Jesus in the City Parade celebrates 15 years
Gala to highlight parade’s impact in Toronto
TORONTO, ON—An annual parade that proclaims Jesus and unites churches across denominations is celebrating its 15th year in Toronto.
Sonia Hopwood has volunteered with Jesus in the City since its first year, and says it is a special time, as Christians gather from so many denominations and nationalities.
“As we parade along the streets many people hear the Good News and we have heard several testimonies of individuals accepting Jesus at the parade,” she says. “The parade brings a sense of unity among God’s people and it’s a witness that God loves those who are not yet in the Kingdom.”
Originally organized as a way to celebrate the turn of the millennium and commemorate God’s work throughout the ages, the first parade was held on September 11, 1999, was attended by 1,500 and received official acknowledgement from the mayor.
“It wasn’t called ‘Jesus in the City Parade’ at that time,” says Ayanna Solomon, president of Festival of Praise, the charity behind Jesus in the City. “We called it ‘Parade of the Centuries.’ We were moving into the year 2000 and we thought we’d usher in the new millennium with a parade depicting the books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.”
With encouragement from local churches, Festival of Praise made the parade an annual event and by 2002, attendance had grown to 7,000. However, in 2003, as the government contemplated legalizing same-sex marriage, parade attendance exploded to 25,000.
“On average, right now, attendance is between 10,000 to 15,000,” says Solomon. “We’ve seen quite a great response from different nationalities. The highest attendance is from the Korean and Chinese communities, but we have a lot of Black, Caucasian, Spanish, and some Russian and Hungarian churches.”
Solomon is also excited to see Toronto churches also coming together for a May 10 dinner gala celebrating the parade’s 15th anniversary. It will feature a video highlighting interviews with 21 pastors from various ethnicities and denominations, on how they have seen Jesus in the City impact Toronto.
The parade itself is scheduled for September 6.
“We are hoping the parade will continue to grow and people will come out in strong numbers for the 15th anniversary,” says Hopwood.
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