The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

The Mall at Marathon is extending an invitation for Bahamians to join in the fun this Friday and Saturday as they host their annual Community and Church Days event.

The weekend is set to highlight inspirational entertainment, membership drives, praise teams and choirs, bake sales, and more. Activities will run from 10am until 8pm on both days.

In an interview with Tribune Religion, Carla Fitzgerald, marketing director at the Mall At Marathon, said the initiative is basically an open outreach activity event for people of all faiths.

"Each year the mall would host the event the first Saturday in August, and we have extended it to two days in order to accommodate the Seventh-day Adventist Church," she said.

There will liturgical dances, youth programmes presenting skits, short plays and mimes.

Due to renovations, this year the event is being held in the Food Court space.

Ms Fitzgerald said there is no specific theme, it is just a church and community event where they encourage people to go outside of the walls of the church.

"We get a lot of requests throughout the year for these events, but it is easier for us to facilitate all at one time where it is a general forum for various churches. We have hosted (this event) for over 15 years. We get probably about eight or so (churches/organisations) repeat each year," she said.

Returning organisations and pastors include Pastor Rex Major, the Evangelism Ministries, Great Commissions Ministries, the Methodist Women's Conference, and others.

"So by word of mouth the news of the event is spreading and continues to grow every year," said Ms Fitzgerald. "It is interesting and exciting to have come this far. We get a lot of different things done each year and we are always happy to have new organisations join. We are trying to grow the civic organisation side of it where we can have the various associations come in as well."

This being a unique type of outreach event, Ms Fitzgerald said you can expect to see people there that you wouldn't normally see in church.

"Here you can reach them where they are. You can interest them in different programmes and draw them into your church that way. It is always very busy in the mall during this time with persons getting ready for back to school and so we have a lot of people passing through. For me and my background, my Dad is a Baptist church minister and I grew up in the church. You will find there are some persons who don't ever go, but you can reach them where they are and they can be taught the gospel. This is a wonderful opportunity to reach folks. It is really exciting and just wonderful each year, especially seeing the youth arms of the churches and their performances," she said.