Photos by Madoline Markham.
way of the cross
A crowd walks down Oxmoor Road behind the cross-bearer during the 2015 Way of the Cross.
Homewood churches will host their annual Way of the Cross event on April 18 to celebrate Good Friday, offering a chance for community connection through faith.
The tradition first began in 1994 when local church leaders thought the service offered an ecumenical way to celebrate one of the most holy days on the Christian calendar.
The Rev. Joe Genau, pastor of Edgewood Presbyterian for the last decade, describes the event as a sort of moving prayer, stating at Central Park and leading down Oxmoor Road.
"We across a little bridge, we take a back road, and then turn back up and we make stops in front of Trinity [ United Methodist Church], in front of All Saints [Episcopal Church}, in front of Dawson [Baptist Memorial church], " Genau said. "There are, I think, 10 stops total. At each stop, there's a scripture reading and a prayer, and then someone from each church carries this big wooden cross to the next stop."
There is often a bagpiper that plays during the walk, and Genau says they follow a liturgy that is nearly identical to the one created 30 years ago. The service ends at Edgewood in the sanctuary as everyone gathers inside, followed by the cross, for a final scripture reading and hymn.
"It's one of those things that, it gives you a little bit of hope," Genau said. "Because it's all the churches coming together, putting any anything aside, for this one very holy thing."
The event will begin at 2 p.m. at Central Park on Good Friday, April 18.
