Our annual "Church Parade" was hosted by the Rev. Marc Whitehead and his congregation at North Kildonan United Church, 174 Pentland Street. It was Mother's Day, which proved to be fortunate and unfortunate: fortunate in that we were welcomed into a wonderful family style service with the bonus of carnations distributed by the adorable junior Sunday School members, and unfortunate in that many of our members had other plans and so our group was small.
Our flag bearers led us into the service and we were given front row seats. Rev. Whitehead included some Loyalist history in his introduction and explanation of our presence. Many parts of the service were ably handled by members of the Youth Group and at the conclusion we were given "prayer shawls" crafted by a special group in the church. Although the shawls we received were symbolic the group does get together at the church and craft actual shawls that are given to anyone in need of comfort. Their thought is "God's Love shows through in our handiwork and with the blessings that go with them".
After the service we joined the congregation for fellowship and refreshments. Many questions were directed at us and we were happy to try to provide answers. A cozy brunch at the nearby Norvilla Hotel wrapped up the morning.