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Downtown Churches Collaborate To Hold Good Friday Cross Walk

During the Lenten season Christian churches around the world customarily hold services commemorating the Stations of the Cross, the path that Jesus walked on the day of his crucifixion. These prayerful services are often held during Holy Week the week before Easter Sunday. Participants frequently walk a set path as a part of the service, traveling from station to station, pausing at each one to pray and reflect.

This year the leaders of three city churches are planning a walk of faith and prayer in Jamestown, stopping at several spots around the downtown area. The Rev. Luke Fodor of St Luke’s Episcopal Church, Tara Lamont Eastman, pastoral assistant and director of Youth and Family Ministry at First Lutheran Church and the Rev. Robert Hagel of First Presbyterian Church have planned the Cross Walk, which will stop at several sites including: Prendergast Library, Jamestown Savings Bank Arena, YWCA, Chautauqua County Department of Social Services, A Children’s Place Daycare, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Infinity, Jamestown City Hall and Jamestown High School.

The local walk was suggested by Lamont Eastman, who had heard of a similar event via social networking. “Our bishop had shared information via his Facebook page a few weeks ago for a Cross Walk that was being held in his city. When I inquired, he was quick to send me an email response concerning the purpose of the walk to meet the needs and griefs of the people of Rochester where they were. On hearing of the compassionate and reflective focus of their Cross Walk, I got in touch with the Rev. Fodor and Pastor Hagel to see if it might be possible for us to organize a local walk as an opportunity for our churches to join together as a caring, prayerful presence for the needs of the city of Jamestown.”

“Every Sunday faithful parishioners in every church around this city offer prayers for the destitute, the lonely, the homeless, the abused and the marginalized and during the week many work to alleviate the root causes in a professional or volunteer basis,” said Rev. Fodor. “On Good Friday, members of the downtown churches are coming together to merge these two impulses, as we follow in Jesus’ Way of the Cross and take our prayers to the streets. We will make the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross, but offer prayers for the denizens of Jamestown and the agencies that serve them.”

“Our churches have collaborated on a few projects over the past several months, and we have all come away richer because of these partnerships,” added Pastor Hagel. “Since all of our church buildings are located in the heart of the downtown area we are witness to the needs and concerns of these people on a daily basis. The Cross Walk is a perfect opportunity for us to combine our strengths in a way that shows love and support for our neighbors.”

The Cross Walk will begin at 3 p.m. Friday at St Luke’s on the corner of North Main Street and Fourth and continue throughout the city, ending at First Lutheran on Chandler Street. The walk is open to anyone regardless of their church affiliation.

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