Lutheran Hour float wins Rose Parade award

The 2015 Rose Parade float sponsored by Lutheran Hour Ministries — the only Christian-themed entry among 37 floats in the Jan. 1 parade in Pasadena, Calif. — received the Princess’ Award trophy for “Most Beautiful Float 35 Feet and Under.”

The 2015 Rose Parade float sponsored by Lutheran Hour Ministries — the only Christian-themed entry among 37 floats in the Jan. 1 parade in Pasadena, Calif. — featured an open Bible with depictions of the Nativity, Moses, Noah’s ark and the Baptism of Jesus. (Courtesy Pasadena Tournament of Roses®)

The float’s theme of “The Bible … God’s Story” featured an open Bible, inviting viewers into the Word of God, with depictions of the Nativity, Moses, Noah’s ark and the Baptism of Jesus.

As a self-funded project of the Southern California District of the International Lutheran Laymen’s League (Int’l LLL), the float is a 65-year tradition in the annual New Year’s Day parade, carrying on a mission to provide a Gospel witness to viewers everywhere, from the parade route along Pasadena’s Colorado Boulevard to televisions all over the world. The parade, which also included marching bands and equestrian groups, was watched live on television by some 40 million Americans and by millions more people in 150 countries, according to Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM).

Among those riding on this year’s LHM float were Philip Krauss II, chairman of the Int’l LLL; the Rev. Tim Klinkenberg, pastoral advisor for the Int’l LLL; Dr. Kurt Krueger, president of Concordia University, Irvine, Calif.; and the Rev. Roger Sonnenberg, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Arcadia, Calif., and first vice-president of the LCMS Pacific Southwest District.

Some 5,000 “Petal Pushers” volunteered to help decorate the LHM float as well as six other floats — for American Honda Motor Company, the City of Los Angeles, Western Asset Management Company, Farmers Insurance, Shriners Hospitals for Children and the United Sikh Mission. For more information about the work of the Petal Pushers and how you can join them, visit petalpushers.org.

To find out more about St. Louis-based Lutheran Hour Ministries, visit lhm.org.

Posted Jan. 27, 2015