’s story begins in 1827, when South Carolina rice planter Charles Baring sought a climate more agreeable for his wife’s health. He purchased 400 acres in Flat Rock and built Mountain Lodge, an English country estate. The Barings, devout churchgoers, erected a private chapel on the property — a common custom among English gentry — and named it St. John in the Wilderness. Whether in homage to John the Baptist, who ministered in the wilderness, or after their family church in Exmouth, England, the name evokes both spiritual and geographic roots.
In August 1836, the Barings deeded their chapel to the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. Twenty members of the Flat Rock summer colony formed a parish, and Reverend Thomas S.W. Mott became its first chaplain. By the early 1840s, the small chapel could no longer accommodate the growing congregation. Charleston architect Edward C. Jones designed an expansion, completed in 1852, adding a bell tower and new entrance. The expansion was built over the Barings’ family crypts, which remain beneath the church today, marble tablets marking their place on the south wall.
Throughout the years, generations of families have shared weddings, baptisms, funerals and countless gatherings at St. John’s,
creating a rich tapestry of memories. Many of these moments, though unrecorded, tell the story of a congregation bound by faith and fellowship. Even when things went awry, the resulting stories became legendary, passed down with laughter and love.
This past Sunday, the Fall Festival reminded us of that enduring spirit. Despite wind and rain, festivities moved to the Parish Hall, where sack-cloth races brought joy and laughter to all. Looking around the room, it was impossible not to notice God’s grace reflected in smiles, shared stories and the simple delight of being together. These are the blessings that form the heart of holiday traditions — a reminder that community, connection and joy are at the center of all celebrations.
The season of thankfulness also calls to mind the story of Thanksgiving. Contrary to the handprint turkeys of elementary school, what is often called the first Thanksgiving in 1621 was a three-day harvest celebration, shared by Pilgrims and Wampanoag alike, as recorded by William Bradford. It was not until Sarah Josepha Hale, magazine editor and tireless advocate, published Bradford’s account in the early 1800s that the holiday began to take its modern shape. (For the record, Sarah Hale and other historians did not look at evidence reported more than a decade ago in this newspaper of an earlier celebration in Virginia and an even older one in St. Augustine, Florida.) Nonetheless, Hale lobbied five presidents for more than 36 years, earning the nickname “Mother of Thanksgiving,” and in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it an official national holiday — a step toward healing a nation divided by civil war.
Holiday homecomings and celebrations are a thread that continues through history. In the summer of 1945, when World War II ended, Libby Maybank Guèrard Wright recalls her father, Burnett Maybank — then governor of South Carolina and senior warden at St. John’s — taking her and her friend Alicia Walker to the church bell tower. They rang the bells with all their might, announcing the war’s end. Afterwards, they drove through Flat Rock and Hendersonville, siren blaring, sharing the joy with the town and even German prisoners of war who were working on local farms. That sense of excitement, of returning home and celebrating together, mirrors the warmth we feel during holiday gatherings today.
Traditions at St. John’s extend beyond Thanksgiving and homecomings. All Souls’ Day, observed with prayer on November 3, calls for remembering loved ones who have passed. Early customs included “souling,” where poor families went door-to-door receiving soul cakes in exchange for prayers — a tradition that evolved throughout centuries into modern trick-or-treating. Some customs involved visiting and cleaning gravesites — decorating them with candles to guide souls back at the close of All Souls’ Day.
The churchyard at St. John’s is of historical significance, containing graves of first families of the country, descendants of signers of the Declaration of Independence, 19th-century politicians, military leaders and other notable figures. Many summer residents, despite attending churches elsewhere most of the year, chose St. John’s cemetery as their final resting place — a symbolic homecoming for their souls. On the northeast slope, a burial ground holds approximately 100 graves of enslaved and freed African Americans who served the summer residents. In 2015, a six-foot granite cross was installed to honor this sacred site, and each Advent, St. John’s youth place holiday sprays on the graves — a quiet act of remembrance and respect.
Flat Rock has grown into a vibrant, diverse community, but St. John’s remains a constant. The peace of its surroundings offers a rare reprieve, a place to pause, reflect and reconnect with history and tradition. On Christmas Eve, all differences are set aside. The congregation stands together in darkness, candles flickering, voices raised in “Silent Night,” just as generations before have done. In that moment, the past and present merge, and the true gifts of the season — love, community and faith — shine brightest.
Whether through stories of ringing bells, decorating graves or sharing a simple meal, the traditions of St. John in the Wilderness remind us that holidays are more than dates on a calendar — they are threads that weave together the past and present, binding us to family, faith and community. As we gather this season, may we embrace the joy of these traditions, honoring the memories they carry and creating new ones to cherish for years to come.
Missy Craver Izard was born and raised in Charleston, S.C. and resides in Flat Rock, N.C. A retired summer camp director and art teacher, Missy is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, journalist, community leader and the recipient of several awards including the White House Champions of Change.
