Stations of the Cross/Easter

Most recently I was working on my church’s part of an event called “Stations of the Cross”. Many of the churches around town took part- it is much like our “Labyrinth”, but on a larger scale. I also think it lacked the seriousness and sober nature that the Labyrinth emphasizes. Still- it was cool! Our station was number 8 of 12, we were in charge of the “scourging and crowning with thorns” aspect.

Here’s a shot of our…booth, for lack of a better word. Maybe station?  Anyway, we were stationed on the sidewalk right next to the road. We built a light wooden frame and some stretchy black fabric. The wind was some 20 mph, we ended up using cinder blocks to hold it down.

Our station consisted of a video of the beating and whipping of Jesus along with the crown of thorns and a table holding replicas of both the crown and the cat-of-9-tails (the whip I made myself).

I brought up the idea of giving out water to people as they participated and walked through town. We added labels with the church’s logo (A design project of mine a few years ago) and handed them out!

We started with 3 cases and went through them quickly, went for 3 more, and eventually 3 more after that (9 cases total). It was great to be able to serve people in that way and also to show people that we didn’t have to preach to them, we were happy just to help. All in all, around 150 people took water and went through- great day!

And, as a bonus (YES!), here’s a shot of how I arranged the stage for Easter. I arranged the Easter lillies (a tradition I don’t entirely understand…) and some white candles- I thought it was a nice look!

I love this stuff…

It has been a busy week! My experiences as the intern at the church have been great so far- I’m learning a lot of useful things and also having a great time.

These first two are actually not at my church. Dad and I headed up to Grand Rapids to help my brother out with “The Labyrinth”- an event that we started at our church a few years ago. Basically it takes you through Jesus final days in a very experiential way. Using your senses to watch Jesus’ pain, feel the thorns, hear the mocking, taste the vinegar (they put wine vinegar into a sponge and held it up for him to drink on the cross). It is a very powerful experience- it puts a reality into the story that is hard to get from simply reading. We’ve done it at least twice at our church, people are led down a path taped on the floor through various stages, interacting at each one before exiting. It is actually similar to the “Stations of the Cross” that the ministerial association sponsored (next post). All of this is to say that my brother pushed an effort to have this event at his own church this year and we went up to help set up and give ideas. We also took some materials from our own event. From what I heard, the response was very good. People were very moved by it. These are photos of the tomb- one of the last few stages of the Labyrinth.

We covered stacks of chairs with landscaping fabric to create the tomb- it had a great effect.

 

Here’s a shot of another station- The curtain (torn in two)- you watch a clip from The Passion of the Christ and walk through the curtain to see the cross, it is a powerful moment.

So it was an good trip! I think the Labyrinth was a great success. I’ve talked with my brother and I may be editing a promo video with footage he took to promote the event next year! Looking forward to it.