EDMONTON- It’s a day observed by christians around the world, and here in Edmonton hundreds gathered to mark Good Friday with a 33-year-old tradition.
The 33nd annual Outdoor Way of the Cross made its way through the streets of Edmonton Friday morning.
“We walk through the urban core, stopping at different locations to think about challenging issues, the problems that people face, both locally and in the world, and remind ourselves that the message of the christian gospel is relevant to all those problems,” explained Jim Gurnett, one of the organizers of the walk.
This year, the walk was themed “Who is my neighbour?” At each stop along the walk, participants took time to stop and ponder that question.
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“They’re the homeless people, they’re the people facing oppression in different parts of the world, they’re our youth, they’re our seniors and various groups like that. So, our thoughts will be focused around the particular challenges that those different groups of people face,” said Gurnett.
Hundreds of people took part in Friday’s walk, to reflect upon the issues that matter most to them this Easter weekend.
Felice Gladue walked with her children, in hopes of teaching them the importance of Good Friday and what it represents.
“We’re going to be walking just as Jesus walked,” she said. “So, I think they’ll truly feel, be able to feel, some of what Jesus did for us.”
It’s the outcome Bob Mckeon had hoped for, when he organized the first Outdoor Way of the Cross in 1981.
“We would bring (together) the meaning of the day- Jesus’ death and resurrection- and the issues of today, where people are suffering and people are looking for hope on the streets.”
Now, over 30 years later, that message is still being spread to Edmontonians.
“The things they believe in their hearts are not just something for Sunday in a church building, but they’re to be practiced out in the world, and so by doing this once a year, we give people a time to come together as a community,” said Gurnett.
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