No cross walk on Good Friday in Cape this year

A downtown Easter staple in Cape Girardeau will not be taking place this year.

The Way of the Cross Good Friday devotional parade that usually winds through downtown in commemoration of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion has been tabled until next year, said organizer Karen Dumey of the Cape Ministerial Alliance.

Although the event, which would have been in its 16th year, is looked forward to by many in the area, it became tough to get off the ground.

“The timing worked against us with (Good Friday) being in March instead of April,” she said.

During the planning stages, Dumey and fellow organizer the Rev. Dan Johnson of Evangelical Church of Christ experienced deaths in their families. Those unexpected sorrows, coupled with work on another event, hindered progress.

“This being an early Easter and an early Good Friday, we just weren’t able to get ourselves back in the groove,” Dumey said.

She said the event’s cancellation should only be a “one-year hiccup,” however, as the group is planning to relaunch it next year.

In the meantime, she asked people who attend the event bear with organizers as they regroup and continue planning for a National Prayer Day celebration they hope to host in early May at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau.