A Walking Good Friday Service

by Bud Frimoth

At every station of the cross in the community walk we sang "He nevuh said a mumbalin word...not a word...." More than two hundred people from a wide diversity of congregations walked in north Portland, Oregon on Good Friday as they have done for the last 15 years. Taking the faith onto the streets was a dramatic witness to what Jesus had done for all of creation on the first "Good" Friday centuries ago.

Why the "walk" of faith in this manner ? We wanted to visualize what it was that Jesus had done. It was a means of confronting the evil in the world with the message of resurrection and hope. Each station of the cross was at a particular location that dramatized evil or resurrection. A large cross was carried at the head of the procession by different faith groups to each "station".

There was drug house which was boarded up and we prayed that a better use could be made for the housing and that new life would come to those affected by drugs. Stops were made where a shooting had taken place and reflections were offered on how it felt to live in this kind of "uncivil war".

Sometimes stops were made at homeless shelters where people spoke first-hand about being homeless and what it had done to them.

In downtown Portland the group stood before the closing of a low-income housing development especially for disabled or older people. The owner could now rent these apartments to better paying clients although the apartments had received federal money to keep them in good shape through the years. It was a reminder of the fragile nature of making justice for all when tax inequities are prevalent.

A city park that once was the hang out for gang members was another station. Children had been kept from their play area, but now, with citizens' pressure, the park was "resurrected" . It became a place for families to be free of fear and open to joyful fun. Prayers were offered in thanksgiving for the transformation.

At each of the stops, one of the many churches participating carried the cross to that "station", read pertinent scripture, then gave a brief first person story of what the place meant to them and their faith. The old, old story was given a current "package" - sometimes reminding all of us how far we still need to move. One year the "station" was in front of a porno shop but by the next year it had become a church !

Singular witness of faith can be such a fragile experience but is strengthened by the presence of others sharing openly their call for faith in action. Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists and people of faith from a variety of communions gather each year. Parents made sure their children were given permission to miss part of their school day so they could participate in the experience. Knowing Portland's weather, this outdoor walk was held whether the day was sunny or pouring down with rain.

Each year different routes were taken to dramatize the need for "resurrection"... from praying before banks that red-lined people of color or income from getting affordable loans to standing together in front of a home celebrating that it had been sold to a person as their first home at a reasonable rate.

Authentic stories were shared by each group at each station. The walk often began and ended in a church sanctuary. In this gathering and sharing in worship, songs of faith struggle and joy gave power to the experience. Issues were lifted up, victims remembered, faith radicalized in order to confront what was going on in the neighborhoods, then actualized into action.