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Octoberfest parade to honor church

PEYTON NEELY The Marietta Times Pastor Don Hart of St. Johns Evangelical Church discusses the excitement of being named parade marshal for the 41st annual Octoberfest in Lowell.

LOWELL–The village of Lowell decided to honor the St. Johns Evangelical Church by naming the entire church as parade marshal for the 41st annual Octoberfest on Saturday.

“We are really blessed,” said Pastor Don Hart, who has held that position for six years.

This year, St. Johns Evangelical Church celebrated 100 years in its church building. The evangelical organization actually started 158 years ago but the previous building was destroyed in the huge flood of 1913 where it sat on Walnut Street.  St. Johns then moved to Fourth Street and began services a few years after in April of 1916.

“We came together as a committee and agreed that the St. Johns Church has been a pretty important player in the community,” said Octoberfest Committee Member Justin Harris. “We like to recognize people that have given their time and monetary donations, not only to Octoberfest but also to this town.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea and great recognition for our church,” said church member Judy Snow. “We at St. Johns are quite pleased.”

The church has assisted with providing funds in rebuilding of Lowell’s baseball fields, updating the Buell Island Park and playground and other improvements around the village.

Funds have been raised by the church through fundraising and donations and put into trusts that are used for different monetary purposes around the community.

The Neighbors in Need Program is based through the Washington County Commission in coordination with the church. It allows people who may have bills they can’t pay can get the help they need.

St. Johns Evangelical Church also has provided the necessary funds to improve the Lowell Community Pool and keep it open for business over the years by continuing to donate to the pool every spring.

“We like to do as much as we can to give back to a town this church has been a part of for a whole century,” Hart said. “Like I said, we are very blessed, both for this recognition by the Octoberfest Committee and the opportunities we have to reach out however we can to help children and people within the community with their needs and any improvements.”

St. Johns also has a year-round food pantry and assists with new equipment and supplies needed at Lowell Elementary School.

“When the need comes, our church is very responsive,” said Snow.

The decision to use an entire organization rather than a single person for the honor of the parade marshal was an easy one to make, said Octoberfest organizers.

“St. Johns Evangelical Church is kind of located right in the middle of the town, and they do a lot for the community.  It only felt right we honor them for all the help they’ve given us,” said Jim Lenhart, chairman of the Octoberfest parade.

“That’s the way it should be, because it’s not just one person doing all this good, it’s many,” said Pastor Don Hart.

The church will have an ecumenical outreach table set up at Octoberfest passing out free water and fun facts about The Bible and other Christian literature.  There will be more information about the services St. Johns offers, including the 211 program, which assists anybody in need.

“The tent will have chairs where anyone can come talk to us about different ways to get help they need or to learn more about the truth of God,” Hart said.

He will be there along with other members of the church and a number of other churches from the area all day Saturday and Sunday.

Future events for the St. Johns Evangelical Church include a new Bible study group open to the public.

The Bible study will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The Octoberfest Parade will start at 10 a.m. at the end of Main Street in Lowell.  The route for the parade includes going down Main Street, turning down Fourth Street, and crossing the bridge ending at the park.

Parade details

¯ When: Starts at 10 a.m. Saturday.

¯ Parade start: In the fork of the road near Ohio 60 and County Road 76.

¯ Route: Down Main Street to Fourth Street.

¯ Ends: Across the bridge into park.

Source: Parade Chairman Jim Lenhart.

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