Procession of faith: Brownsville area participates in second-annual Cross Walk
Ed Bohna, of Brownsville, holds steady the cross while the Rev. Kristin Emrick reads Psalm 22 at the Cast Iron Amphitheater in Brownsville.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Rev. Kristen Emrick reads the Gospel according to Matthew Friday during the BAMA’s second-annual Cross Walk ceremony outside First United Methodist Church.
The Rev. Kristen Emrick leads the procession from First United Methodist Church along Church Street to the Cast Iron Amphitheater in Brownsville, as part of the second-annual BAMA Cross Walk. Emrick carried the heavy cross about a half-mile as part of the Good Friday ceremony.
Nearly a dozen people gathered outside the towering First United Methodist Church in Brownsville Friday morning for the Brownsville Area Ministerial Association’s second-annual Cross Walk, led by the Rev. Kristen Emrick of Calvin and Fort Burd Presbyterian churches.
Cross Walks are held internationally on Good Friday, to commemorate Jesus Christ’s walk from Jerusalem to Golgotha, where he was crucified.
The Brownsville walk began with a reading from the Gospel of Matthew outside First United. From there the group followed Emrick in quiet meditation through what was once called the town of churches, down uneven sidewalk to the Cast Iron Amphitheater, where the minister read additional Scripture.
“My shoulder hurts,” said Emrick, who carried a wooden cross about a half-mile, “but Jesus had to carry it while broken.”
Emerick led those gathered in The Lord’s Prayer before ending the ceremony with a reading of Psalm 22. She was glad to see faces from several churches participate in the somber ceremony, which included accounts of Christ’s sacrifice and is important, Emrick said, in preparing for Easter Sunday.
“To hear the words out loud as a community, there’s something to it,” said Emrick.
Mary Grace Bohna agreed.
“It’s nice to take a moment and reflect … on what the holiday is really about,” she said.