Recently, we received an anonymous letter from a concerned individual due to the WCK Mardi Gras outreach. We greatly appreciate this person’s concern about Wee Can Know and Mardi Gras.
First, I do want to reassure this person that we completely agree with them regarding participating in the celebration and the need to separate ourselves from drunkenness and revelry (Romans 13:13-14).
Considering this individual’s concern, we will no longer call the outreach, Mardi Gras. Instead, we will call it what it truly is, The Gospel Parade. Wee Can Know does not “take part in the celebration of Mardi Gras” we are not involved nor pay fees with any Mardi Gras Society.
We do not “adapt to the cult of other Gods” but we shine God’s light in the darkness. We want to expel the darkness with the truth of God’s Word. The Gospel Parade was inspired by the children’s book written by Patti McDonald, “The Gospel Parade.”
As we reflect on scripture, we think of Jesus love for sinners and his willingness to go where they live. To one group who questioned His actions, Jesus replied, “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick” (Luke 5:31). We also see Jesus love for sinners with the woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-50) and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). While Jesus actions were questioned, Jesus intention was love for the sinner and their need for salvation. In Acts, we see Paul, at Mars Hill, he used the false gods as an object lesson to preach the Gospel (Acts 17:22-31). These are just a few references but there are many others.
Basically, the Gospel Parade happens early in the morning (5 am) before the first parade rolls. Adults and children are sitting and waiting in a family-friendly area (uptown New Orleans) for the first parade of the day (10:30 am). As they are waiting for the parade to roll, we share with them the story of Wordless Book using shoebox floats decorated to represent the meaning of the Wordless Book. We hand the children and adults a Wordless Book bracelet (the beads that tell His story) with a tract explaining the meaning of the colors. The packet also includes follow-up information. What a delight to see these children and adults reading the Gospel tract and wearing the Gospel bracelet after we pass on.
These children and parents along the parade route are individuals created in the image of God that Jesus bled and died for. Many of them are in darkness. They represent the “world” in John 3:16. It’s our desire to introduce them to the One True God and plants seeds that will bear eternal fruit. In New Orleans, the children make shoebox floats at their schools to represent themselves and the things they enjoy. We took that concept and the story from Patti’s book and created the Gospel shoebox floats.
By the time the Mardi Gras parade rolls, our volunteers pack up and go home. Believe me, it would be so much easier and convenient for us to take the day off and not “go.” However, God has called us to “go” and tell His story. What better place to go than where multitudes gather?
As we pray and seek God’s will regarding the Gospel Parade ministry, God continues to confirm His will for us to “go” and tell His story.
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 9:36
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