King of Kings/No Kings

Pompoms to palms

On that day, more than 2,000 years ago, there were two parades in Jerusalem. Through one city gate came a peasant preacher riding a tiny, borrowed donkey as ordinary people cheered, waved palm branches, laid down their cloaks to cushion the donkey’s steps, and called out, “Save us, Jesus! Hosanna!”

At the other end of town, through a triumphal archway came the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, accompanied by the pomp and circumstance of imperial cavalry and foot soldiers. Their rattling spears, swords and shields glinted in the sunlight as huge war horses pranced and reared in a show of strength meant to intimidate everyone who had come to the city for Passover.

One procession embodied power through domination, fear, and violence. The other embodied the power of humility, love, and nonviolent protest. Each was proclaiming what kind of world they believed was possible.

This year, in cities all across Maine and across our nation, on Saturday, March 28, the day before we remember the events of that first Palm Sunday, millions of people will be gathering under the banner of “No Kings” to protest the fear, intimidation, lawlessness and violence being perpetrated by the modern-day authoritarian regime currently ruling the United States. Like those who waved palms and laid down their cloaks in Jerusalem, these protesters intend to disrupt expectations of power and reimagine what leadership could be.

Many people of faith will be among the crowds at No Kings rallies, celebrating the kind of world we long to create.

With us in mind, the folks at Illustrated Ministry have created free, downloadable protest posters inspired by the story of Palm Sunday. These signs serve not as partisan slogans, but as theological statements, a reminder that Christian faith resists authoritarian power and aligns with a different vision of leadership rooted in humility, justice, and love.

Go to the Illustrated Ministry website No Kings page

Enter your name and email, and you’ll receive a ZIP file with each of the three designs in multiple sizes. You can print them at home or send them to a print shop. Why not add the logo of your home congregation and/or the Maine Council of Churches logo (copy and paste below) to these posters as a witness to how your faith inspires you to resist?

Make peaceful protest a part of your Lenten observance this weekend as together we begin the journey through Holy Week.