A parade that puts pride where it belongs – in God’s victory in the overturning of Roe
The defeat of Roe v. Wade’s choke hold on American law last June is still something to celebrate. People all across the country are honoring June as Life Month this year.
Last year, Stuart Amidon, pastor at Christ Church of Opelousas, La., wanted to highlight what the Lord had done through the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, so he organized a parade.
“We’re intentionally celebrating the fall of Roe v. Wade,” he said in a recent phone interview. “It’s important for a culture to have celebrations that matter. Your culture is built by what you celebrate.”
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Getting loud about Life Month
Instead of keeping quiet in the face of immoral pride celebrations in June, Amidon said, “We started being loud about Life Month.”
He noted that in the past Christians have taken secular holidays and turned them into festivals that honor Christ. He and other pastors in Opelousas wanted “to flip June away from pride month toward something else.”
This year the annual Opelousas Life Parade starts at 6 p.m., June 28, on the steps of St. Landry Parish Courthouse.
“We use the Christian flag as a rallying point,” Amidon added.
He has that flag hanging outside his Opelousas business, Page50 Marketing and Media Production.
Amidon noted that when Christians speak up against a culture that promotes sin and ignores God, there will be push-back.
“Some people will shy away from controversy and try to only live quietly below the radar,” he said. “I don’t see that being modeled throughout Scriptures.”
“Jesus and the prophets said what’s true,” Amidon told Pregnancy Help News. “So, I don’t shy away from controversy – it helps propel the message farther.”
The Opelousas Life parade takes place in the town where an abortionist chose to open up shop and the community responded by establishing a pregnancy center to give women and families something better. The Opelousas Pregnancy Center began seeing clients in August 2020.
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Truth wins
Amidon pointed out that people on both sides of the abortion issue have a right to express their thoughts.
When asked about his response to hecklers or counter protesters, Amidon said, “I’m not going to engage too heavily.”
“If somebody really wants to talk at length, I have a production studio. [We can have] a recorded conversation, like a podcast format,” he said. “The truth will win if we allow the Bible to go toe-to-toe with secularist ideas. I don’t mind debate or free exchange of thought. I think it will get the gospel out.”
The parade is a joy-filled time for participants.
“We start at the courthouse with singing,” Amidon explained. “Then we load up in cars and ride down the road. It’s really a fun thing to be a part of, with everybody flying Christian flags, and families with little kids in trailers, and some walkers. [Last year] was a great picture of seeing the advancement of the kingdom of Christ in our lives. Because if you don’t celebrate those things, you don’t feel it, you don’t see it.”
How to have a Life Month celebration
For anyone interested in having a public Life Month celebration, Amidon said it could be arranged quickly.
For a parade, where streets must be closed off, a local official or the police department can issue a permit and supply police escort for crowd control and safety. To gather in a public area without having to close off streets, a permit should not be required, Amidon stated.
Amidon said he reached out to churches through pastors, bought ads and put together a website and social media posts. This was a simple way to promote the event. Amidon said, “You can spend a few bucks and get seen by a lot of folks.”
Celebrating gives us strength to continue pro-life work
Amidon recalled the story from Nehemiah where Ezra, the priest, read the rediscovered Book of the Law to Israel, and they all wept over their disobedience to it. But Ezra realized that reading the law was a triumph for God, and he told the people to go celebrate what the Lord had done.
“His point is clear,” Amidon said, “that ‘the joy of the Lord is our strength,’ [Ezra] says, ‘Go and celebrate. There’s still a lot of work to do.’”
“We all know there’s still a lot of work to do,” he added. “But we have a little picture of a victory, so we’re not going to miss the opportunity to celebrate it, because that celebration makes joy, and it will give us the strength to continue the work.”
