As Christians around the world observe Holy Week, the 15 year tradition of praying around and for Pottstown continues this week, with the Good Friday Prayer Processional, sponsored by the Pottstown Clergy Association. In recent years, the event has become known as the Cross Walk, because the participants are led on the one mile walk through town by one person carrying a huge wooden cross, symbolic of the walk Jesus took to his crucifixion.
My kids and I look forward to marking Good Friday with the Cross Walk every year, since my youngest was wrapped in blankets in his stroller. [They also look forward to our tradition of lunch at The Very Best after the walk since all that walking always makes them hungry].
Reverend Kerry Pidcock-Lester, Co-Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Pottstown, started the walk to help people (and especially families with young children) find a way “to go from Palm Sunday to Easter and not miss what comes in between.” Clergy from other Pottstown congregations share in praying for the government, the schools, the businesses and all the people of Pottstown.
The walk begins on the lawn between Emmanuel Lutheran and Zion United Church of Christ on Hanover Street at 10:30am on Friday. There is a time for children, aimed at helping the youngest walkers understand why they are walking, and then the mile walk begins. With stops at the Cluster Outreach Center, the school administration building and even at Borough Hall, the walk winds its way a mile through town, ending again on the lawn between the churches. In the event of rain, the event takes place indoors.
With a late Easter this year, I am holding out hope for a warm walk; although this wet spring might have other plans for us. The walk takes about an hour from start to finish and the prayers at each stop are accompanied by singing and soft flute playing. If you are looking for a great way to observe Holy Week with your family or just on your own, come to the lawn at 10:30 and join in the walk through town. It just might become your own Good Friday tradition.
Participating Clergy/Congregations
Rev. Kerry Pidcock-Lester, First Presbyterian
Rev. Lynette Chapman, Emmanuel Lutheran
Rev. John Houghton, The Hill School
Rev. Vernon Ross, Bethel AME
Rev. Bonnie Moore, Shenkel UCC
Rev. Sherry Lantz, Cedarville UMC
Rev. Rick Knarr, Grace Covenant Church
Rev. Rebecca Brenner, St. Paul’s UCC
Rev. Sanford Christophel, Coventry Church of the Brethren
Rev. W. Carter Lester, First Presbyterian
Friday, April 22 at 10:30 Am
Gather on the lawn between Emmanuel Lutheran and Zion UCC on Hanover Street.
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