Saturday march celebrates Christ

WORLAND - Believers in Jesus Christ in Washakie County and the Big Horn Basin have been invited to "March for Jesus" this Saturday and join believers across the country and globe for the nationwide march.

WORLAND'S MARCH

The Washakie County March for Jesus will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Seventh and Big Horn on the south side of the street. Marchers will march down the sidewalk as the highway will not be closed this year for the march.

Marchers will proceed east to 11th Street and then South to Sanders Park for prayer, praise, fellowship and a potluck or pot-blessed meal. Meat is provider by the organizers and participants are asked to provide a side dish to share.

Organizers are Rose Carrasco and Jo and Bo Bowman. At a May 4 city council meeting, Carrasco said, "I was healed of lung cancer. I stood on Psalms 118:17 that says, "I shall not die I shall live to declare the works of the Lord."

Jo Bowman said Carrasco learned about the March for Jesus and came to the Bowmans, her pastors at Bethany Fellowship to help her "declare the works of the Lord."

Carrasco said the March is a way to open up and get all of the churches in Worland together.

Bowman said the event is traditionally held over Pentecost weekend with Pentecost signifying the birth of the church.

"Across the nation on Saturday, cities will have churches getting together to march for Jesus. Even though we're different in our doctrine our one uniting factor is Jesus Christ is Lord. He's the Son of God, He lived, He died, He was resurrected and He's coming back and we can all agree on that. This is a show of unity for the body of Christ in the cities across the land."

She said they have contacted all 21 churches in Worland and the churches in Ten Sleep and said "we invite you to join us, this is about all of us being united in Christ."

Carrasco added, "It's not about religion, it's strictly about celebrating Christ."

While Carrasco was the catalyst to get Worland's first March for Jesus organized, Bowman said, "In general we've known God has some big plans for Worland and the Big Horn Basin.

"If you are a believer in Christ you are welcome to join us. Jesus is someone we can celebrate without end. He's the one who gives us all hope," Bowman said.

MARCH FOR JESUS HISTORY

The Marches in England began in the l980s when some local churches decided to take what they were experiencing in the churches out into the streets, according to the March for Jesus website.

According to the history on the website, "In 1989, March for Jesus, as it came to be called, continued with Marches in 45 different cities across the British Isles. On September 15, 1990, more than 200,000 marched for Jesus in 600 cities all over Britain."

The first March in the United States occurred in Austin, Texas in 1989. On May 23, 1992, was the first nationwide March for Jesus. On that day, Christians openly exalted Jesus in 142 U.S. cities and in 25 European countries.

This year's theme is "Worthy is the Lamb."

More information can be found online at themarchforjesus.org.