By Barry Wise Smith Photos by Timmy Collins
For over 30 years, starting in 1994, members of the Homewood faith community have come together on Good Friday to remember Christ’s walk through Jerusalem carrying his cross to the crucifixion.
This year, All Saints Episcopal Church, Bethel A.M.E. Church, Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Edgewood Presbyterian Church, Friendship Baptist Church, Homewood Community Church, Homewood Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church and Trinity United Methodist Church will gather to make the walk from Homewood Central Park to Edgewood Presbyterian Church for the Homewood Way of the Cross.
The Way of the Cross begins at 2 p.m. at Homewood Central Park with an opening prayer and meditation led by one of the church’s pastors. The walk then continues with selected church members carrying the cross and leading the crowd to nine other locations in the neighborhood, where the crowd pauses for prayer, scripture and a meditation. Each year, the walk concludes in the sanctuary at Edgewood Presbyterian with the cross placed at the front of the sanctuary, a final meditation and singing of the hymn “Were You There?” A bagpiper accompanies the walk, playing hymns throughout, and the crowd is escorted by Homewood police officers.
“Homewood’s Way of the Cross blends one of the most ancient practices of the church—walking in the footsteps of Christ on Good Friday—with a reminder that, on the way to the cross, Jesus prayed for the unity of those who believe in Him,” says Reverend Brian Erickson, the senior pastor at Trinity UMC. “I hope our churches are blessings not only to our churches’ members, but also to the wider community. During the Way of the Cross, walking with neighbors who represent many different traditions, I am also reminded what a treasure our diversity is.”
Participants in the Way of the Cross are not just church members but community members. “All are welcome,” says Reverend Joe Genau who leads the congregation at Edgewood Presbyterian Church where the Way of the Cross concludes. “It is not a happy day, but it is a holy day. It’s a bold act of worship.” The 30-plus-pound cross used in the Way of the Cross walk was built by Kenny Smith, a longtime member of Genau’s congregation who passed away in 2016.
“What I love about Way of the Cross is that one of the things that churches offer is talking about suffering and death,” Genau says. “It makes people uncomfortable, but in a world full of suffering and death, we have something to say about it and offer hope. Despite our differences, there’s a lot that connects us.”
Homewood’s Way of the Cross will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 3, in Homewood Central Park at the amphitheater and continue through the neighborhood to the conclusion at Edgewood Presbyterian Church.
