ThisWeek CW 04/05/2012
Canal Winchester’s annual Good Friday Cross Walk will begin at noon, Friday, April 6, at the Prentiss School, 10 W. Oak St., and conclude with a brief service at David’s United Church of Christ, 80 W. Columbus St.
The Rev. Linda Wallick, of Hope United Methodist Church, said the event is a time of remembrance and quiet contemplation of the walk to the cross that Jesus undertook.
“Participating in the Good Friday Cross Walk not only brings Christians together from different area churches, it also helps us to experience a small piece of what Jesus experienced in a powerful and visible way,” Wallick said. “When you physically walk in the final footsteps of Jesus, it is a reminder that just as he gave everything out of love for us, we, in return, can hold nothing back.”
This year’s walk will be led by the Rev. David Long-Higgins of David’s United Church of Christ.
“The gathering is a holy pause in the midst of a holy day at a time of intentional reflection. It’s both a remembrance and a public witness to the day,” Long-Higgins said. “We carry a cross and move to the quiet beating of a drum.”
According to Long-Higgins, bystanders often will stop and watch in silence.
“In the past, we’ve had 30 to 50 people. For me, the public dimension is the witness that interrupts the normal traffic of the day and, I hope, causes people to ponder the significance of Good Friday, a day set apart,” he said. “The personal dimension for me is that it interrupts my own day and causes me to ponder the love we know in Christ. It is an expression of that love going to the cross.”
Deacon Roger Pry, pastoral assistant at Pope John XXIII Catholic Church, said he finds the event humbling.
“Walking mostly in silence down the main street of Canal Winchester, sometimes in snow, rain or when it’s nice, I find it very prayerful and humbling,” he said. “There is a solemn quiet and it helps to focus what we celebrate as Christians on this day — that Jesus died on the cross.”
The walk and service will last about 30 minutes, Long-Higgins said. Those who are unable to participate in the cross walk are invited to meet at David’s United Church of Christ at noon to participate in a short service of hymn and prayer upon arrival of the processional.
“I’ve never been a part of anything like this until back in 2001 when my wife and I came to Canal Winchester,” Pry said. “My wife and I have participated every year since.”
The Canal Winchester Ministerial Association hosts the event, which is over 20 years old, according to Long-Higgins. Participants include David’s United Church of Christ, Pope John XXIII Catholic Church, Gender Road Christian Church, Hope United Methodist Church, Faith United Methodist Church, Lithopolis United Methodist Church, David’s Lutheran Church, St. John’s Lutheran Church and Bloom Presbyterian Church.