A group of visitors from Warren made their way to Fellowship Baptist Church for a patriotic sermon and celebration.

Cory Hutto, Joshua Burks and Maygan Groze were among the group of youth in attendance from Bethel Baptist Church.

“We brought about 25 to 30 people,” mom Gloria Burks said as she stood in line for a bite to eat. Joshua Burks, her son, was excited to try out a quick game of basketball played on an inflatable court.

“I play basketball,” the youngster said.

The church in Nederland hosted the special patriotic event, beginning with a sermon and drama inside the recently built church, followed by free food and a fireworks show.

“I really enjoyed it,” Gloria Burks said. “It was a good sermon, good drama. I’m glad we came. This is a good family Christian event.”

“All for America” was the theme of Tuesday’s celebration and featured a patriotic song by the same name written and performed by the church’s own music minister Steven Hays. The song has already made its way to the nation’s capitol and received the stamp of approval from President George W. Bush and his father as well. Written for the one year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the song has also received national airplay.

Pastor Joe Roberts personally greeted the near 1,200 people, some of whom were visitors like the group from Warren, and welcomed them to the church and the goodies. Hot-dogs, hamburgers and boudain were the feast of the night.

Folding chairs and a set of bleachers allowed the attendees a chance to eat their meal while throngs of youngsters moved from one inflatable toy to another. Alyasa Clark, 8, of Port Neches, mastered one of the areas. Besides the basketball game, there was also a moonwalk and a game where the participant is strapped to bungee-like material and must pull away only to be moved back quickly.

“It’s not hard,” Clark said after she left the fun area.

The night ended with a fireworks show hosted by the church.