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Spencer Baptist Church hosted a Night to Shine 2022, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation in the parking lot of the church Friday night, Feb. 11.
The event at Spencer included a Shine-Thru Parade (drive-thru adaptations of Night to Shine) and a captivating Virtual Celebration.
The prom night experience, centered on God's love, was celebrated with special needs people at host churches around the world.
"Registered guests were encouraged to dress up like queens and kings and experience our drive through event," said Kelly Settlemyre, minister of music and education at Spencer.
"There was a red carpet entrance, music, giveaways, picture stations, games, and more for our guests as they drove through. Following the parade, our guests were able to return home to enjoy the Virtual Night to Shine Celebration. Each guest had a link to this virtual event and it is our hope that each family gathered to enjoy the special night," Settlemyre continued.
As each car turned into the parking lot at Spencer Friday evening, Emcee Jordon Crowe announced the arrival of the king or queen and the entire group of gathered volunteers cheered, held signs of encouragement, and blew bubbles to celebrate the arrival. Settlemyre said.
At the end of the red carpet, each registered guest was crowned with a tiara or crown and given a corsage or boutonniere. The kings and queens were able to pose for some special photographs.
The host also set up several games that guests enjoyed from their cars. Each game was on a rolling cart and volunteers were able to move the carts from cart window to the next.
The final station was a gift table. All participants received a "Night to Shine" string bag with multiple gifts inside, including a few sensory items, bubbles, chapstick, hand cream, boxes of chocolates, and more.
Each parent/caregiver also received a gift bag which contained chocolate candy, a small journal, and a decorative plate which read "Let Your Light Shine." These plates were handmade by volunteers at the Spencer.
Families also received a meal box, which contained a tablecloth, plates, napkins, cups, utensils, and a gift card to a local restaurant. These gift cards were donated by members of Spencer Baptist Church so that each family could pick up a meal to take home and celebrate together while they tuned in to the Virtual Celebration event.
"Hopefully, we will return to an in-person event at some point where the kings and queens can dance the night away in person, but for now, we wanted to keep everyone as safe as possible and will continue to work with the Tim Tebow Foundation to produce a grand evening," Settlemyre said.
"Here at Spencer Baptist Church, we celebrate the fact that we are all sons and daughters of the most high King," said Settlemyer. "We want to show those who are living with special needs that they, too are loved as kings and queens. It is one way that we can spread the love of God to people who might not always feel celebrated."
"I was thrilled to see the smiles, and sometimes tears, coming from the faces of the parents and other caregivers," Settlemyer said.
"More than once, I heard a parent say that their son or daughter truly felt like royalty and that it meant so much to them as parents to see this happening in our county."
Assisting Spencer with the Shine Thru Parade were high school students from Rutherford County.
"We also had teachers help before, during, and after the parade," Settlemyer said.
The church's connection with the Rutherford County Schools helped the church members to be able to find many people who were qualified to register or Night to Shine.
Several of high school teachers delivered gift boxes to the registered guests who were not able to come to the parade.
"I've always lived far away when my sister goes to Night to Shine", said Danielle Tribou, sister of participant Corinne Tribou. "I finally got to be there this year and loved seeing how much fun Corinne and Brandi (Mutters) got to have." she said.
Danielle and Corinne are the daughters of Linda Tribou (church secretary) and Doug Tribou.
Danielle helped with the Night to Shine and drove sister in the parade. Linda and Doug also volunteered.
