Houston, TX: Across the greater Houston area, communities will come together this weekend for the Third Annual Holocaust March of Remembrance Houston. Four marches will be held on Saturday, April 26, in Baytown, Brenham, Kingwood, and Webster, followed by the central march in Meyerland on Sunday, April 27.
“It’s connected to a worldwide movement,” explained Ted Pearce, International Director of the March of Remembrance. “There are 50 to 60 other cities in America participating, and we will have more than 10,000 people in the streets of Budapest, Hungary, on the same day you are walking here.” With the international scope of sister marches, “the March of Remembrance presents a banner big enough for us all to pray in a public way, together, and to present one voice” on the issue of the Holocaust.
The March of Remembrance is an event sponsored by Christians to honor and remember those who suffered in the Holocaust, their descendants, and the rescuers who risked their lives to help their fellow man. The March is held on Yom Hashoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is a national holiday in Israel and is observed by Jewish communities worldwide.
The March provides a unique opportunity to learn about the Holocaust through first-hand accounts of survivors, and to raise awareness on the issue of social justice in a time of increasing anti-Semitism and when people groups worldwide suffer persecution. The March of Remembrance provides a way for the community to come together and say “Never Again”.
“It’s important for us to stand with the Jewish community,” said Pastor Jeff Berger, of Westbury Baptist Church and Lead Pastor for the March in Meyerland. “What better way to love our neighbors than to stand up and say that what happened in Germany in the 1930’s and 40’s will never happen here, because we won’t let it.”
The March of Remembrance in Houston
The 2014 March in Houston will be held at five Houston area locations, with synagogues and churches from many denominations participating. Each location will hold memorial services with testimonies from Holocaust survivors, along with a prayer and awareness walk. Several locations will also host descendants of Nazi members who will be flying in from Germany to acknowledge the wrongs of their ancestors and to express repentance.
The central event will be held on Sunday, April 27, at Godwin Park in Meyerland (5101 Rutherglenn Dr). The opening ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m., with keynote speakers Dr. Anna Steinberger, Holocaust survivor and Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commisssioner, and Dr. Sheldon Rubenfeld, President of the Center for Medicine After the Holocaust. Immediately following the ceremony, there will be a prayer march ending at Congregation Beth Yeshurun, where participants may join with the Jewish community’s memorial service coordinated by Holocaust Museum Houston.
Other Marches in the greater Houston area will begin on Saturday, April 26, at 2:00 p.m. in four locations. The March in Baytown will be hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church (5010 N Main St), with Holocaust survivors Ruth and Larry Steinfeld. In Brenham, the March will be hosted by Cannery Kitchen (314 E Alamo St), where Holocaust survivor Alex Pollak will share his testimony publicly for the first time. The Kingwood March will be hosted by Christ the King Lutheran Church (3803 W Lake Houston Pkwy), with Holocaust survivor Al Marks and Steve Finkelman, second generation of Holocaust survivors. The March in Webster will be held at Praise Chapel (18516 Texas 3), with Holocaust survivor Bill Orlin and Dr. Hy Penn, second generation of Holocaust survivors.
For more information about the March of Remembrance, and to register for the event, click here.
