Living Christmas Trees in Salisbury and Spencer Light the Way

Hundreds of Volunteers, Thousands of Lights, and Music Make This Tradition New Again Each Year

In early fall, at First Baptist Church in Salisbury there is a big push for a lot of people to get their flu shots.

Out in Spencer, what is called “a miracle” begins to happen at that time of year. People come from all over Rowan County.

It’s all about singing the Christmas story, and it’s a tradition that is as familiar as the carols themselves.

Every year, audiences flock to hear the Living Christmas Tree music and narrative, now in its 20th year, at First Baptist, and the Community Voices of Praise carols and Christmas message, now in its 31st year, at Central United Methodist Church in Spencer. As the darkened sanctuaries lighten and the living, twinkling trees dwarf all around them, the sounds of favorites such as “The Hallelujah Chorus” and “I Hear the Bells on Christmas Day” lift spirits. Worries rush away, and life is new again and filled with hope.

These two Rowan County events are among the most established singing Christmas trees in the Piedmont. Singing Christmas trees first appeared in 1933 in Mississippi and moved to North Carolina in 1958. They are no small undertaking.

The First Baptist event consists of more than 80 singers, with seven services during the first week of December. Practice begins in mid-August. In Spencer, practice begins in September, after Meredith Williams develops the theme and writes the script. Two performances are given the first weekend in December.

Both events are open to singers outside of the home churches and performed free to standing-room-only crowds. In Spencer, 15 or 20 churches from all over the county are represented in the voices, says Kim Lentz, retired music director at Central and now director of the tree. She calls the event “a miracle.”

“We publicize by word of mouth and people miraculously show up to sing,” she says. The tree was born at Central. The organization now has 501c3 status and raises funds through dinners at local restaurants and a dinner theater event that it hosts. “The fact that we are solvent speaks for itself,” Lentz says.

The script, written by Lentz’s daughter, ties together the message of Christmas and the message of salvation. “She gets the music, and she and God do the rest,” says Lentz.

At First Baptist, Debbie Teague, music associate who plays the piano for the seven services and has been involved with the tree since the beginning, says flu is one of the worries every year. “We encourage flu shots,” she says. Soloists have backups.

Both productions involve orchestras. “The orchestra makes it glorious,” says Teague.

The First Baptist production involves more than 300 members of the 1,200-member congregation for lighting, drama, ushers, greeters, food preparation for meals for the choir, backstage help, makeup, prayer, sound, drama casts, and decorations, according to Russ Robbins, minister of music. It’s a highly organized production, with the volunteers divided into 17 teams.

Over the years, the structure of the wooden tree where the singers stand has evolved. “At Central, when I first came we stood on plywood boxes and wore green robes,” says Lentz. “Then we pinned garland around the robes.” Today’s wooden structure was engineered by David Barnhardt. “It’s massive and goes up just before Thanksgiving,” Lentz says.

At First Baptist, engineer Steve Jones designed and built the tree, which has held as many as 92 singers. First Baptist converted from live greenery the year a big ice storm hit Salisbury in early December. The live greenery died when the production was postponed a week. “We had to ‘un-decorate’ so we switched to artificial,” says Teague. Once the greenery is attached, 7,000 lights go on the tree. It’s a two-week project to get the tree installed and ready.

“We think of the Living Tree in two ways,” says Robbins. “It’s a gift to the community, and for our people, it’s a worship service. It’s how we begin the Christmas season. It’s our primary outreach tool in the community.” A total of 5,000 people attend the seven services each year. People are asked to call the church in advance to reserve tickets.

In recent years, testimonials by church members have been added to the service. “People talk about their struggles but throughout, they give God glory,” says Robbins.

“One of the great things about it is that people in the choir are of different beliefs and denominations,” says Sarah Hollifield, who has been a singer for all 20 years at First Baptist. “You’re really not in a Christmas mood in August but as it gets closer, you are excited. On the first night, we gather in the chapel for a devotional time and talk about each song and we pray for the people who are coming. People tell us that it starts their Christmas season. That keeps us going.”

In Spencer, Lentz says she receives thank-yous for the singing tree all year long. “People tell me: That’s Christmas to me.”


Story by Linda Bailey
Photography Courtesy of Mike Erb and First Baptist Church, Salisbury.