Singing Christmas Tree stands tall

In the days following Thanksgiving, the tree is always hauled out from storage, the Christmas lights tested and branches fluffed to fullness. Only, this Christmas tree is about 50 feet tall and filled with around 70 choir members.

“Every year we make sure (the tree) is structurally sound,” choir director Sadie Shapovalov said.

The annual Singing Christmas Tree at Ridgefield Church of the Nazarene is a 38-year tradition that began with Pastor Michael Goode the first year he became the church’s pastor.

“My husband and I moved here from a small town in California, which had a singing Christmas tree,” said Frieda Goode, the church’s women’s ministry and visitation pastor. Michael Goode passed away seven years ago.

“We performed our first (concert), about two months after we moved in,” Frieda Goode said. And its Christmas tidings have grown each year, with generations of singers participating, from the children’s choir to grandparents in the Christmas tree.

“For me, it’s the choir mixed with the lights, the sound that just comes out,” said Shapovalov. She’s been the director of the production for eight years. The concert takes place in the church’s sanctuary, which fits around 550 people, so the tree with its seven layers makes quite an impact. The tree’s base fits 19 choir singers, with fewer singers on each ascending tier and just one singer at the tip-top.  The choir is accompanied by a three-piece band, the children’s choir and a staged drama to help highlight a message for the season.

And if you’re wondering who sits at the top of tree, it’s Ken Bonin, “that’s his spot,” Shapovalov said.

As choir director, Shapovalov begins shaping the concert in June, narrowing down the list of songs and composing music. But the first song is already decided by tradition. “For 38 years, its been the same opening song, ‘O Holy Night.’ You just fall on your knees; it’s just a ginormous song. And every year, some elderly woman will just gasp at the end. It’s just one of those moments, a ‘Wow,’ right there.”

Shapovalov said she was a freshmen in high school when she first saw the singing Christmas tree, after being invited by a friend. “I didn’t appreciate things then as I do now, and it blew teenage me away back then. You don’t expect things like that in a little town of Ridgefield,” she said.

Tricia Harkleroad and her husband, Ryan, have been singing in the Ridgefield tree for almost 20 years. “Ryan and I are going to be singing a duet during the program, ‘The World Will Never Be the Same.’ Sadie wrote it. It’s a beautiful song,” Tricia said.

They will be joined by their oldest son, Cameron, 12, who will be making the transition up to the adult choir for the first time. “He’s pretty pumped,” Harkleroad said. He’ll be part of the influx of teen singers this year on the tree. “God gave us the gift of singing, and we want to share that with everyone who wants to hear it.”

Shapovalov’s daughter and parents will be singing in the tree, while Goode’s grandchildren will be in the show as well. Members of the choir come from all over, including other Ridgefield churches and as far away as Gresham, Ore.

Each year, as the production begins to come together, Shapovalov says, she ends up discovering a “message put in there by God.”

And that message is highlighted by the church’s mission of giving back. All concert proceeds will go to Compassion Ridgefield, a one-day medical and dental clinic offering free services and more to those in the community.

“I love being able to give back to our community, not only with the singing tree, but financially,” Frieda Goode said. “Dental especially, since most people have medical insurance, but not dental insurances.” The day has been held in September for the past five years, with everything from serious medical procedures to haircuts and coloring books for children.

“Everything goes 100 percent to the compassion clinic,” Shapovalov said. “All the dentists and doctors donate time every year,” with most of the money going toward equipment rentals and purchasing prescriptions.

The compassion clinic will be the focus of the production’s drama, too. In year’s past, the drama during the second half of the show would be a re-creation of the nativity scene, with song narration. This year, it’ll turn the church into a late-night talk show, with comedic host, songs by the “Mini Mints,” commercial breaks, cue cards and a live studio audience. “But it goes along with the actual story of Christmas,” Shapovalov said.

The talk show host will interview a guy representing Compassion Ridgefield. “The host begins to talk about who God is, how he works in peoples’ lives and the host having that realization,” she said, which goes along with the true meaning of Christmas.

The Ridgefield tradition is community, giving and togetherness in the form of a very large tree.

“God meets us where we are, we don’t have to be special,” Tricia Harkleroad said. “It’s really neat you can see people that you know, and be able to share with them the love and songs and message of the season.”