When I was a girl the only thing I knew about The Stations of the Cross were vague references from my Roman Catholic friends. Sometimes I would see Roman numerals around the perimeters of Catholic or Episcopal churches and figured out they were for the purpose of marking the Stations.
When I arrived at St. Thomas’s I learned that on Good Friday a small group of folks would “walk the stations.” But I didn’t “get it” until I attended my first National Youth Workers Convention and visited an exhibit in a prayer space that provided INTERACTIVE Stations of the Cross, designed by Lilly Lewin. That’s when they became meaningful to me. Each stop of Jesus’ journey from where Pilate dismissed him by washing his hands to where he was laid in the tomb was interpreted with an action or space for reflection.
That’s when I started to make the connection. You literally wash your hands. You make a cross and carry it. You stop where Jesus stumbled and think on things that make you stumble. Where Jesus met his mother you remember things that are on your heart. You pray for folks who are ill or in trouble at another stop. You make an image of the cross where Veronica legendarily wiped Jesus’ face and where he left his image on her cloth. You mourn with the women of Jerusalem and stop to mark hurt places in the world. You drink vinegar and drive nails. You experience the torn curtain of the Temple. You imagine how it would feel to have your dead son laid in your arms. You smell spices at the Tomb. And there is a 15th Station that shows the promise of the Resurrection.
Interactive Stations of the Cross have been installed at St. Thomas’s and will remain until the evening of Good Friday. If this sounds like something that you would like to participate in, as a way to mark your Lent, or as a way to think about Jesus’ suffering on his way to his death, I urge you to visit them, placed around the edges of the sanctuary. There are ways that groups and individuals can experience this.
You can visit anytime the church building is open, before or after worship on Sundays, or during office hours: during Monday – Thursday 9-2. You can make arrangements for weekend or evening visits by calling the church office: 302-368-4644. You can also ask for someone to be there with you to answer questions or just to be present.
Sally Price, Parishioner