March for Jesus 10/1
One Sunday more than a quarter-century ago, Verma Fobbs was speaking at church about the need for Christians to get out in the community to let others see Jesus working through the congregation when an elderly lady in the pew in front of her said something that stuck with her.
“She said, ‘Sister, don’t just talk about it – be about it,’” Ms. Fobbs said. “I was a little insulted just initially, to be honest with you, but there is so much truth from that. I thought, you know, she’s right.
We can’t just sit in church and talk about it. We need to be out there.”
From that encounter sprang the idea for the March for Jesus, a nondenominational march and worship celebration that takes place this year on Oct. 1 in Olney. The March for Jesus features a parade, worship service, a sausage and hotdog lunch, games for kids, and prize giveaways at the First Baptist Church of Olney fellowship hall.
The event starts at 9 a.m. with parade participants gathering at Tommy Perkins Park for the parade lineup. The March kicks off at 10 a.m. down Main Street, and turns down Avenue J - for Jesus - turns again on Hamilton Street. Everyone is welcome to join in the parade, and those who don’t want to march are invited to watch and collect the candy that marchers will throw, organizer Arpegea Pagsuberon said.
“People should come with their bikes, with their feet, their scooters, floats, whatever they want to bring,” she said. “We’ve got trailers. Some people drive a truck with people sitting in the back. We have people that show up with horses.”
The marchers will arrive at the First Baptist fellowship hall at around 10:30 a.m. for music by Paul & Anne Mc-Queen with Kristi Exum and a lunch of Windthorst sausages or hot dogs, chips, cookies, and a drink and nachos provided at the church. There will be games and a bicycle giveaway for kids and door prizes for adults. Ms. Fobbs will deliver a fellowship message, and a short worship service will follow.
The theme of the event is inclusion, Pastor Edgington said.
“What I’ve loved about March for Jesus all these years is that it’s a day where it doesn’t matter if you have a million dollars in the bank or if you don’t have any money in the bank,” he said. “If you’re old and young, if you’re white or brown or black or whatever you are, there’s something that’s very equalizing about it. Like everybody’s the same at the foot of the cross. There’s no agenda except let’s just tell everybody that God loves him.”