A History Of The Praise March

Witnessing to Christ's love through public marches and demonstrations has a long and important history. This history teaches us how effective this public proclamation can be for both advancing important societal goals and for bringing people to Christ.

There is nothing new under the sun, as the world-weary writer of Ecclesiastes commented (Eccles. 1:9). Worship in the open air is not an exception; it has all been done before. The interesting thing is that where it has been done before it has very often been connected with religious revival. The earliest record in England of Christian songs being used outdoors is in a.d. 675. Alfred the Great's handbook records show Aldhelm, the Abbott of Malmesbury, decided that if the people wouldn't come to the message then the message would have to come to them. Aldhelm had studied music in Rome. When he returned to Wessex, the people obviously liked his music, but had taken to leaving church before the sermon started. As they came out, Aldhelm would be there singing the popular songs of the day, progressing to songs with a Christian message and slipping in a crafty preach when he'd gathered a crowd! The medieval monks were the evangelists of their day and many of them didn't hesitate to use new forms of music in their missions. St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1152) founded his own monastery and was a great church reformer, but he also moved among the common people, preaching, singing, and performing signs and wonders in the open fields and town squares. Perhaps this timeless hymn was first made popular among peasants in the French countryside:

Jesus, Thou joy of loving hearts,

Thou fount of life, Thou light of men, From the best bliss which earth imparts, We turn unfilled to Thee again. John Huss, leader of a revival movement in the fifteenth century, composed folk hymns in his native Czech for his followers to sing as they met in market places, fields, and meadows.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches still continue the tradition of processions in many places today, particularly those associated with pilgrimage. The banners you often see hanging inside Anglican churches were not intended for that purpose, but for taking out around the parish. Whit Sunday has always been a time for Christian processions, especially in the Midlands and the North of England.

The Salvation Army took their brass bands onto the streets in the late nineteenth century. They were not always very popular. The Worthing Gazette of 1883 described them as "?excitable young men and hysterical young women who mistake a quasi-religious revelry for Godliness.?" At about the same time Punch magazine wrote about "?Booth-eration:?"

A procession is a nuisance at any time, and should only be permitted on rare and exceptional occasions. As to the noisy Religious Services which disturb the peace and quiet of neighborhoods on the Day of Rest, they should all be confined within the four walls of their own Tabernacle, Camp, Church or Conventicle, whatever it may be, and those walls should be, by Act of Parliament, of sufficient thickness to prevent the escape of noise.

In one twelve-month period, 669 Salvationists were assaulted, 56 Army buildings were stoned and damaged, and 86 members of the Army were jailed by magistrates. But the Army grew. In under ten years it had expanded twenty times over. The Army became respected and revered, perhaps because it backed up its noise with a great deal of social concern and action. One of the Salvation Army's greatest processions was in 1885. It marched to the Houses of Parliament with a petition two miles long, bearing 343,000 signatures demanding that the trade in child prostitution (which was rampant at the time) be stopped and the age of consent raised from thirteen to sixteen years old. They succeeded and lives were changed. Drunkards sobered up and started to care for their families; prostitutes gave up their ways and turned to respectable employment. Salvation had turned their lives around. A converted coal-cart driver summed it up. "?Well,?" he said, "?no smoking, no drinking, no swearing, and the '?orses know the difference.?" The world began to notice the difference too. When the Spirit was poured out upon Wales in 1904, society could not escape its impact. For a time the courts had no new cases to try and the taverns emptied. A report read: "?Perhaps the most prominent feature is the lessening of drunkenness, for the night marches (converts on their way home from meeting) of praying and singing converts seem to have induced a considerable number of converts to abandon their evil ways.?" Another commentator wrote: "?The revival of 1904 united denominations as one body, filled the chapels nightly, renewed family ties, changed life in mines and factories, often crowded streets with huge processions, abated social vices and diminished crime.?" And now in recent years God has been moving inside the churches like an underground stream, brining new growth and vitality. This is beginning to burst out. The church is becoming visible again. It has a voice which needs to be heard. The time has come to take to the streets again!