On Good Friday, March 25, 2016, about 100 people from a dozen Jersey City congregations performed the Stations of the Cross by visiting 14 sites of violent incidents that took place in their community during the past year.
The Stations of the Cross commemorate 14 scenes from the day Jesus was crucified, beginning with his condemnation and concluding with his body being laid in the tomb.
Organized by the clergy of the three Jersey City Episcopal Congregations – the Rev. Gary Commins of Church of the Incarnation, the Rev. Tom Murphy of St. Paul's Church in Bergen and the Rev. Laurie Jean Wurm of Grace Church Van Vorst – the procession visited 14 locations selected in consultation with the Jersey City Police Department.
Worshippers carried T-shirts bearing the names, and sometimes the ages, of people who have been murdered in Jersey City since January 1, 2015. The youngest victim noted died at age 4.
At each site, the procession stopped to remember the victim as a beloved child of God. A worshipper hammered a nail into the large wooden cross carried at the head of the procession, and a clergy person reclaimed the ground that had been defiled by violence in the name of Christ, blessing it with holy water.
When walking from one station to the next, the worshippers sang hymns, Taize chants and African-American spirituals. Residents watched from porches and windows. Some took photos with their phones.
At the thirteenth station, which traditionally commemorates the body of Jesus being placed in the arms of his mother Mary, the police officers accompanying the procession were invited to come forward for prayers of blessing and protection.
After the fourteenth station, Bishop Mark Beckwith concluded the observance with prayers for the perpetrators of violence, and prayers for forgiveness and the willingness to forgive.
In addition to Bishop Beckwith and the three Episcopal congregations and clergy, participants included mebers and clergy from area Lutheran, Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal, Roman Catholic and other Christian denominations.
The gallery below contains 45 photos by Nina Nicholson.
The Jersey Journal also covered this event with an article and photo gallery; see Stations of the Cross walk honors victims of Jersey City violence.
