Reply #46: The op's photo is from a prayer march reported in the NYT- the first post by Bluebear is not in that [View All]

[papau]

article and may well be photoshopped - but my guess is that a cross is being transported to a revival meeting (explaining the lights and wires) and is most likely also real - but as yet unsourced by Bluebear.

In any case here is the orginal article for the thread's opening post:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/sports/30jacksonville.html?ex=1264741200&en=2119a3126723b0da&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

In Jacksonville, Faith, Hope and Charity at a Super Bowl

A prayer walk to the site of Super Bowl XXXIX took place on Saturday.

By ROBERT ANDREW POWELL

Published: January 30, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 23 - David Garrett's mission walks in step with his city. With the Super Bowl coming to Jacksonville for the first time, the eyes of more than a hundred million people will turn to northeast Florida, known here as the First Coast. Mr. Garrett wants his ambitious hometown to make a good impression.

"When they look at Jacksonville, I want them to see loving people who care about their city," he said. "I want them to see Jesus."

Mr. Garrett is the head of the Jacksonville Baptist Association's Super Bowl Ministry. In a city where the daily paper, The Florida Times-Union, prints quotations from the Bible on its editorial page, Mr. Garrett is trying to infuse his faith into the week of celebrations that culminate Feb. 6 with Super Bowl XXXIX between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The more worldly side of those festivities has been seen in other host cities: the discos of South Beach in Miami, the saloons of the French Quarter in New Orleans and the nightlife of Buckhead in Atlanta, where Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was involved in a fatal street fight after the game in 2000.

"Religion is deeply embedded in the fabric of society, particularly here in this region," the N.F.L. spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "The Super Bowl often includes events that reflect the surrounding areas. That's why you're seeing more of these type of events here."

Religious groups in Jacksonville have planned interdenominational tie-ins to the game even before the crowds arrive. <snip>

The meeting was convened for the Convoy of Hope scheduled for the day before the Super Bowl in Brentwood Park, a narrow stretch of grass ringed by public housing projects. In addition to a gospel concert, the convoy will offer free food, a car show, a children's zone and such random benefits as free cholesterol testing. Pastor Nick Phoenix, the head of the food subcommittee, told Mr. Garrett and seven other volunteers that the convoy, formed by more than 100 local churches, would be the largest faith-based outreach event that the N.F.L. had ever seen.<snip>