Music, fellowship and joy were all blended together as an annual worship event made its return to an in-person format Saturday morning.
The annual Make a Joyful Noise 5K saw participants take off from New Life Christian Church in the early morning hours with an abundance of worship music playing throughout the route to inspire them throughout their journey. Last year’s event had to take place in a virtual format due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and organizer Melissa Herring says they still wanted to offer that option to participants this year.
This was the seventh annual Make a Joyful Noise event and sadly it will be the last according to Herring. At this time, there are no concrete plans to replace the event, however, Herring says there are plenty of opportunities to bring a new fundraising event to the community in the near future.
As in years past, as participants made their way through the course they were greeted with live worship music performances meant to help uplift and motivate them throughout their journey. Herring believes the event was the perfect way to help pick up residents’ spirits after the trying year we have all experienced.
Once again, Make a Joyful Noise was a part of the Emporia Recreation Commission’s Super Series and all participants received a t-shirt and finisher medal for completing the 5K. While being an inspirational event for the community, the 5K also serves as a fundraiser for New Life with all funds this year going to support blessing boxes throughout the local community and a new soundboard for the church.
Fundraising totals will be announced at a later time.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon/KVOE News
