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 BOB BISHOP PORTRAYS Salvation Army historical figure Joe the Turk at the “How Berkeley Can You Bee Parade and Festival” in Berkeley, CA |
Captains Turnie and Evadne Wright and the Berkeley Corps decided to use the Berkeley, CA, “How Berkeley Can You Bee Parade and Festival” as an opportunity to show that God and The Salvation Army are indeed alive and well in Berkeley, California.
The parade is an annual event that “celebrates the town’s worldliness” and draws a crowd of more than 5,000.
With the corps located half a block from the start of the parade, corps members “were getting tired of shouting out our sermons during this time. So they decided, ‘why not join them and do something for God and the Army?'” said Wright. “After all, Wm. Booth once said, ‘If you are going to fight sin, go where the sin is!’ ”
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Compassionately active in serving humanity… We…will be a people who see ourselves as catalysts for meeting the spiritual and social needs of our whole community. |
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Actively engaged in helping out, the corps set up a booth and distributed 250 cups of cold water, 450 invitations to the corps, 244 doughnut holes, and 450 tissue packets with the corps’ address and service times on the packets. Salvationists served the refreshments to parade participants and spectators.
The captains and corps members marched in the parade along with Joe the Turk; Capt. Turnie was in full uniform and Capt. Evadne wore a clown costume.
“We wanted to demonstrate,” said Wright, “that God and The Salvation Army love and are a part of the Berkeley community and are here for the people of Berkeley!”