Parishioners celebrate Palm Sunday with a parade

New Rockford church goers took to the streets to celebrate Palm Sunday.

Whereas normally church parishioners, often youth, proceed through church aisles waving palm branches while singing, this year church buildings were closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Ministerial members and congregants refused to let social distancing get in the way of their celebration though. Locals made paper palm fronds, waved pom poms, and attached tree branches to their vehicles and drove up and down the streets of New Rockford waving their makeshift branches and honking their horns.

The five-block-long procession of cars, trucks and SUVs gathered at the Centennial Park Gazebo around midday. The "parade" traveled straight to the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd, then up and down nearly every avenue in town greeting neighbors from a safe distance. Some residents came out on their porches and front steps and waved, while others watched from inside through their windows.

The scene was actually more like the traditional Palm Sunday than the celebrations of today, as the people were out in public together, not confined to buildings representing their own faith.

In the bible story, people stood in the street and laid down palm branches to celebrate the arrival of Jesus. "They took Palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting 'Hosanna'. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the King of Israel." - reads John 12.13

First Congregational Church Pastor Mindy Meier organized the event, and members of all the town's churches took part.