Journey to the Cross

Last night was awesome. We had "Journey to the Cross", Good Shepherd's own version of the stages of the cross, with a decidedly Good Shepherd interpretive flair. People came at staggered times of the evening and were met by a gracious host team consisting of Ron Bagley, Carol Ehrnschwender, and Mary Shriner. At the appointed time groups ranging in size from 4 to 15 were escorted through the maze of experiences by wonderful guides Angela Merenbloom, Shawna Kroeger, Sonja McNett, Marcia Umscheid and Marty Nower.

Station One: The Last Supper and I had the priveledge of hosting the communion as a re-enactment of that event.

Station Two: The guides led their groups from that holiest of meals to the Garden of Gethsemane. Host Kevin Kurzava played the role of an apostle who had trouble staying awake and was quite confused about Jesus' struggle in the garden. He played the role well, with passion, and even memorized the longest script of all the hosts.

Station Three: The host led their group onward to a station that was intended to reflect the many ways we have sinned against Christ and therefore had acted as betrayers. The host had the group reflect on things that the people of the world did to betray Christ, and then had them draw or write on a sheet of paper (which represented a globe) those sins.

Stations Four and Five: This was the largest cast of all. It was set up so that the actors were behind white sheets. Bright lights cast their shadows on the sheet so the groups could only see their silloheuttes. My son JD played Jesus as he carried the cross toward Golgotha. Jessica and Haley Tilsworth and Jacob Orlowski played the angry crowd. My wife Nancy and Tammy Shelton were the directors and light crew and did a fantastic job directing the cast. At the end of station four and the beginning of station five Jesus stumbles and falls. Simon of Cyrene, played by Jon Orlowski, picks up the cross to help Jesus. The people felt the strain of the burden of the cross as they held cans of vegetables out at shoulder height while the guide read the script. It ended with a reflection on the call on each of us to continue to carry the burdens of others. The five youth and two adults involved in these stations did a stellar job.

Station Six: The Crucifixion. Kevin Shelton was the narrator while Justin Kroeger and Andy Meyer played the two theives who are crucified with Christ. At the end the participants have the back of their hands stamped with an invisible ink (wait for it) and were told they have all been crucified with Christ.

Station Seven: The tomb. The guide led the group into the tomb where candles are lit in the shape of a cross and sitting on a low table. The groups sings "Jesus Loves me this I know." Marsha west extinguised the candles to represent the darkness of death. Then Brent Ogborn switched on a set of black lights which illuminated words of hope painted in the invisible ink that was previously stamped on the group's hands. When the people looked down at their hands they found glowing ink in the shape of a cross as the place where Christ's hands were pierced.

Station Eight: The guides led in a closing prayer and the people were sent off into the night.

This was a great evening of reflection and well worth the devotional time of the participants (all 107 of them.) However, there are a few other names that I haven't mentioned. Colene Homa played the role of stage manager. She kept us all on task and on our strict time table. Then there was the crew that helped Marsha construct the whole event. I know I'm going to miss a few, but at risk of that let me say thanks to Nancy Bagley, Carol Ehrnschwender, and the others. Also, thanks to Jai Vaughn and Brian Long for setting up the Garden scene.

Overall it was a great night with a great effort by all to make the story of Christ come alive today.