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A small group of worshippers gathered outside the Juniata United Methodist Church at dawn on Good Friday, preparing to carry a wooden cross to Wehnwood United Methodist Church a little over a mile away.
The annual cross walk held by the churches for the past seven years brings to reality a small piece of what Jesus Christ had to go through that day, said Juniata UMC Pastor Julia Piper.
"It is a tradition," Piper said. "It's following in the footsteps of Jesus and remembering his suffering for us."
The tradition was started by Juniata's former pastor and traveled from Mauk & Yates Funeral Home to the church, said David Poole, a cross walk participant and retired Altoona Area High School Spanish teacher.
"We carried a very heavy cross," Poole said. "It took six people to carry it."
In the years since then, a lighter cross has been made so it's easier to carry.
"We use the same one year to year except it's been lightened because we're getting older," Piper said.
Made out of solid wood, the original, heavy cross now stands on the corner in front of Juniata United Methodist Church.
During the walk, worshippers took turns carrying the cross, going a block
or two before they handed it off to the
next person.
The group also stopped periodically to read devotional material that detailed the journey Christ took to the cross.
"For all of us, it's a sign of devotion and a time of reflection and a time of remembering what Jesus did for us up on the cross," Poole said of the walk.
After the walk, a sacrificial breakfast of traditional Easter bread and coffee was served at Wehnwood UMC.
According to United Methodist Church Susquehanna Conference District Superintendent Joleen Willis, the church had held a last supper celebration Thursday night.
"Too often you go from Palm Sunday to Easter, and this is an opportunity to remember the sacrificial events that happen in between," Willis said.
Friday's event was Wehnwood Pastor Randy Willis' first time participating in the cross walk since he arrived at the church two years ago.
"I think the community aspect is nice with having people from other churches participate," he said. "It gives us a little
bit of an idea of the journey that Jesus went through between Palm Sunday and Easter."
After the sacrificial breakfast, worshippers gathered in the church's nave to watch a performance by LuAnne Baker, who portrays biblical women using costume and dramatic storytelling. For the Good Friday celebration, she performed "Mary: T›he Mother of Christ," a monologue that starts with the birth of Jesus and ends with the Resurrection, told from the perspective of Mary.
The significance of Good Friday and Easter weekend to the gathered worshippers was evident, as many of them described the celebrations as being devotional and a time for reflection.
"For those of faith, this is a really important weekend," said Bill Ellick, a cross walk participant and retired Altoona police officer. "I mean Lent is very important, but this is like a climax from the Last Supper to the betrayal by Judas to him being nailed on the cross to his place in the tomb to his resurrection."
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at
814-946-7458.