Stations of the Cross

In the fifth century, a tradition developed for pilgrims to Jerusalem to follow the path Jesus' walked on the day he died. Each Friday pilgrims would gather at the Stone Pavement where Pilate sentenced Jesus to die. Then they would walk through the streets to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which houses the sites of Jesus' crucifixion and his tomb. This tradition spread to cathedrals in Europe where the faithful would walk along from artistic depcitions of Jesus' journey to the grave while reading scripture and praying prayers that fit with specific points along the way.

This is how the Stations of the Cross developed. At King of Peace, we have a Stations of the Cross trail in the woods behind the church (pictured at right with kids from our children's church walking the trail). The trail was created as Jason White's Eagle Scout project. There are depictions of 14 incidents in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death from Pilate’s house to being placed in the tomb.

We use a service called the Way of the Cross, which visits each station in turn with a brief reading, response, collect and on some occasions, a meditation. This is particularly appropriate for Good Friday and all Fridays in Lent. King of Peace will hold a stations of the cross service today and each Friday in Lent at 5 p.m.

You may visit the Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem through a website which offers a 360-degree 'virtual reality' format: 360 degree views of the Stations of the Cross

We also have an online version of our Stations of the Cross at kingofpeace.org.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor