Absolutely! People and kids of all ages are welcome to join in this processional and worship service. The full processional is approximately 1 mile, so if you have very young children, you may want to join the route partway along, bring a stroller or wagon, or meet us at the Capitol Steps at 4pm for the worship service.

Depending on a person’s level of mobility, they may or may not choose to join the procession for the entire route (0.9 miles). There are other places to join the route (St. George’s Episcopal, McCabe United Methodist), if folks wish to join but go a shorter distance. Folks are also welcome to meet us at the Capitol Steps for the worship service at 4pm. Curb cuts are present throughout the route for crossing streets. We encourage folks joining the procession to consider coordinating with others to leave one car at the start of the route and another at the Capitol. Note that the entire event will be held outdoors, regardless of weather conditions. Please dress accordingly.

Anyone who shares the values of feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and welcoming the stranger is invited to join! People of many different traditions are helping to plan the event, attend, and invite others. While the event is specifically Christian, other people of faith or no faith who wish to attend are welcome!

Above all, dress appropriately for the weather that day, as this event will take place entirely outside. We are also encouraging folks to wear either green or purple as the colors of the day.

Alternatively, you could purchase a Palm Sunday Path shirt to wear on the day or in advance: https://www.bonfire.com/palmsundaypath/

All proceeds from sales will go directly to helping those in need in MN and across the Upper Midwest.

Water bottle
Chair if you would like to sit
Palm branches from your morning worship if you have them
Joyful Spirit & Love of Neighbor

Please do NOT bring:
Signs
Flags
Weapons of any kind

Since not all community members are comfortable around dogs or other pets, we ask that only licensed therapy or assistance animals be present.

Our preachers for the worship service will be:

Sister Kathleen Atkinson, OSB, a Benedictine Sister from Annunciation Monastery in Bismarck, ND and the founder of Ministry on the Margins.

Nationally recognized as an energetic and creative leader in hunger and homelessness education, she has developed service learning experiences for all age groups and led service teams to a variety of foreign and United States locations.

Jasmine Tosseth-Smith, Executive Director of Bismarck Global Neighbors (BGN).

Ms. Tosseth-Smith’s background includes extensive managerial experience in nonprofit, ministry, and entrepreneurial roles. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, she has called North Dakota home since 2006, bringing both professional expertise and personal understanding to BGN's mission. Over the past several years, she has been instrumental in expanding programs, strengthening partnerships, and ensuring BGN remains a welcoming place for all newcomers. Jasmine is currently pursuing an M.A. in Missional Leadership at Trinity Bible College and is an alumnus of the Bush Foundation Change Network from 2022.

Please share about the event, using the resources in the toolkit, with your congregation! If your congregation would like to join as an official Faith Community Partner, please contact the Core Team.

We are processing to the Capitol as an expression of bringing our deeply-held, core Christian values (feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and welcoming the stranger) from the church into the public square. Politics is nothing more or less than how people live together in organized groups. The Church has a lot to say about how to live life in community! That is what public witness is for - to speak clearly about our values: pointing out when they are being violated, advocating for policies that are based in our values, speaking on behalf of our neighbors. What the church should avoid is partisanship (telling people what people or parties to vote for, unquestioned allegiance to one party or another). This event is a specifically non-partisan opportunity for public witness.

This event is a processional worship service. We will process in commemoration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey (see Matthew 21:1-11), and will focus on Matthew 25 as our guiding worship text. The processional portion of the event will focus on hymn-singing, and participants will carry palm branches. No protest signs or flags will be allowed at the event. Once we are at the Capitol, we will hold a worship service centered on Matthew 25, with singing, scripture reading, and preaching. 

No.

This event is being planned and led by local church leaders from Western North Dakota. The Core Team includes:

Bill & Marcia Patrie, UCC, Bismarck

Rev. Gretchen Deeg, UCC, Bismarck

Ross Keys, Interfaith Alliance of ND, Bismarck

Rev. Sylvia Bull, Faith Lutheran, Bismarck

Rev. Beth Walch, Lord of Life Lutheran, Bismarck

Pastor Dave Jenkins, Evangelical Circuit-rider and Missionary, Killdeer & Wilton

Deacon Beth Anderson, ELCA, Bismarck

Sister Kathleen Atkinson, Roman Catholic, Bismarck

Rev. Martha HarriSon, Trinity Lutheran, Bismarck

Sonda Sauers, Bismarck

Yes! All those who share the values of feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and welcoming the stranger are invited to participate. 

Yes! Similar events will be happening the same day in Fargo-Moorhead (https://fmpalmsundaypath.com/), Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota, Tennessee, Iowa, Indiana, Oregon, and Nebraska. For the full list of events, visit: https://www.palmsunday2026.com/

Great question! While the events happening in North Dakota (Bismarck, Fargo-Moorhead) are specifically Christian, other faith communities in the Midwest are doing versions of this event on their own holy days, such as Passover and Eid.

While a national event on July 3rd in Philadelphia was initially hoped for, the World Cup (Soccer) semi-final being held there around the same time makes this logistically impossible. Instead, we will be focusing more efforts on local engagement and a follow-up event on Palm Sunday in 2027.

You’re right - living according to these values with concrete action is really important! And so is speaking about them in a public way. Both are needed! This event is focused on speaking clearly and publicly about these values, and through doing so, we hope to motivate people to action in their daily lives, in communities all across western ND, and in cooperation with our state, local, and federal governments. We will be hosting follow-up events, including a Make a Difference Event on May 2 from 1-3pm at McCabe United Methodist (1030 N. 6th St - Bismarck), which will highlight churches and agencies doing work focused on these values and offer people opportunities to connect with each other to do this work.