Houston, TX: In March of 2012, Msgr Father Chester Borski of St. Martha Catholic Church in Kingwood, TX, was presented with a request: to host a memorial service for a Holocaust March of Remembrance, the first of its kind in the Houston area. He said yes. The resulting march and memorial service exceeded all expectations with almost 1,000 participants, the largest March of Remembrance in 2012 from the 60 held nationwide.
Rather than being an outreach of a single church, the March reached across denominational lines. Beginning with an opening ceremony at Kingwood United Methodist Church pastored by Rev. Jim Welch, a total of seven churches stepped forward to host the march that ended in the memorial service at St. Martha Catholic Church.
Pastor Richard Lee of Bethany Fellowship Church, one of the participating churches, credits Msgr. Borski with generating the impetus that brought so many churches together, “He is very well respected in the community and people look up to him,” he explained, “He is a good shepherd to his flock.”
Pastor Rod Bryant of Calvary Christian Fellowship, emcee of the 2012 and 2013 memorial services in Kingwood, concurred. “Initially, it was a little hard to explain what it would look like because we hadn’t done it before,” he explained, “That Father Borski said yes meant everything.”
At a Leaders’ VIP dinner where the vision for 2013 was shared with leaders from across the city, Msgr. Borski explained the impact the march had on the Kingwood community to the assembled crowd, “What we experienced in Kingwood was the fact that we could bring Holocaust education to the community. Sometimes we leave it at the university level or we leave it as an academic subject, but we’re here to bring the experience to people who live in our community.” At a following luncheon for pastors in the Kingwood area he explained, “When we ‘remember’ the Holocaust, we are ‘re-membering’ the body of Christ.”
Because of a Catholic priest’s understanding of the true meaning of catholic, concerning the whole rather than an individual entity or organization, that initial spark in Kingwood has ignited across the Houston area. The plans for the 2013 March of Remembrance Houston include marches in seven locations in the greater Houston area on the weekend of April 6th and 7th.
To learn more about the March of Remembrance Houston, visit www.holocaustremembranceassociation.org. Register for a march near you at www.holocaustremembranceassociation.org/participate for details on the seven Houston area marches.
About the March of Remembrance Houston
The Holocaust March of Remembrance Houston will be held on the weekend of April 6th and 7th, 2013, in seven communities across the Houston area. Beginning with a prayer walk and culminating with a memorial service honoring both Holocaust survivors and the rescuers. To participate in the march in your area, visit http://www.holocaustremembranceassociation.org/participate and register online.
The March of Remembrance Houston (www.holocaustremembranceassociation.org) is part of the U.S. March of Remembrance and March of Life (Europe.) The March of Remembrance/March of Life provides an opportunity for people worldwide to publicly demonstrate their respect for the Jewish people and their right to exist as a nation.
