Contact: Wesley Strackbein,  Jamestown Quadricentennial, 210-340-5250, ext. 222, press@visionforum.org

JAMESTOWN, Va., June 21 /Christian Newswire/ -- More than 4,000 from around the nation gathered last week in Virginia’s Williamsburg-Jamestown-Yorktown triangle to take part in the Jamestown Quadricentennial, a six-day jubilee dedicated to celebrating God's providential hand in America's history. The event, sponsored by Vision Forum Ministries, was an alternative to the state-sponsored commemoration of Jamestown's founding where the word "celebration" was banned by officials who viewed the settlement of Jamestown as an "invasion."

"Last week, America finally got her grand birthday party," remarked Doug Phillips, founder of Vision Forum Ministries. "Participants came to Virginia's historic triangle from nearly fifty states -- men, women, and children representing diverse denominational backgrounds, skin colors, and ethnicities. And from the opening ceremonies which involved the reenactment of the planting of the Cross at the 'First Landing' on Monday, June 11, to the glorious closing fireworks on the evening of Saturday, June 16th, the Christian families in attendance prayed, played, feasted, and rejoiced."

The Jamestown Quadricentennial, included events in five cities -- Hampton, Charles City, Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown. Nearly a thousand celebrants traveled in hot air balloons. More than five thousand people participated in thirty-five, two-hour Faith and Freedom Tours that featured some of the most respected teachers and preachers of the day. Thousands attended historical symposia. Fifteen hundred people traveled down the James River on boat tours that presented history from a providential perspective. On Friday, about one thousand boys and girls of all ages marched in costume, with the flags of fifty states waving and fifes and drummers playing in a grand parade. A similar number marched again on Saturday.

"We believed it was our duty to gather families in Jamestown this year and remember the providences of God in our nation's founding," noted Phillips, "and we were blessed by the thousands of Americans who responded to this call. By God's grace, the event was blessed from beginning to end, and the Lord alone received the glory, honor, and praise."

Plans are now in the beginning stages for Plymouth's Quadricentennial Celebration in 2020. The Pilgrims settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, marking America's second significant birthday.

"Thirteen years from now, America will remember her second great Quadricentennial -- that of the Plymouth settlement in 1620," observed Phillips, "And partnering with the Plymouth Rock Foundation, Vision Forum purposes to be on the vanguard of this historic birthday celebration."

To interview Doug Phillips regarding his vision for the Jamestown and Plymouth Quadricentennials, contact Wesley Strackbein by e-mail at press@visionforum.org or by phone at (210) 340-5250, ext. 222.