Huntsville Christmas concert focuses on Christ

No Rudolph? No Frosty the Snowman? Could this be a Christmas event?
   
According to the organizers of Keep Christmas Alive, it is. The group will sponsor a festival of sacred Christmas music in Huntsville Dec. 15 as part of an attempt to reclaim the meaning of Christmas.  
   
Rene Gilliland, member of Jackson Way Baptist Church, Huntsville, in Madison Baptist Association and one of the organizers, said the concert will feature “a smorgasbord of musical styles but no secular music. 
   
“This is absolutely about Jesus,” she said. “For this night, the whole focus is on Him.”
   
Brice Marsh, co-founder of the organization, said the seeds for the event were planted a few years ago when the banner that had been used to advertise his neighborhood’s annual Christmas party was displayed with the word “Christmas” spray-painted out.
   
“I thought the sign had been vandalized,” he said. 
   
“When I inquired about it, I was told that a lady had called and said that non-Christians in the neighborhood would be offended so they painted it out.”
   
While visiting Branson, Mo., last year during the Christmas season, Marsh and co-founder Pat Odom were struck by the lack of secularization of Christmas.
   
“Even though the shows were billed as secular, the nine shows we attended all pointed to Jesus as the reason for the season,” Marsh said. 
   
“Even the receipts at restaurants had something about Christ printed on them.” Marsh said. “We wondered why it was OK for Branson but not for Huntsville.”
   
The two men, one from First Baptist Church, Huntsville, and the other from Southside Baptist Church, Huntsville, both in Madison Association, felt led to try to reverse the trend.
   
“We prayed for God to show us a way to revitalize, reclaim and rekindle the idea that Christ is the reason for Christmas,” Marsh said.
   
Odom and Marsh mobilized a coalition of people representing several different denominations and rented the concert hall of the Von Braun Center for the 2 and 6 p.m. presentations.
   
Event organizers expect to draw from across the northern half of the state. 
   
The event will showcase a variety of musical styles, including the Four Voices barbershop quartet, The Sacred Harp Singers from the movie “Cold Mountain” and the Alabama State Gospel Convention singers.
   
Bob Smith, music evangelist from Willowbrook Baptist Church, Huntsville, in Madison Association, will emcee both performances. 
   
Of course, organizers hope that the effect will go far beyond an enjoyable concert.
   
“I hope that it will help Christians to remember what Christmas is all about and help us to refocus — to be bolder in proclaiming Christmas and the reason for the season,” Gilliland said. “I hope it will inspire us to give because God gave so freely to us.”
  
For more information on the Festival of Sacred Christmas Music on Dec 15 at the VBC Concert Hall in Huntsville, sponsored by the committee to "Keep Christmas Alive," see www.keepchristmasalive.org or call 1-800-277-1700 to order tickets for the 2 p.m. or the 6 p.m. performance.