Arnold Churches bring Hope to Carnival

HOPE was the theme taken up by the churches in Armold as, yet again, they provided a procession through the town to mark the annual Carnival.

Around 400 people of all ages took part in the procession, the culmination of months of prayer and planning.  The procession was led by a band and a banner proclaiming "Jesus is Our Hope". This message was also on sashes worn by the walkers and on the decorations they carried.  A decorated lorry bore a sound system playing praise songs.

Bystanders were offered copies of a free christian newspaper containing a page of Arnold stories. People were seen opening the newspapers even before the whole procession had passed.  Artickes featured positive action by local young christians, testimony and news of a healing.  A photograph, taken in Palestine by a student photographer from Arnold, highlighted the problesm in that part of the world.

In a marque on the Carnival site, visitors were welcomed with free refreshments. Puppets, drummers and an artist attracted a lot of attention .

A "Praise in the Park", on the stage during the Sunday entertainment programme, continued to emphasis Hope. Music, dancing and testimony reached a llarge audience.