A group of Pastors and Elders and some Christian Marketplace Leaders in Melaka of various churches recently organized the ‘BLESS MELAKA PARADE 2024’, the biggest Christian Parade ever in Melaka. The event took place on Saturday, 19th October 2024, from 6.00pm to 8.00pm, through the main thoroughfare and the historical area of Malacca.
The seeds of this Parade were sown by God into the hearts and minds of the above group of Pastors, Elders and Marketplace Leaders in April 2024. They had just evolved into the Kingdom and Marketplace Fellowship (KMLF), dedicated to Combined Church and City-Wide Christian Ministries in Melaka. The Fellowship is led by the Rev Thomas Cherian as the Pastoral Leader and Bro Gordon Koh as the Marketplace Leader. It was during a time of prayer and seeking God’s direction in April 2024 that God ministered this conviction for a Parade to bring all Christians together for a united, common service and witness in the city of Melaka.
The purposes and objectives of the above event were outlined as follows:
- To celebrate 500+ years of Christian heritage in historical Melaka.
- To glorify God and seek His favour upon Melaka once again.
- To share goodwill and witness as a Christian community to the people of Melaka and visitors to Melaka.
- To pray for the “prosperity, progress and harmony” of Melaka.
- To contribute to the celebration of the ‘VISIT MELAKA YEAR 2024’
- To identity ourselves as a significant community in the multi-ethnic and multi-religious heritage of historical Melaka.
Weekly Corporate Prayer Meetings for this parade had been conducted by different churches for 7 weeks prior to the event. The response swelled from 64 people for the 1st Prayer Meeting to 120 people for the 7th Prayer Meeting. God was gracious to answer the prayers of the saints. Favour was granted by the Government Authorities and Police Departments, as well as from the Marketplace for logistical and operational arrangements.
The response from churches was overwhelming. About 2,000 participants from 52 churches, 12 denominations and 8 language groups registered for the event and formed 30 Church contingents. Some Christians from the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore, Indonesia and Korea also joined their counterparts in local Church Contingents while others came as spectators for the event. The Parade was filled with colorful and attractive items such as 3 School Brass Bands, 3 Floats, 3 Mobile Stages on 3-Ton Trucks for Live Praise and Worship, Shofar Blowers, Harpists, Tambourine Dancers, Flag-Dancers, Banner-Bearers and Flag-Bearers. There a great sense of joy, goodwill and celebration with a Carnival-like atmosphere.
As early as 5pm, participants in the official ‘BLESS MELAKA PARADE‘ T-shirts or their Traditional Cultural Costumes assembled and lined up according to the Contingent Numbers and Layout Plan. The event commenced with the reading of Psalm 24,an opening prayer, and the combined contingents’ Lord’s Prayer led by Rev Thomas Cherian, the Organizing Committee Chairman, and Pastor Johnny Wee, the Churches’ Coordinator. Then, with the Drum Roll by the Lead Brass Band and the mounted Chinese Drum, the Countdown began for the Soft Launch.The Melaka State EXCO Member, YB Allex Seah, then released the Parade Bunch of Balloons and other Special Guests burst the poppers with shofars blowing triumphantly. The Lead Brass Band started playing their music and the Parade moved forward right on time, just before 6.00pm.
Each contingent was carrying a banner with wordings that reflected the Fruit of the Spirit. Music and songs were also played on the Trishaw Sound System, by the Live Bands on Mobile Stage-Truck or by Groups of Musicians on foot. Participants were either waving flags, praising the Lord, praying, declaring Scriptures or waving to the people during the 4km walk.
The participants passed by the earliest churches of Melaka including St Peter’s Church (1710), St Francis Xavier Church (1595), Christ Church Melaka (1753) and the remnant of St Paul’s Church (1521), where God first left His footprints in this historical city and gateway of Christianity in Malaysia. These are iconic and historical Christian institutions in the landscape and heritage of Melaka
The Organizing Committee initially set a reasonable target of 1,000 people to be drawn from 25 Churches. The aim was to celebrate 500 years of Christian heritage in Malacca, and demonstrate unity, fellowship and witness as a Christian community in Malacca. However, God did a miracle in bringing about an overwhelming response of 2,000 people from 52 Churches and raising our vision to see God making Melaka the Gateway City for Christian revival and the centre of the work of the Kingdom of God in Malaysia and beyond. The high level of cooperation and coordination among the Churches and the Christians led to an excellent and efficient assembly of the people, flow of the Parade and the incredible timing for the completion of the Parade.
God blessed the parade with a good weather and unity among all the churches. At around 7.30pm, near the end of the parade, the western sky turned to a golden hue. Many remarked the Scripture from Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.”
God visited the city of Melaka 500 years ago. We prayed that He will walk again in this city and bring salvation and hope to people living here. We prayed that the Lord help us to walk humbly before Him, in truth towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.
May the light of Christ shine brightly and expel every work of darkness. May the light of Christ bring salvation and healing to our nation.
This is a contribution by a participant in the Bless Melaka 2024 Parade, who also kindly contributed the video and photos. It was edited by the writer’s pastor and subsequently by Rev Tom Cherian. Christianity Malaysia would like to thank the writers and organisers of the event for their generosity in sharing this coverage to bless our readers.
|Share The Good News|
Leave a Reply