LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO GATHER FOR ANNUAL MARCH FOR JESUS

Hundreds of people are expected to gather across the globe Saturday for the annual March for Jesus and Jesus Day celebrations.

Locally, a march is planned from Grace United Methodist Church down Broadway to the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse Park. It is the fourth year for the event.

The march begins at 10 a.m., but participants can begin gathering and registering at 9 a.m. Nearly 200 people are expected, but participation often depends on the weather, said the Rev. Fred Poston, event organizer.

"Mostly it's the heat factor not the sun. We've been blessed with good, sunny days," Poston said.

In years past, march participants have come pulling wagons, riding bicycles or skateboards. Some walk beside trucks decorated with streamers.

"However you can motor your way down there," Poston said. A shuttle bus will be available for anyone who isn't physically capable of making the march.

A shuttle bus will also be available for people who wish to park downtown and then catch a ride to the parade's beginning point. The bus will carry marchers back to the church parking lot after the event concludes.

The march "isn't just a parade in the parade sense but is praise and prayer for the city while we are marching," Poston said. It takes on an aspect of unity and fellowship and says "a lot about the spiritual climate of the city."

The first march in the United States was held in 1989 in Austin, Texas. The event has expanded to 650 cities around the world.

Jesus Day is a new component of the annual March for Jesus, an event that began in London in the late 1980s as organizers prayed and marched through the streets to Christian praise music.

Jesus Day is designed to give special emphasis to practical demonstrations of faith. And area churches hope that through simple acts of charity and compassion, they can reach their community for Christ.

Organizers hope to collect food for the hungry and families in need and to draw children closer to caring adults.

If Jesus could feed 5,000 families in one day, it shouldn't be too difficult to involve a community in a collection of food for the hungry, worldwide event organizers say. Local participants collected food for the FISH pantry during last year's march.

Events like a March for Jesus and Jesus Day activities give a new twist to "what the church is or what Christianity is about," Poston said. "We're not just within the walls of a church building and we need to use all the avenues that we can to reach people with the good news."