10th Lighting of the Green brings about festive fun, gives honor to show host Grant

By Brianne Welch and Logan Butts Potential rain may have moved Lighting of the Green’s tenth anniversary into Allen Arena, but the night only brought a downpour of festive cheer and a surprise fit for the season. Grant returned to be the evening’s emcee. The lineup consisted of Danny Gokey, Jon Guerra, The Willis Clan, Brother Parker and surprise guest Vince Gill. Outside of the night’s entertainment, Lipscomb University shared that a new scholarship will be created in Grant’s honor. Lipscomb’s presidential spouse Rhonda Lowry was on hand to announce a gift of $50,000 to start the scholarship. During the show, a painting was created and will be auctioned off. The proceeds will go to the scholarship fund. During the show, the Lipscomb Academy and Lipscomb University choruses also performed Christmas songs. Grant performed a number of her Christmas-themed hits throughout the night, including “Emmanuel” and “Tennessee Christmas.” “I’ve always grown up listening to Amy Grant Christmas [music], so it’s kind of a nostalgic thing for me to come and listen to her sing,” attendee Mallory Grady said. Vendors run by local businesses were set up in the arena for anyone in attendance to visit before the show began. Santa and Mrs. Claus were made available for pictures inside of the Hall of Fame room and free hot chocolate and cookies were offered to guests as they arrived to the show. “I just like the whole setup of everything with the booths,” sophomore Kasey Gibson said. “It’s very Christmasy, so I like that.” The night of holiday festivities concluded with the tradition of lighting of Lipscomb’s Christmas tree in the Allen...

Ellie Holcomb and guests perform at Tokens

Dr. Lee Camp’s Tokens concert Tuesday night was filled with comedy, theological teachings and of course great music from artists like Ellie Holcomb. Tokens is a theological variety show. The night was titled Shame and Presence, and each of the guests spoke about times in their lives where they dealt with shame. All of the talks were done in a light-hearted way. Many Lipscomb students attended the concert thanks to 65 free tickets that were given out after the Gathering on Tuesday. Students could also receive an extra chapel credit for attending. Singer Ellie Holcomb spoke and sang at the Gathering as a preview to Tokens. After hearing her preview, students were most looking forward seeing Holcomb’s performance. “I’m a really big fan of Ellie Holcomb, so I’m most excited to see her sing because I really like her songs and her voice,” Lipscomb sophomore Kasey Gibson said. Camp introduced the show by singing a song before introducing all of the guests, and then Holcomb performed two songs. Following her performance was an array of musical and speaking guests. The Token Radio Players performed a skit about Biblical creation, and Al Andrews spoke next in a discussion format with Camp. Several musical guests followed. Andy Gullahorn performed a song, and he was followed up by Brother Parker, a musical group made up of one college and two high school young men. Odessa Settles closed out the first half of the show with a slow tune. One of the most entertaining speakers of the night, according to viewers, was Brother Preacher, who talked about different stories in the Bible in a comedic...