Nursery restores pastor’s faith with donated tree [The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.]

Nov. 30--The theft of a pine tree from the Calvary Chapel Eastside on Saturday night left the church's pastors in doubt of true Christmas spirit.

After the church's plight appeared in The Gazette on Wednesday, several community members were eager to prove otherwise. As a result, the church will be getting a free tree in place of the old one sometime next week.

"This is awesome," said Assistant Pastor Tracy Dodson on Wednesday. Heidrich's Colorado Tree Farm Nursery will be digging up the stump of the old tree, which was cut down by thieves, and replacing it with a 6-foot blue spruce.

Lisa Waltman heard about the missing tree and called Levi Heidrich, co-owner of the family-run nursery, to see if he could work out a deal to get the church a new tree by Christmas.

Waltman gets her tree every year from Heidrich's, locally owned and run since 1977. Heidrich was more than happy to give the church a free tree, and even dig up the old stump.

"I thought it'd be a nice thing to do for the community," he said. Barring a serious freeze, he hopes to have the new tree in the ground by next week.

Waltman and Heidrich weren't the only people who offered a new tree, either, said Dodson.

"We were inundated today by phone calls, people wanting to give free trees," said Kathy Etheridge on Wednesday, wife of the church's other pastor, Jim Etheridge.

Dodson and Etheridge estimated that they received at least four calls, one email, and even an offer from the building's insurance agent to provide them with an attractive but fake tree. One man offered to dig up several trees from his own property and replant them at the church, Dodson said.

In the end, the nursery won the bidding, and the pastors plan to have their new tree decorated in time for Christmas.

And under the watchful eye of surveillance cameras and sprayed with a noxious scent to ward off thieves.

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