Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Snyder Singing Christmas Tree Slated by STEPHANIE CRIDER Music is an integral part of Snyder Memorial Baptist Church. The music academy provides group and private music lessons, Kindermusik programs, music therapy and more. With Christmas right around the corner, the church’s adult music program is reaching out to the community again with its annual Singing Christmas Tree. A tradition that goes back 32 years, the Snyder Singing Christmas Tree is a tradition that the community loves and looks forward to every year. “It has really become one of the fi xtures in the Fayetteville community, like two or three other things that happen every year,” said Snyder Memorial Baptist Church Minister of Music Larry Dickens. “We really look forward to it. We enjoy sharing with the people who come and the time that we get to share with almost 6,000 people who attend during that weekend.” The event involves 350 people in the actual production with another 100 people who have signifi cant roles as ushers, canned-food collectors, hospitality, custodial, food service, construction workers and set builders. Although there is a lot of work and planning that goes into the Singing Christmas Tree, the performers only have two full rehearsals to pull it off, Dickens noted. They meet once for a pre-dress rehearsal, then the dress rehearsal and then on to the stage. This years performance is titled Voices of Christmas/Legacies of Faith and it looks to be outstanding, as usual. The general gist of the performance is an attempt to contrast the contemporary voices of Christmas with the traditional legacies of faith that we think of with the Christmas story like Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. “We are really contrasting what are the contemporary voices that we hear at Christmas? What do they say? And what were those legacies of faith voices? What do we hear from them about the Christmas story? As we look at it we realize that they had many of the same challenges that we have as contemporary people,” said Dickens. “For example, there is a teen that has a short monologue talking about needing acceptance. There is an elderly woman who talks about loneliness, a middle-aged person who talks about how to pay the bills at Christmas and we contrast those with things like what was it like for Mary?” continued Dickens. “Did she faces challenges? Did Joseph? Did the shepherds? What were their choices? Their choice was to be faithful, to trust God. “The lyrics from one of the 2010 Singing Christmas Tree ring especially true for many people: ‘I need a silent night, a midnight clear, a little peace right here,’” said Dickens. “But where do we fi nd these things? We fi nd these things when we return to the manger. When we look closely, listen carefully, worship fully, and follow faithfully! That’s where we’ll fi nd the hopeful Voices of Christmas. That’s where our own legacy of faith begins.” Performance dates and times are as follows: Thursday and Friday, Dec. 2-3 from 7:30 - 9 p.m.. On Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 4-5, from 4:30 - 6 p.m. and 7:30 - 9 p.m. Please note that it is the policy not to “hold” or “reserve” tickets. (All performances are now full. You may go to the church offi ce at 701 Westmont Dr. in Fayetteville to check if tickets have been returned). Visit www. snydermbc.com for more info. STEPHANIE CRIDER, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. Best It In Town! Ma Internet Connection Business Directory Co PRIME RIB SPECIAL Thurs. & Fri. Nites from 5 ‘til 9 PRIME RIB SPECIAL MaryBills Cafe 801 Elm St. • 221-1170 (Steps away from NC License Plate Offi ce) WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s Community Newspaper POCKET GUIDE NOW ONLINE ALL YEAR! For advertising and marketing call 910-484-6200 www.upandcomingweekly.com Come Play or St r Stay! The Urban Dog Doggie Day Care • Grooming Boarding urbandogpetsitters.com urbandogpetsitters.com Convenient to post • 822-3647 NOVEMBER 24-30, 2010 UCW 13