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In Jacksonville, Faith, Hope and Charity at a Super Bowl

Oscar Sosa for The New York Times
A prayer walk to the site of Super Bowl XXXIX took place on Saturday.

By ROBERT ANDREW POWELL

Published: January 30, 2005

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Philadelphia vs. New England
Sun., Feb. 6
6:30 p.m. ET on Fox
Alltel Stadium
Jacksonville, Fla.
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ACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 23 - David Garrett's mission walks in step with his city. With the Super Bowl coming to Jacksonville for the first time, the eyes of more than a hundred million people will turn to northeast Florida, known here as the First Coast. Mr. Garrett wants his ambitious hometown to make a good impression.

"When they look at Jacksonville, I want them to see loving people who care about their city," he said. "I want them to see Jesus."

Mr. Garrett is the head of the Jacksonville Baptist Association's Super Bowl Ministry. In a city where the daily paper, The Florida Times-Union, prints quotations from the Bible on its editorial page, Mr. Garrett is trying to infuse his faith into the week of celebrations that culminate Feb. 6 with Super Bowl XXXIX between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The more worldly side of those festivities has been seen in other host cities: the discos of South Beach in Miami, the saloons of the French Quarter in New Orleans and the nightlife of Buckhead in Atlanta, where Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was involved in a fatal street fight after the game in 2000.

"Religion is deeply embedded in the fabric of society, particularly here in this region," the N.F.L. spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "The Super Bowl often includes events that reflect the surrounding areas. That's why you're seeing more of these type of events here."

Religious groups in Jacksonville have planned interdenominational tie-ins to the game even before the crowds arrive. [The Super March for Jesus on Saturday drew several thousand people from local churches for a one-mile prayer walk from the courthouse downtown to Alltel Stadium, site of the Super Bowl.]

Although religion is also a fundamental component of several Super Bowl week events sanctioned by the National Football League - like the Convoy of Hope, the Athletes in Action breakfast and the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration - those activities are supposed to be inclusive.

"The idea is not to have an event that would allow people to recruit or promote one religion over another," Mr. McCarthy said. "The idea is to be attractive to a wide variety of people."

Mr. Garrett's work began more than four years ago, on the day Jacksonville was awarded the Super Bowl. As fireworks burst over the St. Johns River, he was questioning Baptists in Miami and other host cities about how to mobilize volunteers. Two years ago, he flew to San Diego. Last year, he spent game week in Houston.

"I learned that the Super Bowl is not just one game that kicks off at 6:35 p.m. on a Sunday," he said. "It's a whole week of events."

To prepare, Mr. Garrett helped place two young Baptists as interns with the Jacksonville Super Bowl Host Committee. The interns act as liaisons to church leadership.

"The Baptist church is part of the community, and so it has an impact on our membership," said Michael Kelly, president of the 16-member host committee. "But the committee is led by the business culture, which is focused on growing the city."

Through a Web site, fdfc.org, for First Down First Coast, Mr. Garrett corralled volunteers for everything from manning the N.F.L. Experience theme park to breaking down the stage after the game's halftime show, which will star Paul McCartney.

"Jesus said we're to be the salt and the light," Mr. Garrett said. "We don't run away from the place we hate; we run to it. A lot of people were complaining about last year's halftime show, saying, 'Look at how horrible it was with the wardrobe malfunction and all that.' I'm saying, 'Here's an opportunity.' Just by being there we have that element of making a difference."

In khaki pants and a polo shirt, Mr. Garrett carries a leather briefcase crammed with his calendar, a Palm Pilot, Christian magazines and notes from his many engagements.

"Normally, I keep a regular 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. office job," he said. "But for all of December, I said, 'Don't plan on me for any meetings; I'm all about the Super Bowl.' I'm working all the time, kind of nonstop right now."

Some days he is at the Super Bowl Host Committee headquarters downtown, squeezed into a narrow cubicle to answer the volunteer-information hotline. On Jan. 20, he attended a meeting at the Words to Work ministry in a small church off Main Street, out by the Trout River. Mr. Garrett sat at a round table, which was draped in a plastic tablecloth dusted with salt granules, inhaling air flavored by coffee.

Continued
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