The Country Church and the Standstill Parade
Have you ever seen a parade in which the parade stands still and the spectators walk around, viewing the parade? Bill Geist, in his book Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small-Town America discovered just such a parade in the town of
It seems that David Harrenstein wanted to have a parade. Unfortunately, Whalen is only two blocks long, so a parade would be over before it started. How can you have a parade in a town that doesn’t have a fire truck, police car, marching band, and, most important, a parade route?
As I read this chapter in Geist’s book, my thoughts drifted back to the many parades I was involved with in Red Feather Lakes. As a member of the fire department, I could be in the parade! We would assemble the parade at Butt Rock, so named because it looked like a …you get the idea. Our parade only consisted of our fire department, sometimes the Forest Service truck, a few other neighboring fire departments, a smattering of other vehicles, an occasional float, and Bill Mason’s lime green convertible carrying the newly elected Princess of Red Feather (my daughter had that honor). Once my son wore a Smokey the Bear costume, complete with a battery operated fan to keep you cool, while he rode in the Forest Service truck.
What we lacked in numbers we made up for in noise. As soon as the parade started, we would let go with every possible sound our fire trucks could make. Blasting furiously, we would slowly make our way to the town where people were gathered to view our procession. We proudly waved to the people as we drove up the gravel road that was Main Street, turned right at the Hilltop Outpost, and made our way back to the Fire barn. We had a longer parade route than Whalen, but not by much.
At this point, I should apologize to Phil Rownd, who now serves as a Village Missionary in Pickstown,
Anyway, back to the Whalen parade. David came up with the “breakthrough” idea of having a “standstill” parade in which the parade would stand still and the spectators would walk around the parade! Participants flocked to this novel idea of a parade. State Representative Greg Davids was quoted as saying, “I march in one or two parades every Saturday, and when I heard there was no walking in this one I said, ‘Now this is a good parade.’”
How does a standstill parade start? According to Geist, the crowd doesn’t understand at first. He writes:
They’re standing still or sitting in lawn chairs, the way you would in a normal parade. When the band plays “Anchors Aweigh” the crowd remains anchored to the curb. Finally, after some prompting and explanation, they slowly begin to stroll around the parade. (“Norwegians are slow learners,” quips a Swede.) A few stop to pet the horses or chat with members of the parade, things you simply could not do within the old parade paradigm. Others actually meander among the parade units, going where no parade-goers have gone before.
As I read this delightful chapter about the “Standstill Parade” of Whalan,
Maybe if they just focus on doing what country churches do best—loving each other and caring for each other in the context of deep relationships—people will come. Maybe if they realize that a faithful preacher who loves them and knows them is a powerful preacher indeed, then people will be able to do things they are not able to do under the other church paradigm. Things like grow in Christ and be real in their Christian faith. And maybe, just maybe, members of such a church will go where other church members have not gone before—into a vital Christianity that transforms the world.
And we know One spectator and ultimate parade participant that will be there. He will chat with us, meander among us, and be very pleased that we knew that He could transcend our limitations.
