Daleville holds annual Peace Parade, program
The Daleville Christian Fellowship Worship Center held its 24th Annual Peace Parade program on Saturday, Jan. 27, with a parade and program that centered on the theme "A Community United in Love with One Purpose."
Church members, citizens and Mayor Jayme Stayton marched from Advanced Auto parts to the church.
Following the parade, a program, which included a dance performance by the DCFWC Praise Dance Ministry and several songs performed by the DCFWC Mass Choir and The Enterprise Community MLK Choir.
Stayton address attendees as well, speaking on the topic of love and caring for others.
"As a mayor and a politician, I meet with different types of people from our community and from around the country," he said. "I've seen good in people, and I've bad in people. I've seen love and I've seen hate. In our community, there's more love than hate."
He said hate hurts those who are being hated and those who hate others.
"Some of the decisions I've made as mayor, I've seen the true color of people," he said. "I've seen the hate come out. Not only does hate hurt, it hurts the person getting hated on, but it also hurts the person that's doing the hating. What a life to live if you've got to wake up every day and you've got to hate."
Stayton said people should come together in love.
"When our country or the world has a national disaster or something like that, people of all walks of life come together, and it doesn't matter what color or religion they are, they come together and show love," he said. "It shouldn't just be a disaster bringing us together. It should be love bringing us together.
"What people need to realize is, there's an enemy out there that doesn't care about what color you are, how much money you've got or what religion you are, and that enemy is Satan. He comes in many different forms, and he wants to keep hate in our hearts. But, I believe we can defeat him with love, love for ourselves, love for our fellow man and love for our Savior Jesus Christ, but that has to start with us as individuals because the only behavior we can change is our own."
He said change can only start with the individual.
"It has to start with (you)," he said. "If people would do this, I believe we can make this world a better place because if we control what enters our hearts, then we can control our actions and Satan cannot."
The main speaker for the event was Rev. Dr. Clarence Noble, who serves as the pastor of Greater St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Tuskegee.
He began his message stating that the United States is "going through difficult times."
"Even though we're going through some difficult times, we see and hear daily the immaturity and the lunacy of a man who was elected to be our president surround himself with a political party and some bumbling cabinet members who share his agenda," he said. "Strange as it may seem, there are some token us among them who have sold out to him because they want the money and they want the fame.
"His plans for us and other minorities are not fair or just. We do not matter to Donald Trump. Black lives do not matter, but I thank God we matter to God."
Noble spoke about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his efforts for black people to be considered equal.
He said God "took him and made him the leader of not only the Montgomery Improvement Association, but the leader of the whole civil rights movement all over this nation. He gave his best, and he gave his own life for us to gain the right to vote, to eat in public restaurants, to use public facilities, ride anywhere on the bus or the train, or attend any school or university of our choice. Doors were opened to us, and many job opportunities became ours because of this civil civil rights movements and its leader, Dr. Martin Luther King (Jr.)."
Because of the efforts of King, he said he is disappointed with how black men and women have lost their "sense of brotherhood" and their "sense of sisterhood," as well as their respect for one another and others today.
"There are so many things that are hurting us, and there are times that I feel like giving up because of how we treat one another," he said, stating some black people have also lost respect for the church.
Referencing 2 Chronicles 7:14, Noble said people should turn back home to God, have humility and turn away from wickedness.
"One of the things we must all do is come back home to God," he said. "We know who God is; we know what what he has brought us from, and we know what he is able to do.
"We need to revive our relationship with God. When was the last time you talked to God in your house? When was the last time you even called his name?"
He said people must develop humility with God and other, as well.
"There's another thing we need to learn today," he said. "Not only must we go home to God, but we need some humility among ourselves."
He said humility within a relationship with God is learning "to talk to God humbly."
"You can't get anything from God with a big head..." he said. "When you talk to God on your needs, he will hear your prayers.
"Humbleness is the best thing to have in your life."
He also said it was important to turn from wicked ways in order to receive holiness.
"(Holiness) shows up in how you treat people," he said. "You might speak in 10 tongues, but if you don't know how to treat your brother or your sister, you're just a hypocrite in tongues."