Follow-up parade to emphasize family values

Flathead Valley churches and like-minded believers will hold a pro-family parade just a week after Saturday's gay pride parade on Kalispell's Main Street.

At 11 a.m. June 27, organizers will lead a "Celebrate God's Blessings' parade from the courthouse to Center Street and follow it with a gathering in Kalispell Lions Memorial park across from Rosauers supermarket on U.S. 93 South.

In an invitation to area pastors, organizer Annie Bukacek encouraged parade entrant themes that include anything from the Old and New Testaments, "anything glorifying to God. We recommend themes like 'the things God loves,' and anything focusing on family values," she wrote.

Two trailers already are planned, she said - one featuring John the Baptist with a theme of repentance, and another focused on marriage between one man and one woman.

Other entries include a hay ride for children, motorcyclists, a Ten Commandments float and animals.

She called it a peaceful response to the gay-rights parade.

"Though ours will be a totally positive parade it should be obvious, coming one week after the homosexual agenda parade, that ours is in part a protest," she wrote.

David Beaulieu, pastor of Valley Victory Church in Kalispell, will be one of the speakers at the gathering in the Lions Memorial park.

"We want to talk about the positive side of righteousness," he said, not just oppose somebody else's agenda.

"We want to let people know what we stand for. We are for a man and woman, a husband and wife being the definition of marriage. We are pro-life , whether at the beginning or end of life."

He said he will encourage as many people from his congregation to attend as possible.

"We won't be doing a dance the night before or having people coming from all over the state, so I don't know how many to expect," Beaulieu said. "But we will have fun."