Procession of the Cross marks Good Friday

Monday, April 21, 2003
The Revs. Bruce Lester (left) and Sam Williams, bow their heads in preparation for the reading and prayer at the third station of the cross.

The sanctuary at First Congregational Church bears no resemblance to the rocky streets of Jerusalem of nearly 2,000 years ago.

Absent in that quiet place is the sound of sandals tromping on those streets, the clanking of swords, the groaning of those who have felt the scourging whip of Rome and the wails of women as they begin to mourn.

There was no dust raised by people crowding the path, peering at the spectacle acted out before them, no scent of blood, nor of sweat, choking the throats of the 130 in attendance Friday afternoon.

The altar at First Congregational is traditional in many ways. There are two podiums, the Communion table inscribed with the words "This do in remembrance of me" and the brushed silver of the organ pipes framing a beautiful stained glass window. In that place of peace and prayer there was no sign of the broken man, wounds seeping with blood, some crusted over with dust.

Even in the absence of these things, you are not prepared, ever, to hear the sound of nails being driven into a rough wooden cross.

But that was the sound that split the silence Friday afternoon as the annual Community Lenten series closed at First Congregational Church.

The large, rough-hewn cross, carried by Mark Friehe, was carelessly flung to the floor. The Rev. Sam Williams of St. Alban's Episcopal Church took a hammer and several large nails to the cross, and pounded in a sign, much like the one that first hung on the cross at Calvary, which read, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

The silence in the sanctuary deepened further still as he raised his arm over his head, and brought the hammer down full force -- once, twice, three times, all that was required to hold the innocent man's hands and feet in place. Finished, he tossed the hammer aside with abandon, and lifting the cross, dropped it in place with a thud that was felt as much as it was heard, in full view of every one in attendance.

Natalie Brooks intensified the emotion of the moment with her clear and sweet a cappella rendition of "Were You There?" bringing tears to some in the audience as she asked, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord, were you there when they nailed him to the tree, were you there when they laid him in the tomb?"

Despite a gloomy mist and biting wind, which seemed fitting for the day known in all of Christendom as "Good Friday," 21 people braved the elements to go "The Way of the Cross" in the third consecutive Procession of the Cross. Traveling from the grounds at St. Alban's Episcopal Church through downtown McCook to First Congregational, participants made 10 stops at various stations of the cross for Scripture readings and prayer. Each stop represented an encounter with Jesus as described in Scripture or tradition as he made his way to the cross at Calvary.

The service at First Congregational included the reading of "The Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ According to St. John."

The Rev. Sam Williams, rector at St. Alban's Episcopal Church read the part of the Evangelist while Allen Wilkerson, preaching minister at the Church of Christ read the part of Jesus. Joan Koch took the part of the woman at the gate and the Rev. Bruce Lester from the Evangelical Free Church was Peter. The Rev. Dr. Jeff Thurman of Memorial United Methodist Church was the officer and Mitch Lyster read the lines of the bystander. This reporter was the slave and the Rev. Clark Bates of McCook Christian Church was Pilate. The Rev. Stan Hendershot of First Baptist Church read the lines of the chief priests and The Rev. John Strecker-Baseler was the soldier.

The Rev. Fred Sevier, interim minister at First Congregational served as the celebrant for the Solemn prayers and the Rev. Charles Hooton of First Assembly of God was the prayer leader. Joyce Hershberger was the organist. Cloyd Clark was the Old Testament Lector, reading from Isaiah 52:13-53:12, and Leslie Stramel was the Epistle Lector reading from Hebrews 10:1-25.

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