It was a GOOD Friday! And I have reflected on this quite some time ago, but I tend not to make time for writing up my reflections quite as much as I should. But here goes:
On Good Friday, one of my churches was involved in an ecumenical walk of witness – from one church to another, all following a huge cross that was carried at the front of our march. In each church there was some space for worship & prayer. In the third church, the Roman Catholic Church, I suddenly felt very strongly moved to offer that I should carry the cross for the next bit of the walk. Funny how I realised this in the RC Church, the one where women don’t do quite as much as men yet… The organiser of the day was rather pleased that I offered to carry the cross and so off I went. It was heavier than I thought it would be, so someone actually came to my aid and carried the back end. I would have done it myself, but it was hard work and help was appreciated. As I followed the Salvation Army Band to lead the march to the next church, I suddenly realised that we were about to march straight through the market square. It was Friday and the market stalls were bustling. And I had expected people to turn towards the march, to give us a respectful wink, or to acknowledge us in some other way. Strikingly, most people just glanced and then kept going on with their shopping/selling. I was annoyed at first, but then thought that that’s what would have happened when Jesus carried his cross. The world didn’t stop turning for him at that moment. I was wearing my dog-collar and people did give me some funny looks, probably thinking “She’s a woman minister? AND she’s carrying the cross?? What has the world come to…” Jonathan filmed the walk (video is linked to this post).
So, as I handed the cross over to the next station, I was left with many thoughts. I was also left with some rather strong pains in my shoulder (which actually stayed till after Easter – what a powerful thing to preach on Easter Sunday with your shoulder aching from carrying a cross!!). Feedback I received some time later included many of my ecumenical colleagues commending me for being the first woman to carry the cross in that town. Wow! I don’t think I made great big history, but what a big step for me in my first year of ministry! And I’d had no idea…
Dorospirit - this pretty much sums me up! 