WALKING IN THE WAY OF THE CROSS; GROUP GATHERS DURING NOON HOUR TO COMMEMORATE JESUS CHRIST'S DEATH

Carrying a wooden cross and remembering the suffering of Jesus Christ, more than 150 people marched through downtown Cape Girardeau Friday afternoon in observance of Good Friday and the upcoming Easter holiday.

Most people will never get to Jerusalem on Good Friday, so the Way of the Cross walk helped bring that experience to Cape Girardeau, said Barbara Port as the group walked along Sprigg Street.

Representing churches throughout the community -- and the region -- Christians gathered at the steps of Old St. Vincent's Church to recreate the walk Jesus took in the last week of his life.

The Way of the Cross walk for Cape Girardeau was especially adapted for the city, but is similar to a worldwide custom where pilgrims come to Jerusalem to visit the places associated with Christ's suffering and death.

Good Friday is the day when Christians remember Christ's death on the cross after his condemnation and trial. Easter Sunday is the celebration of Christ's resurrection.

The Rev. Bob Towner, pastor of Christ Episcopal Church, said anyone was welcome to carry the cross, adorned with a crown of thorns, as the group made its way through the streets. "We all share that responsibility on this day," he said.

Men, women and children alike shared the burden of the cross, which led the crowd through the streets.

"We are the presence of Christ when we take up his cross and deliver it to the world where we live," Towner said.

The walk, which lasted for two hours, covered about two miles and made 14 stops. Each stop represented something about the Easter story from the condemnation to the death and resurrection. Speaking over the sounds of passing traffic, people read passages from Scripture at each stop and a prayer was said.

The walk was everything that represented Good Friday, said Carol Slinkard, who attends St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Chaffee, Mo.

"It's what Holy Friday, Good Friday, is all about. All these people from different churches got together to pray," she said. "It's just a good experience."

Slinkard was a little surprised by the number of people who devoted the time it took to complete the walk.

Participants were encouraged to walk for as long as they could before having to stop or to join the march part way through the service. Some sang verses from the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" as they marched.

After the stop at St. Mary's Cathedral that remembered Jesus' death on the cross, the crowd walked down William Street singing "Were you there?" a spiritual about Christ's crucifixion and burial.

The Rev. Clayton Smith of Centenary United Methodist Church, told the group before it dispersed, "Thank you for being the witness to Christ you bring to this outreach."

The walk was sponsored by the Downtown Council of Churches, which is an arm of the Cape Girardeau Ministerial Alliance. The organization is sponsoring a sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. Sunday at Riverfront Park.

SUNSRISE SERVICE

WHAT: Community sunrise service

WHEN: 6:30 a.m. Sunday

WHERE: Riverfront Park

INFORMATION: The event is sponsored by the Downtown Council of Churches.