Saying they wish to promote inclusivity, city officials have approved a second holiday parade in downtown Taylor on the same day, time and route as a traditional “family-values” procession showcasing biblical themes.
Last Friday, the city announced it will host “A Very Merry Holiday Celebration” at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, featuring a parade and followed by a tree-lighting ceremony, arts and crafts, and live music at Heritage Square.
It coincides with the “Taylor’s Christmas Parade of Lights: Celebrating Traditional Biblical and Family Values,” which also will be held at 7 p.m. the same day and will follow the same route along Main Street from Twelfth to Third streets.
City officials said despite being listed at the same time, the “Very Merry” parade would begin immediately after the “Parade of Lights” finishes.
“This year, the city decided they wanted to have a parade that was inclusive of all groups,” said city spokesperson Stacey Osborne. “We have committed to being more inclusive and diverse in the things that we do as a city, and the holidays are a time when you should be inclusive, and when you should be celebratory and where everyone should be able to participate, and we thought that the best way to make sure that that happens is to hold a parade that is explicitly designed to be inclusive.”
For many years, the Taylor Area Ministerial Alliance has hosted the “Taylor Christmas Parade of Lights,” but this year began specifying in their registration forms that the floats be consistent with traditional biblical values only.
“We just want the people in the parade to represent biblical and family values because that is what this parade is about: It is about the celebration of Jesus’ birth, and so that is why we clarified the language,” said the Rev. Jeff Ripple, pastor at Christ Fellowship Church and TAMA organizer.
Ripple said this specification came about as a reaction to the way people were attired on a float sponsored by Taylor Pride, an organization serving the LGBTQ community, at the 2021 Parade of Lights.
“Taylor Pride had a float in the Christmas parade last year, and the organizers who were there at the table didn’t know what Taylor Pride was — that it was an LGBTQ group,” Ripple said. “We got a lot of complaints from some of the churches and the people.”
But some in the community think TAMA’s specification for registrants to only reflect biblical values is discriminatory.
At the Nov. 10 City Council meeting, one resident warned that if Taylor doesn’t support diversity and inclusivity, a negative picture of the city could develop.
“This is a bad look for Taylor, especially since our town had the designation of hosting the first Pride event in Williamson County,” said Regina Baker. “How can we expect people to move here and help our city prosper when they know they will be discriminated against just for being who they are?”
Osborne said in past years, the city — just like numerous other agencies and groups —participated in the TAMA parade, but never co-sponsored the event.
“The TAMA parade was the TAMA parade,” Osborne said. “In the past, the city has participated in that parade, but it was not a city-sponsored parade, and it was not a parade that was an official city parade.”
Despite the double billing, Ripple said the TAMA parade would go forward as planned.
“It is just surprising that people are shocked that a Christian organization would hold to biblical Christian values,” Ripple said. “That’s who we are. And yes, we are going to do the parade, and go forward as normal.”
For its part, the Greater Taylor Chamber of Commerce, which used to put on the holiday parade in the past, hopes the community can find a way to come together during the holiday season.
“I hate the idea of such a loving season tearing people apart, and making neighbor be suspicious of neighbor,” said Chamber President Tia Rae Stone. “I hope that in the spirit of the season that we can all together find a way through this in a manner that lifts up love, but also lifts up our community, our differences, as well as our similarities”
The Taylor Pride float in the 2021 Parade of Lights that prompted some complaints by churches who are members of the Taylor Area Ministerial Alliance and prompted the organization to change the requirements to apply to participate for this year.
The Grinch rides in a float in the 2021 Taylor Christmas Parade of Lights.
Photo by Fernando Castro
