Family values paraded down Main Street

The Daily Inter Lake

About an equal number of marchers and spectators turned out Saturday morning for the Celebrate God's Blessings parade down Main Street in Kalispell.

"As for participation, I thought we did great," said parade organizer Roland Horst, who also serves as president for the anti-pornography group Flathead Advocates for Decency. "As a theme, this is something I think we're going to try again next year."

Marchers - at least one of whom was costumed as a biblical figure - carried flags, rode motorcycles, put on a puppet show and sang hymns. One float carried an enormous wooden cross.

Churches including Valley Victory Church, Bible Baptist Church, Grace Baptist Church, Gospel Light Baptist Church and Trinity Lutheran Church were represented in the parade. Flathead Advocates for Decency, Glacier Mountain Fellowship and the Montana Pro-life Coalition also participated.

While the idea for a family values parade started out as a reaction to last week's gay pride events in Kalispell, Saturday's march quickly became more about stating the community's core values, Horst said.

"We thought that would be a better witness to the community, and I think it is," Horst said. "To make that statement for the values in our community."

Many marchers carried signs, some of which read "Fight for family," "Jesus died for you … live for him," and "A family that prays together stays together." Numerous signs reiterated marchers' commitment to traditional marriage.

One man, Evangelist pastor Matt Murray, preached to marchers from the sidewalk. Murray, who was in the same spot as he was during last week's pride parade, called the family values parade hypocrisy.

"If they really had a concern for homosexuals, they should have been out here to warn the homosexual of his way instead of holding a parade after the fact," he said.