Community Palm Sunday Parade in Elk Mound

PALM SUNDAY PARADE — Members of the Trinity and Iron Creek United Methodist Churches held a Community Palm Sunday Parade in Elk Mound April 10. About 80 people participated in the event. —photo submitted

Around 80 people were greeted by “Charming” the donkey, an alpaca, and a goat when they arrived early last Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church in Elk Mound to participate in a parade through the neighborhood.  Charming the donkey was to lead the parade, but he was “as stubborn as a mule!” and refused to budge, so the goat led on.

Parade activities included waving palm branches, playing musical instruments, flying streamers, and enjoying ice cream bars. Rev. Joel Certa-Werner explained the point of the parade, “This is a combined Palm Sunday event for both Iron Creek (rural Menomonie) and (Elk Mound) Trinity United Methodist Churches. We wanted to host a fun and engaging event for our community that celebrated how the Biblical narrative that describes how the crowds lined the streets, cheering, waving palm branches, and even lying their cloaks on the ground like a royal carpet as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, just as the Old Testament prophecy foretold of the coming Messiah King (Zechariah 9:9).

So, we decided to make that happen in a more real way, right in our area. It was a lot of fun seeing so many ‘thumbs-up’ and waves from people driving by!”

After the parade, the crowd joined with others who gathered for the combined Palm Sunday worship service, during which the children led a procession of palm branch waving around the sanctuary along with the chime choir and the congregational singing.  The Iron Creek choir also sang.  “It was a very triumphal event.  I think it brought honor and glory to the King of kings” Rev. Joel said. The events drew the largest number of Palm Sunday worshipers in many years for the Trinity and Iron Creek Churches.