Tonight
is the night to use a cross made on Palm Sunday for the Veneration of
the Cross if you are using the traditional Good Friday service from The
Book of Common Prayer.
Experiential
Stations of the Cross
Experiential
Stations of the Cross is an adaptation of a custom widely observed by
pilgrims to Jerusalem: the offering of scripture readings and prayer at
a series of places in the city traditionally associated with Jesus’
passion and death.
In our tradition it is called The Way of the Cross and the text can be found in
The Book of Occasional Services. To experience The Way of the Cross in frozen tableau, click here for an indepth explanation.
In our tradition it is called The Way of the Cross and the text can be found in
The Book of Occasional Services. To experience The Way of the Cross in frozen tableau, click here for an indepth explanation.
What
is different about the experiential stations is that participants are
invited to experience a deeper meaning of Christ’s passion and death
by actually participating personally in the station. Bulletins are placed
on a table at the entrance and the necessary items for a particular experience
are located at each station. Participants can spend as much time as they
wish in prayer and contemplation at each station.
Along
the route participants are invited to wash their hands in a basin, hammer
a nail into wood, carry a cross, dip a cotton ball into a cup of vinegar
and taste it and more. The experiential stations take time and are probably
best offered as a prelude to the Good Friday liturgy so that participants
can move through the experience
at their own pace.
at their own pace.