Reprinted from The News Reporter, Feb. 9, 2012
By MARK GILCHRIST
By MARK GILCHRIST
Just standing in the shade of a large tree can have you thinking great things, can make you wonder how each tiny leaf has a small but important part in nourishing something thousands of times its size. You’re humbled by the thought of something so seemingly insignificant joining with others to provide shade for you, protecting you from something as enormous and powerful as the sun.
Well, I’m humbled, at least.
I have long been fascinated by the strength of numbers and how a single person can team with others for
Well, I’m humbled, at least.
I have long been fascinated by the strength of numbers and how a single person can team with others for
tremendous positive effect. It’s how our states united and became a country, it’s how we vote our leaders in (and out) of office. Why, it is how 152 people took the “world’s largest shower” last August.
Well, I’m fascinated, at least.
When I arrived here in 2001, unifying efforts is how more than 600 people from around Columbus County hand wrote the entire Declaration of Independence in less than three minutes, signatures and all. Ever since that beautiful Fourth of July, I have wondered how we could again use the collective spirit of our community and the strength of thousands of hands to create something massive and beautiful, how our little county could actually create something the world has never seen.
It looks like we will be able to do just that on Easter Sunday, when we are inviting up to 1,000 people for a sunrise service followed by what we believe will be the largest re-creation of the New Testament. I originally had wanted to produce the entire Holy Bible on streets throughout Whiteville, but that was just too enormous, and I let the whole idea go for years. Then, I recently discussed the concept with my friend Janice Young, of the Greater Whiteville Chamber of Commerce – I always try to bounce my ideas off her first, because she will react with candor and grace.
Handwriting the entire Bible was not feasible, but we figured that just the New Testament could be, and having attended a few community sunrise services, Janice developed a project that makes perfect sense. She suggested we hold a sunrise service Easter morning, and then write the holy books immediately after. When you consider what an Easter sunrise service is all about, and what the New Testament is all about, combining the two is not just natural, it’s beautiful.
So we set off on an adventure to inspire and empower the people of Columbus County for an enormous task, to hand write the nearly 140,000 words that tell the story of the life of Christ. With only a few months to prepare, we got permission from BB&T to use their headquarters lawn – a beautiful setting for a sunrise service – and then we sought approval from the City of Whiteville for the rest of the event. Everyone seemed to quickly see the benefits that such a positive experience could offer the city and county.
The day will begin with a community sunrise service, something Janice has long believed this county needs. Some churches hold their own sunrise services that day, and we hope this can be worked out. Where the service is a long-held tradition, maybe those members can attend their services and come downtown afterward to participate in the writing.
Remembering back to July 4, 2001, when we created the massive copy of the Declaration, I recall the splendor of the day in two unexpected, yet beautiful ways. First, I was amazed at how many people exclaimed how it was the “perfect family event.” They were right, as it was not just an event that Mom and Dad came to watch their children participate in, and it wasn’t just an event that children were taken to, to watch their parents. It really was an experience for the entire family. View photos.
The second notion that struck me as I looked over photos of the event, was just how pleased and even proud people were for what they had done, and that they captured that pride in family and group photographs.
We are very excited about Walk With Jesus, because we see it having a similar effect on people. We hope that everyone will realize the important role that a single hand, no matter how small, will play in re-creating this enormous collection of books.
Janice and I grow more excited about this project every day, because whenever we tell people about it, they get excited. Even before they consider what the rest of the world may think, before they consider the magnitude of such an effort, they get their heads around one simple thought.
All it takes to lift someone’s spirits for Walk With Jesus is to think, “I’m going to join with hundreds of people and write the entire New Testament… Wow!”
So, on Easter Sunday, just as a tiny leaf provides nourishment for a massive oak, as drops of water form the oceans around us, as the stars in the sky create the heavens, we will each place our hand on a word of Scripture to be a part of a magnificent thing of beauty.
Then, we will join our families and friends along the streets of Whiteville, visiting the passages and verses that have been important in our lives, and on that holiest of days, under the gaze of a world excited for us, we will walk with Jesus.
Well, I’m fascinated, at least.
When I arrived here in 2001, unifying efforts is how more than 600 people from around Columbus County hand wrote the entire Declaration of Independence in less than three minutes, signatures and all. Ever since that beautiful Fourth of July, I have wondered how we could again use the collective spirit of our community and the strength of thousands of hands to create something massive and beautiful, how our little county could actually create something the world has never seen.
It looks like we will be able to do just that on Easter Sunday, when we are inviting up to 1,000 people for a sunrise service followed by what we believe will be the largest re-creation of the New Testament. I originally had wanted to produce the entire Holy Bible on streets throughout Whiteville, but that was just too enormous, and I let the whole idea go for years. Then, I recently discussed the concept with my friend Janice Young, of the Greater Whiteville Chamber of Commerce – I always try to bounce my ideas off her first, because she will react with candor and grace.
Handwriting the entire Bible was not feasible, but we figured that just the New Testament could be, and having attended a few community sunrise services, Janice developed a project that makes perfect sense. She suggested we hold a sunrise service Easter morning, and then write the holy books immediately after. When you consider what an Easter sunrise service is all about, and what the New Testament is all about, combining the two is not just natural, it’s beautiful.
So we set off on an adventure to inspire and empower the people of Columbus County for an enormous task, to hand write the nearly 140,000 words that tell the story of the life of Christ. With only a few months to prepare, we got permission from BB&T to use their headquarters lawn – a beautiful setting for a sunrise service – and then we sought approval from the City of Whiteville for the rest of the event. Everyone seemed to quickly see the benefits that such a positive experience could offer the city and county.
The day will begin with a community sunrise service, something Janice has long believed this county needs. Some churches hold their own sunrise services that day, and we hope this can be worked out. Where the service is a long-held tradition, maybe those members can attend their services and come downtown afterward to participate in the writing.
Remembering back to July 4, 2001, when we created the massive copy of the Declaration, I recall the splendor of the day in two unexpected, yet beautiful ways. First, I was amazed at how many people exclaimed how it was the “perfect family event.” They were right, as it was not just an event that Mom and Dad came to watch their children participate in, and it wasn’t just an event that children were taken to, to watch their parents. It really was an experience for the entire family. View photos.
The second notion that struck me as I looked over photos of the event, was just how pleased and even proud people were for what they had done, and that they captured that pride in family and group photographs.
We are very excited about Walk With Jesus, because we see it having a similar effect on people. We hope that everyone will realize the important role that a single hand, no matter how small, will play in re-creating this enormous collection of books.
Janice and I grow more excited about this project every day, because whenever we tell people about it, they get excited. Even before they consider what the rest of the world may think, before they consider the magnitude of such an effort, they get their heads around one simple thought.
All it takes to lift someone’s spirits for Walk With Jesus is to think, “I’m going to join with hundreds of people and write the entire New Testament… Wow!”
So, on Easter Sunday, just as a tiny leaf provides nourishment for a massive oak, as drops of water form the oceans around us, as the stars in the sky create the heavens, we will each place our hand on a word of Scripture to be a part of a magnificent thing of beauty.
Then, we will join our families and friends along the streets of Whiteville, visiting the passages and verses that have been important in our lives, and on that holiest of days, under the gaze of a world excited for us, we will walk with Jesus.
Won't you register your church to"adopt"
and hand write a book of The New Testament?
and hand write a book of The New Testament?