Taking part in the parade in downtown St. Louis on Saturday morning, Francis Slay, the city’s mayor, thanked the Seventh-day Adventist Church for choosing St. Louis for its quinquennium conference.

“The impact is tremendous. They [Adventists] come into St. Louis and create a lot of activity in our downtown. They fill up our hotel rooms,” he told Adventist World News.

“They are also working on religious efforts through St. Louis. They are a great organization, and we are pleased to have them here this week and next week,” the mayor said.

Slay gave no specifics about the impact, but said he hopes to have the Adventist Church back again soon in the city.