Stations of the Cross

Yes, I know that we are just on the other side of the fifty-day season of Eastertide and no where near Lent when the Stations are more common, but Father Matthew's latest video is one on the Stations of the Cross filmed on his recent trip to Israel.

For those who see this post at Facebook rather than as originally posted at the Irenic Thoughts blog, the YouTube video linked above is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_ol1VWqC7M.

Were You There?

Those seeing this note in Facebook need to go to this YouTube link to see and hear this video.

Stations of the Cross
Victoria and I wrote meditations and prayers for a Stations of the Cross service a few years ago. It is available onlie as an Adobe PDF file. Print pages 2,4,6 on the back of pages 1,3,5 and you will be able to collate, fold and have a booklet of your own: Stations of the Cross Booklet.

Stations of the Cross for Children

Kids in the Kingdom today was a special Stations of the cross for children with object lessons for each station on the last hours of Jesus' life. We also jumped ahead to the joy of Easter and resurrection in our stations for today.

Thanks to Kelly, Amber and Rhonda for putting the event together and making it so easy to put on for our kids. And thanks to Amber and Rhonda for these photos.

Christ's presence in extreme poverty

At last night's communion service, the Gospel reading had Jesus noting that we will always have the poor with us. St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis, Tennessee has created thought-provoking stations of the cross in which they are stations based on those in extreme poverty, one of the very groups for whom Jesus had so much compassion. The stations they created are:

Station #1 - CONDEMNED
50,000 people are sentenced to die each day because of extreme poverty.
Lord, help us to find the Way of the Cross to be the way of life and justice and peace.

Station #2 - BURDENED
Consider the starving of the world, the 800 million people who go to bed hungry every day.
Lord, give bread to the hungry; give hunger for justice to those who have bread.

Station #3 - OVERWHELMED
Unfair trade rules and crushing debt cost the world’s poorest countries more than $714 billion yearly.
Lord, open our eyes to structures of oppression and free us from apathy and indifference.

Station #4 - LOVED
More than half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth each year, one every second. 99% are in developing countries.
Lord, lead us to advocate for suffering mothers whose health, dignity and choices are in jeopardy from illness, poverty, hunger, and violence.

Station #5 - ASSISTED
Education reduces poverty, providing choices and opportunities for a better life. 115 million children, 94% in developing countries, are not in school.
Lord, help us to share our blessings of health, education, food and clean water, offering a more hopeful life for millions of your children.

Station #6 - RECOGNIZED
More than 2.6 billion people have no basic sanitation and more than 1 billion people use unsafe sources of drinking water.
Lord, thank you for the beauty and abundance of the earth. Help us to be good stewards of Your creation.

Station #7 - STUMBLED
Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the destitute ... defend the rights of the poor and needy. - Proverbs 31:8-9
Lord, let not the needy be forgotten nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Station #8 - CRIED
Gender equality will ensure women an equal chance to improve their lives and the lives of their families especially through education and employment.
Lord, enlighten us to provide women everywhere with equal dignity and opportunity. Inspire every society to oppose violence against women and strengthen gender justice.

Station #9 - FALLEN
Every 30 seconds an African child dies of malaria. Every day 8000 people die of AIDS. These are preventable, treatable diseases.
Lord, empower us to be instruments of your healing by advocating for prevention programs and affordable medicines for those without the means to cope with their illnesses.

Station #10 - DISHONORED
The world’s 32.8 million refugees and displaced persons, the result of conflicts over scarce resources and political discord, are those least likely to benefit immediately from global anti-poverty efforts.
Lord, give us courage to take the path of risk. Give us grace to listen to those whose voice is lost, to hear their cries and shout out for justice.

Station #11 - CRUCIFIED
When one part of the Body of Christ suffers, we all suffer. "God ... has given us the ministry of reconciliation." - 2 Cor. 5:18
Lord, in the midst of conflict and division you turn our minds to thoughts of peace. Your Spirit changes our hearts and nations seek peace together. For this we never cease to thank and praise you.

Station #12 - DIED
Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Darfur ... the world is gradually waking up to the fact that genocide is a problem of immense evil.
Lord, Forgive us our faint-heartedness and selfishness, for failing to love others as we should, for failing to believe that you have empowered us to protect our brothers and sisters.

Station #13 - MOURNED
More than 25 % of children under age 5 in developing countries are malnourished. More than 11 million of them die each year
from preventable illnesses.
Lord, give us the compassion to meet the basic needs of children worldwide for food, clean water, health care, freedom from exploitation, and education.

Station #14 - BURIED
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons ... will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?
Lord, grant that all who are baptized into the death of your Son may live in the power of his resurrection and look for him to come again in glory.

Stations of the Cross

Today was a Kids in the Kingdom Sunday and thanks to creative and hard-working moms, we once again had a kid-appropriate stations experience with object lessons along the way. While the story of Jesus' passion and death are not easy to share with children, doing so is the only way to give them the hope of the resurrection and the fullness of what we believe as Christians, so I am thankful to Kelly, Amber, and Rhonda for making this happen and to Melissa, Gina, Kristen and Geoff who also helped on site, as well as Victoria and Griffin for getting lunch.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor


Getting underway at the first station.


Working our way along the trail.


Wripping a piece of cloth to share with the kids after talking
about Jesus' being stripped of his garments.


Showing a large nail while telling how
Jesus' forgave those who killed him.


Feeling the nail and laying out the objects.


Going back over all the objects and their meanings.

Experiencing the Passion

Yesterday, our Kids in the Kingdom Sunday was devoted to Jesus' death and resurrection. Thanks to the creative and hard work of Kelly and Amber, we had a great interactive way for the kids to experience the Stations of the Cross.

At each of the fifteen stops, the kids were given some item to help bring the story home or there was something to experience. So at the 10th station when Jesus is stripped of his clothing, they had a t-shirt for me to rip and then each child received a piece of torn cloth.

This made the story real as it was told in an age appropriate way which emphasized God's love for the kids and the reality of the resurrection. When we went back to the gazebo and laid the objects out on the cross in the floor, the children readily remembered what the items meant and how they related to the story. I am thankful for the great setup I was given and the chance to share the story with children in a memorable way. And I am thankful to Tammy, Maris, Melissa and Gina who regularly assist with Kids in the Kingdom Sundays as well!

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

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