The March of Remembrance is an international event honoring the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust. The Tucson event, organized by Pastor Steve Shermett of Book of Life Community Church and Congregation Beth Sar Shalom (a Messianic congregation), will be held on Sunday, Jan. 31 at the Reid Park band shell. The event will start with a memorial service at 2:30 p.m. followed by a 3.5 mile walk around Reid Park. A .75 mile alternate march route will be offered. After the march there will be a free concert performed by The Gatekeepers of Ironwood Hills Church at the band shell. The memorial service will feature testimony from Holocaust survivor Andy Schot, and participation from Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, U.S. Congresswoman Martha McSally, Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin of Congregation Young Israel and Chabad Tucson, and Shermett. More than 25 churches, synagogues and organizations including Christians United For Israel – Arizona and 4Tucson will be participating.
Last year’s event, which drew over 1,200 people, featured Holocaust survivor Jim Lieber, Rothschild and McSally. The purpose of this event is to honor the memory of those who died in the Holocaust, to stand together against anti-Semitism, and to enhance friendships between the Jewish and Christian communities, says John Winchester, CUFI Arizona state director.
In February 2015 the Israeli Knesset recognized March of Remembrance planners in Jerusalem. For more information on the Tucson event, visit marchofremembrancearizona.com.
