AN EVENING WITH RICHARD PAUL EVANS
Thursday, November 12 • Grand Opera House • St. Marys, Ohio
I am incredibly excited to welcome Richard Paul Evans to St. Marys on November 12. This really is an extraordinary opportunity for our community to spend an evening with an internationally known, #1 New York Times bestselling author, right here in St. Marys.
Richard will be at the beautiful Grand Opera House that evening.
Then at 7:00 PM, Richard will take the stage in the St. Marys Theatre for his public presentation, followed by a book signing.
The 7:00 PM event is FREE to the public, but tickets are required because seating is limited. Tickets can be reserved online through the Grand Opera House.
I am especially proud that we can bring this event to our community through the support of the Grand Opera House, the Angel of Hope Prayer Garden and Committee, and myself.
WHO IS RICHARD PAUL EVANS?
Many people immediately recognize Richard as the author of The Christmas Box, the book that began his remarkable career.
What started as a heartfelt Christmas story became an international phenomenon and launched a writing career that has reached millions of readers around the world.
Richard has written novels, inspirational books, children’s books and young-adult fiction. His work includes The Christmas Box, The Walk series, The Broken Road series, the enormously popular Michael Vey series for young adults, the Noel books, his many Christmas novels and children’s books.
His books have been translated into numerous languages and read throughout the world.
And now we are celebrating his newest novel, Mercy’s Child, which was just released October 20 and has already reached the New York Times bestseller list.
What an exciting time to have Richard Paul Evans coming to St. Marys!
MERCY’S CHILD
Mercy’s Child is different from many of Richard’s previous novels because it is historical fiction inspired by an incredible true story.
The story begins in 1874 with Etta Wheeler, who leaves her quiet life in upstate New York and moves with her husband to New York City.
While trying to find her own purpose in this very different world, Etta encounters a young girl living in horrific conditions in the tenements of Hell’s Kitchen.
Etta makes the decision that she cannot simply walk away.
Her determination to save one child ultimately puts her up against powerful people and institutions — and helps ignite change in the way abused and neglected children were protected in America.
At its heart, it is a story about compassion, courage and what can happen when one person decides that doing nothing is simply not an option.
I think that message is just as important today as it was in 1874.
THE PERFECT SETTING – ST. MARYS GRAND OPERA HOUSE
There is also something very special about having Richard discuss Mercy’s Child at the Grand Opera House.
The Grand Opera House was built in 1895, and Mercy’s Child takes us back to the 1870s.
So we are bringing a story rooted in the 19th century into one of our community’s own beautiful historic treasures from that same era.
I can’t imagine a more appropriate setting.
I also want people to recognize what a tremendous asset the Grand Opera House is to St. Marys and our surrounding communities.
It continues to bring wonderful entertainment to our area, but it can also be a place for education, literature, history and community experiences like this one.
The Grand Opera House has been incredibly supportive of my efforts to bring Richard to our community, and I am very grateful for that partnership.
THE CHRISTMAS BOX & THE ANGEL OF HOPE
Richard’s visit is particularly meaningful to me because my connection to his work goes far beyond his books.
The Christmas Box introduced readers to the image of an angel monument where a grieving mother mourns the loss of her child.
That fictional angel inspired something very real – the Angel of Hope movement.
Today, Angel of Hope monuments have become places where parents, grandparents, siblings and families can go to remember and honor a child they have lost.
The Angel represents hope, remembrance, healing and a physical place to say: “My child lived. My child mattered. My child will always be remembered and never forgotten”
Richard’s story inspired the Angel of Hope work that has become such an important part of my own life.
I have been blessed to help establish Angel of Hope monuments in St. Marys, Minster and Maria Stein, and our committee also helped place an Angel in Oxford, Ohio, and in Texas.
So bringing the man whose book inspired all of this to our community is incredibly meaningful to me.
OUR STUDENTS – TAKING THIS STORY INTO THE CLASSROOM
One of the things I am most excited about is Richard’s opportunity to meet some of our local students.
This year we have approximately 40 CCP English Capstone students participating in a very special project involving The Christmas Box and the Angel of Hope.
The students read the book, watch the movie, visit the Angel of Hope and then write a compare-and-contrast paperbased upon those experiences.
It takes literature outside the classroom.
They aren’t just reading about the Angel in a book. They are able to stand in front of an Angel of Hope in their own community, understand why it is there and think about how a fictional story ultimately inspired something very real.
This year these students are going to have another extraordinary part of that experience:
Richard Paul Evans and I will be visiting with them.
Imagine being a student and not only studying an author’s work but then having the opportunity to actually meet that author and hear directly from him.
That’s something I think these students will remember for many years.
