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

JAMESTOWN, Va., June 15 /Christian Newswire/ -- Organizers of the Jamestown Quadricentennial -- an alternative celebration to the official Jamestown 2007 events -- will dedicate the Jamestown Children's Memorial at 2pm today as part of special ceremony on the ground of Fort Pocahontas, part of Harrison Tyler's historic Virginia estate.

The memorial -- which was carved by the same company that built the well-known Alabama Ten Commandments Monument -- was paid for by $1 donations of America's children and will be uncovered as part of the week-long Jamestown Quadricentennial that has drawn more than 4,000 participants to Virginia's historic triangle. Harrison Tyler -- whose grandfather President John Tyler gave the keynote address at Jamestown’s 250th anniversary -- will participate in the ceremony along with his son and grandson.

"The raising of rocks of remembrance to the glory of God has been a defining aspect of past Jamestown centennials," noted Doug Phillips, founder of Vision Forum Ministries and organizer of the Jamestown Quadricentennial. "This year, those involved with the official commemoration have chosen not to erect a significant marker to Jamestown's legacy, even as they have banned the word 'celebration' from their event. We believe we have much to celebrate, and we are honored by the $1 donations that the grateful children of America have given to fill this void and support the Jamestown Children's Memorial."

The Jamestown Children's Memorial is a four-sided-monument featuring the Fifth Commandment, words of Christian exhortation from the visionaries behind Jamestown, and a list of providential accomplishments through the history of the settlement. The top will be crowned with a sculpting of Holy Scripture opened to Psalm 78 -- the text which admonishes fathers to teach the providences of God so that their children might have hope.

"The Jamestown Children's Memorial follows in the tradition of the great 103-foot-tall Jamestown Tercentenary Monument erected by the United States in 1907 and the Memorial Cross placed in the Jamestown Festival Park in 1957," noted Phillips. "Each gives glory to God, even as they remind future generations of the sacrifice our forefathers gave to pass onto us the freedoms we enjoy today."

Just below the Jamestown Children's Memorial, a time capsule will be set that contains a a scroll with the names of all those who contributed to the monument, along with letters from today's children to the children of the twenty-first century. Plans will be left for the capsule to be opened and the letters read in the year 2107 -- at Jamestown's 500-year anniversary.

"One hundred years from now, America will celebrate its five hundredth birthday," Phillips observed. "It is our prayer that, on that great anniversary, the children of the twenty-second century will be inspired and encouraged to learn that a remnant of children from this generation came forward to honor their forefathers on the occasion of America’s four hundredth birthday celebration."

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