For Christians, Good Friday has become a day to remember Jesus’ death. It’s meant to be a reflective day, as believers consider the cost of Jesus’ actions as He boldly walked to the cross to give His life for ours. Clarkesville First UMC invites the community to remember Jesus’ walk to the cross in a different way this year — by participating with other believers in Cross Walk.
The Cross Walk event is new to Habersham this year, but, as pastor Keith Cox explains, “This event has been three years in the making.” When Cox relocated to Clarkesville from Augusta, Georgia, he brought with him the desire to create the tradition of worshipping on Good Friday through Cross Walk. When he arrived in Clarkesville, he was amazed to find many stores and businesses were closed on Good Friday. That seemed to indicate that Good Friday was already significant in the lives of believers in the community.
In 2020, Cox planned the first Cross Walk event for Habersham. When COVID hit the same year, the event had to be put off. However, Cox’s desire for the event to take place has not cooled. He has been walking and praying over the route for months now and is ready to see how God will use this event to impact the lives of the participants.
Cox’s church, Clarkesville First UMC, has been supportive of Cox’s vision as well. A group of men at the church have now created over 100 crosses, all different sizes, for all who come to participate. Even children will have a cross sized for them to carry.
Shuttles will be provided for those who can not walk the distance from station to station. The walk moves from the church to the gazebo downtown, from the gazebo to the Old Clarkesville Cemetery, and from the cemetery back to the church. At each of these three stations, scripture will be read, a devotion presented, prayers will be offered, and hymns will sung.
In Augusta, the Cross Walk tradition has been held now for more than twenty years. Cox hopes that this event, too, will happen more than once, and “will become a legacy for the community for years to come.” He prays that through the devotions and the time of walking with the cross, believers will consider all that Jesus suffered on His way to the cross. Cox hopes that participants will be able to go one step further –– to be able to consider the crosses they each carry as well. Cox says, “We are all bruised, battered and broken. This is a time when we can look at the crosses we carry as well and what those crosses mean in our lives.”
To participate, gather on Good Friday (April 15) before 10 am in front of the Clarkesville Firest UMC fellowship hall at 1087 Washington Street. Wear comfortable shoes, bring an open heart, and be ready for a journey that will lead you in the footsteps of Jesus.
