Saturday, November 28, 1998

Wylie Baptist brings back Living Christmas Tree

By LORETTA FULTON

Senior Staff Writer

In a scene reminiscent of an Amish barnraising, a bunch of "he-men" from Wylie Baptist Church spent a recent Saturday erecting the 30-foot frame for the church's annual Living Christmas Tree.

"Everybody was just shocked," said Gerre Joiner, the church's music minister and pageant director. "It was inspirational to see."

Even more inspirational will be the Living Christmas Tree itself once it is brought to life Dec. 4-8 by 60 singers, plus 30 characters on stage, including three with speaking parts and, for the first time, a live lamb and donkey.

The tree frame with its "miles of wires" is stored all year in a barn owned by Hollis Buchanan, its creator. Then, on a magical day in late November it is brought out, erected and given life by church members.

In the past, the tree has been loaded onto a trailer on a Saturday and then erected the following Monday. But this year Joiner decided that was a waste of time and convinced the 50-plus volunteers that the job could be done in one day. Joiner figures there's a simple reason so many people turned out to help.

"Everybody wanted to see if it could be done in a day," he said.

Indeed it was, and the tree stands ready to support the singers who will stage the Living Christmas Tree for the 16th year.

Each year new faces and a new script keep the tree fresh for the hundreds of people who cram into the church's sanctuary for the Christmas tradition, which will run an hour and 15 minutes this year.

Joiner, in his second year as director, compiled the script, basing it on perspectives of a young Mary and an older Mary, played respectively by Braid Sharp and her mother, Rebecca Sharp. Narrator will be McMurry University athletic director Marvin Stringfellow.

"He's kind of the glue that leads into Mary's next part," Joiner said of the narrator.

The pageant will feature 12 songs, sung to recorded accompaniment and interspersed between the bits of narrative.

"The music is the key," Joiner said. "It's weighted toward music much more than dialogue."

Erecting the tree, which has numbered parts for easier construction, may never be simplified, but the show's production has been made easier over the years by use of computers and software.

When the production began in 1983, people on the ends of the rows would be responsible for throwing switches at the right time.

"At a certain given point in the music they would reach down and flip on the blues and flip on the reds," Joiner said.

Now, thanks to technology and the know-how of the computer operator, Wayne Clark, the job is much simpler.

"It's just an incredible thing," Joiner said.

No matter the technology, it's still the people of Wylie Baptist Church telling the age-old Christmas story that will inspire viewers. Practically everyone in the church has a hand in the production in one way or another.

This year's "tree angel," the "lone pilgrim up on the very top" will be Wylie High School student Sarah Dixon.

"Everybody wants to do it once," Joiner said.