Social justice-themed Way of the Cross to process through downtown Springfield Friday

Steven Spearie, State Journal-Register
·2 min read
The fourth station of the cross is read by Chuck Weiss of Clinton, Mississippi, center, in front of the Department of Children and Family services as Vicky Bean of Springfield, right, holds a cross and Sister Marcelline Koch of Springfield watches during the 2022 Way of the Cross, which drew about 40 participants. Friday's walk starts at the Illinois Supreme Court building at Second and Capitol at noon.

Several Springfield churches and religious communities are sponsoring an ecumenical Good Friday Way of the Cross for Peace and Justice beginning at the Illinois Supreme Court Building at noon.

The two-hour prayerful walk recalls Christ’s passion and its connection with the sufferings of injustice experienced by people in the world today, such as war, racism, immigration, homelessness, imprisonment, economic justice and environmental degradation.

It is modeled after a traditional Catholic devotion popular during the Lenten season, the run-up to Holy Week and Easter, which is celebrated by many Christians on Sunday.

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Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter, or Pascha, on April 16.

Last year's walk, the first since 2019 after being scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, drew 40 participants, said Rev. Dr. Bobbi Dykema, pastor of First Church of the Brethren.

One of the new congregations participating this year, Dykema said, is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Each of the 13 stops, or stations, at a downtown building or marker connects to a particular social justice theme in a meditative way. At each stop, part of a hymn is sung and a reflection is given on the particular theme.

For instance, participants will be stopping at the Sangamon County Jail, at the county building complex at 200 S. Ninth St. It recalls Christ's arrest before his crucifixion.

"We're really seeking justice for all who are incarcerated, rightly or wrongly, that the truth may prevail, and justice be done," Dykema said.

A person is designated to carry a large wooden cross from stop to stop, a commemoration of Christ's journey to his crucifixion.

The original impetus for the walk, which has been around for about 30 years or so, came from the Springfield Dominican Sisters and the now-dormant Pax Christi group, Dykema said.

"It comes out of Catholic social teaching (originally)," she said.

The walk is sponsored by Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church, First Church of the Brethren, First Presbyterian Church, Grace Lutheran Church and the Springfield Dominican Sisters.

For more information, call/text 217-652-8086 or contact Sister Marcelline Koch at smkoch@spdom.org.

The event will be held inside First Presbyterian Church in the event of rain.

The Rev. Dr. Bobbi Dykema, pastor at First Church of the Brethren in Springfield, center, reads the second station of the cross in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. statue at Fourth and Capitol during the Good Friday Way of the Cross in Springfield in 2022.
The Rev. Dr. Bobbi Dykema, pastor at First Church of the Brethren in Springfield, center, reads the second station of the cross in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. statue at Fourth and Capitol during the Good Friday Way of the Cross in Springfield in 2022.

Cantata at St. John's ELCA

The St. John's Lutheran (ELCA) Church chancel choir will perform the cantata "The Living Last Words" in the sanctuary at 7 p.m. Friday.

Ruth Elaine Schram's dramatization imagines the responses of other witnesses at the crucifixion, creating short dramatic monologues for each, including Christ's mother, the disciple St. John and Roman soldiers carrying out the crucifixion.

St. John's is located at 2477 W. Washington St. in Springfield.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Social justice-themed Way of the Cross will wind through downtown Springfield