Street Church leads the Calgary Stampede Centennial Parade!

July 16, 2012 Artur Pawlowski

It was a great privilege and honour to open the Calgary Stampede’s Centennial Parade!

For the 100th year anniversary God reminded everyone that the name of Jesus Christ is truly the Name above every other name. I believe that for this special occasion He wanted us to remember our heritage, Christian history and our nations Founding Fathers, after all, Canada was built by missionaries on the foundation of the Word of God, the Holy Bible. It was ‘them’ that envisioned this country to be ‘glorious and free’ because they understood that freedom comes with the Gospel and Jesus Christ. To understand and know where we are going we always have to remember where we came from. Canada was birthed by godly men and women with the vision that Jesus would truly have ‘dominion from sea to sea’.

It was a great honour as the first entry to lead the way in Calgary’s Stampede Parade for 2012. We all came dressed as 15th century knights and maidens with the boys as young knights and the girls as princesses. We brought banners that said ‘Jesus is King’, ‘Jesus is coming back’, ‘Repent! Turn to Jesus’ and others. On the 5 big shields were the letters J E S U S, which led the way as the rock of our salvation. Lydia was carrying a big Bible as a reminder to all of us that the Word of God is the foundation of our faith. For the first time in the 6 years of participating in Calgary’s Stampede Parade we had the Israeli flag, carried by our Jewish brother Brian, because according to the Scripture God says ‘I will bless those who bless you…’. Many times we feel like Israel, outnumbered, surrounded by vicious ungodly enemies, standing against all odds proving again and again that our God is THE God of the impossible and that when He is for us then who can stand against us.

Everyone had an awesome time. Our young knights were performing before the cheering crowds as they duelled with each other. Monty and Jesse were interacting with thousands of onlookers from the stands, telling everyone that Jesus is the only way to salvation and that everyone who will repent and turn to Jesus will be forgiven. What a great opportunity to remind everyone about the importance of God’s blessing upon our lives. Every man needs to understand that the Almighty God created us for a purpose and He is the only real tangible hope. This world is in desperate need of His mercy and love.

Dawid came to the parade with an authentic suit of armour. He looked absolutely amazing. Imagine as he walked in this 50 pound suit that you could hear the rattling at least a block away. It gave a very real feel to the era that we were portraying and I myself was delighted to compliment my outfit with a wolf skin which added a mid-evil touch.

Throughout the whole march we had worship with Lisa singing along with Dan who played the guitar and Jacek as our drummer. From time to time A.J and Michael blew the shofar and trumpet to the amusement and cheers of the crowds. People were shouting ‘blow the trumpets!, blow them again!’. We also had with us Estefania dancing with colourful flags that looked like wings. Then came little Anna very excited about carrying the Canadian flag. Also with us was our ‘youngest’ member at 86 and Jesse and Jenny’s son Isaiah at 5 weeks old.

As we started to march there came a wonderful surprise. Thanks to the Police department we received a real royal escort. One thing was for sure, during these few hours we felt like the most protected royalties (as we truly are sons and daughters of the King). About 20 officers rode behind us on their bicycles in a beautiful formation and the Officers in their official uniforms added prestige to our entry. You have to understand that only during special occasions like the visitation of someone very important does anyone receive such an honour and this day was such an occasion. We, as ambassadors of the Living God, came to lift the name of the Creator of the heavens and earth, Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. When you looked at this entry you knew right away that something very important was happening. The King, His Royal House hold and His Kingdom officials were passing by. WOW! What a day.

The crowds were thrilled and as we were passing by hundreds of people were clapping and ringing their cow bells in appreciation. We heard many saying ‘thank you’, ‘bless you’, He is my King also’, ‘I love Him to’. When row upon row of spectators saw the Royal escort they became very excited cheering for Calgary’s finest. When I would spoke to the crowds about the Officers and their professional formation they would, in appreciation, give them a standing ovation. I have never seen people so excited about our entry as they were this year. And rightly so, the name of Jesus, their / our God, led the way during Calgary’s Centennial Parade!

Who would have imagined that we would be privileged to honour the only true God by lifting the name of His Son Jesus Christ during this 100 year anniversary in the Calgary Stampede Parade.

In this memorable year of 2012 the name of Jesus was the first entry in the parade. May this be just the beginning of a great awakening, a revival if you will, in the city of Calgary in the country of Canada that we call our home.

When you honour God He brings forth His hands of blessing and protection and we extend this blessing to you. During this day about 450,000 people on the streets of Calgary saw the Name of the Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for their sins and rose from the grave, and we are grateful to our Mighty God to be a part of this historical moment.