The Dry Run Covenant Brethren Church in Dry Run, PA recently had a wonderful opportunity to interact with their community, and to testify to the truth of God’s Word. The local fire and ambulance company sponsored the four day long 115th Annual Path Valley Picnic and Homecoming celebration from August 10th-13th. This event draws hundreds of people from all over the valley, and many of those who have moved away return each year to celebrate.
On Thursday evening, August 11, members of the Dry Run CBC participated in the Annual Homecoming Parade as part of the larger homecoming celebration. Pastor Devin Fink said, “The idea of putting a float in the parade came to me during a Bible study. I thought what better way to spread the word that we had changed denominations and to share the truth of God’s Word. We decided on the theme ‘The Real Meaning of the Rainbow,’ and we chose to use Genesis 9:13 as our theme verse.”
Pastor Fink stated that over a dozen people were involved in preparing the float and marching with it in the parade. The youngest member of the float team was a little over one year old and the oldest was sixty-four. Pastor Fink’s daughter made tee shirts especially for the occasion with the theme verse printed on the back. The group also distributed ice pops along the parade route, as well as pencils, bracelets of different colors, and small stuffed animals.
There were 140 units in the parade and the route extended for at least a mile and a half. Both sides of the street were heavily lined with thousands of people watching.
One never knows what opportunities will arise when making a public testimony for Jesus Christ. Pastor Fink indicated that two weeks before the homecoming event, the teens from Dry Run went to Del Grosso’s Amusement Park near Altoona, PA for a day of fun, and they wore the tee shirts while in the park. A lady at the park asked Pastor Fink to explain what the tee shirts were all about. He was able to tell her that God had given humanity the rainbow as a covenant that he would never flood the whole earth again. She said she had been studying that text with her grandson just a day before. She related that she had to be careful sharing the Word with him because her grandson’s family didn’t study the Bible the way we do. She was so excited to show her grandson our tee shirts.
Perhaps there is some community event which would afford your congregation the opportunity to publically identify with Jesus Christ. You never know what God might do when you step out in faith.
Roger K. Myers – Editor
