The brilliance of TFC’s Parade of Lights falls silent, but just for now
The sights and sounds of the Transport For Christ Parade of Lights will be gone for now, but not for good. TFC has postponed its county-wide tour through Holmes County until Oct. 3.
The annual Transport For Christ Parade of Lights was slated to take place Friday and Saturday, July 10-11.
However, the lights will be dimmed, the sounds of horns and shouts of hellos along the parade route will be silent, and the thousands of well-wishers lining the roads along the route winding from Wayne County through Eastern Holmes County will be absent, for now.
The popular Parade of Lights, hosted by Transport For Christ, has postponed its annual joy ride through Amish Country but plans are to host the event on Oct. 3, where the leadership team hopes to gather its hundreds of truckers together and create a nighttime spectacular, complete with dazzling lights, sound effects and all of the pageantry that accompanies this annual event.
“With everything that is going on right now, it didn’t seem appropriate to move forward with the parade as planned, so we decided to postpone it, and hopefully we will be out in full force come Oct. 3,” Gary Nussbaum of Transport For Christ said.
For those unfamiliar with the event, the TFC Parade of Lights is a convoy of trucks driven by appreciative drivers, both long and short distance, who want to share their joy of being part of the transport community with those around them by lighting up the night sky with their trucks cleaned up and well lit.
Last year more than 180 trucks drove through Wayne and Holmes counties, creating an enormous, snake-like line of trucks as they provided an evening of entertainment for those who turned out to watch, and those numbers continued to grow as people sat on banks, blankets and lawn chairs. They even had family and community picnics and cook-outs in anticipation of the lengthy lineup of trucks parading by their homes and through their communities.
“It’s continued to grow into something really special that all of our drivers look forward to and I think a lot of people in the community anticipate,” Nussbaum said. “I know this event means so much to our drivers who have a chance to get together and celebrate the bond of driving that ties us all together.”
The two-day event also featured music, a chicken barbecue and an auction at Mt. Hope Auction, with all of the proceeds benefiting Transport For Christ.
Transport For Christ International is an organization that provides an effective ministry to truck drivers throughout the world, wherever there is a significant trucking industry.
The aim of the organization is to lead truck drivers and the trucking community to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. The goal is no trucker should have to drive more than a day without being able to find a TFC Mobile Chapel. TFC is about building relationships, sharing faith and providing a place for drivers to regenerate physically, mentally and spiritually.
Nussbaum said COVID-19 has made it difficult for each of the many TFC chaplain sites and those who dedicate themselves to serving and sharing God’s word with truckers all over the world to share and help rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit of drivers everywhere.
“I really think that what we do in the name of Christ is more important now than ever with the way the world is right now,” Nussbaum said. “It is a challenge for our ministry because people are keeping to themselves right now and they aren’t coming into the chapels as much as they normally do. Our chaplains have had to get out into the parking lots more to try to connect with drivers, which is something we have to take more initiative in doing.”
Nussbaum said the actual number of drivers stopping at truck stops right now has been reduced, and the drivers who are stopping aren’t spending much time there. That has made the chaplains’ jobs much more difficult.
“You want to introduce yourself, but you have to have some wisdom and patience,” Nussbaum said. “It’s finding that proper way to make contact and create opportunities to chat that has changed.”
Nussbaum said hopefully things will return to a more normal state of affairs soon, but until then TFC will continue to find ways to touch the lives of drivers.
As for the Parade of Lights, Nussbaum said hopefully the waiting and anticipation for both drivers and fans of the parade will make it even more enjoyable when the time comes.
“We know many people look forward to this, and we are disappointed, but we invite everyone to project Oct. 3 for the new date and to put it on their calendars to celebrate with us then,” Nussbaum said.