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.
For the 22nd year, a crowd of people from Homewood churches will make their way down Oxmoor Road, led by a huge wooden cross.
The Way of the Cross is an annual Good Friday tradition shared by around a dozen Homewood churches, said Edgewood Presbyterian pastor Rev. Joe Genau. This year’s ceremony starts at 2 p.m. on March 25.
Participants will gather at the Homewood Central Park amphitheater. After prayer, singing and readings, one person will pick up the eight-foot-tall cross – originally built by Edgewood Presbyterian member Ken Smith out of landscape timber – and begin the procession.
There are eight stations along the roughly one-mile walk from the park to the closing of the ceremony at Edgewood Presbyterian. At each station, Genau said the gathered crowd will stop for more prayer, biblical verses and songs. Then a new person will pick up the cross and continue the journey.
“The crowds are always really good … and they seem to find it very meaningful,” Genau said.
Last year, the participating churches were All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Bethel AME, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Dawson Family of Faith, Edgewood Presbyterian Church, Friendship Baptist Church, Oakmont United Methodist Church, Raleigh Avenue Baptist Church, Second Presbyterian Church, Shades Valley Lutheran Church and Trinity United Methodist Church.
Genau said each participating church picks a representative to carry the cross. He said he looks for a church member who has not done it before, who will be physically strong enough to carry the “pretty heavy” cross and will appreciate the spirituality of the moment.
“It’s really moving for folks,” Genau said.
Once the procession reaches Edgewood Presbyterian, they close with a final set of prayers, verses and the hymn “Were You There?”
Since Bill King, the rector at the time for All Saints Episcopal, started the Way of the Cross tradition in April 1994, the event has stayed very similar from year to year. However, this year Genau said his church is slightly changing their part of the tradition.
As the final stop in Way of the Cross, Genau said the church always opens at 2 p.m. for those who wish to see the closing of the ceremony but cannot participate in the walk. On Good Friday and throughout Holy Week leading up to Easter, Edgewood Presbyterian will have an installation of the “stations of the cross.” This is a guided prayer and meditation built around the story of Easter, and Genau said he hopes people will participate and reflect on the season as they wait for the procession.
“We love this event, it’s always fun and we’re excited to add our own little touch this year,” Genau said. “We’re trying to make a prayerful experience for folks.”
