Vieux Carre church sets cross procession and prayer during Southern Decadence

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The Rev. Greg Hand and members and friends of his Vieux Carre Baptist Church will greet the annual Southern Decadence celebration with prayer and silent demonstration of God's saving grace and universal power.

He and about 30 others will encamp September 3 for five days of intermittent prayer, praise and worship at the 711 Dauphine St. church, and carry the cross through the streets of the French Quarter to the riverfront September 5 at 8 a.m. for a prayer meeting in Woldenberg Park.

"We're remembering Jesus' sacrifice for our sins for our city," said Hand, who leads the French Quarter congregation. "We felt like this time it really needed to be just prayer and praise."

Hand said Vieux Carre's  work will be about unity and refreshing within the body of Christ, and will not initiate any particular outreach to those celebrating Southern Decadence.

"I've always been checked in my spirit to do that because it's so confrontational," Hand said.
"It's a witness of the authority of Jesus in that community. It's for that darkness that sees itself as in control, but the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."

"It's a statement of God's presence in our community, lest anyone forget that Jesus is here."

He describes Southern Decadence, which will be in full swing during Hand's procession, as an invitation to spiritual darkness and a shameless display of the flesh.

Hand and his wife Wren have led the procession for five years during Southern Decadence, supported by Christians from various states and members of the New Orleans community.

"We're praying blessings over the city," Hand said.

His congregation will host a breakfast and ladies' tea at the church after the march and prayer gathering, and will host a barbecue at the close of the encampment on Labor Day, September 7.

In its 39th year, Southern Decadence markets itself as the largest gay gathering in New Orleans, offering September 2 - 7 around-the-clock partying in the streets of the French Quarter and evening events at select venues.