THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 26, 1994 TAG: 9406260099
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARK O'KEEFE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940626 LENGTH: Medium
On the balloon were the words, ``I am so happy,'' written with a felt-tip pen. The placard said, ``Jesus Christ is Lord of all.''
{REST} Richardson and about 300 others in Portsmouth sang, clapped and prayed as motorists waiting for the spiritual parade to pass honked their horns in approval. Others watched straight-faced, arms crossed with amusement.
This was part of the international March for Jesus, an annual attempt to take worship out of the church and into the streets of 170 nations. In the United States alone, marches were planned for 500 cities.
In downtown Norfolk, about 1,000 marched. Organizers said 2,700 turned out for an oceanfront parade in Virginia Beach, while 850 showed up for a Chesapeake event that ended at City Hall.
Signs making political statements were prohibited. Marching groups weren't allowed to identify themselves.
The goal was simple and, according to participants, profound: to celebrate God and promote Christian unity.
Edgar Smith, one of the Portsmouth organizers, compared the march to the biblical story of Jericho. After believers noisily paraded around the city, its walls came tumbling down.
Only this time, the walls represent sin, fear, doubt, corruption and crime, Smith said.
In Portsmouth, the parade was sponsored by 30 churches from a variety of denominational backgrounds. Two white men and two black men led the parade, holding a March for Jesus banner as wide as a city street. They were followed by children holding yellow, pink, teal, white and blue flags.
``Wonderful, it's wonderful,'' said Maxine Smith, who watched the march from a sidewalk vantage point as she waved her arms in delight.
``We're seeing our community come back to life. We've got Jesus in Portsmouth and all over America.''
Another nearby woman watched without expression as she held an unopened bottle of Schlitz Malt Liquor in a brown paper bag.
In Norfolk, the scene was similar, with the parade stretching for about nine blocks as it made its way from Ruffner Middle School to City Hall.
There, believers danced on the red brick of the city square as they sang spiritual songs. Councilman Connolly Phillips and Vice Mayor Joseph Green attended.
``This is just to show the city we're here,'' the Rev. Jerry Qualls of Glad Tidings Church told the crowd. ``The next step is to go out, door by door, street by street, and take the city back for Jesus.''
by CNB