You can see I just needed time for one more walk through and I'd have bunched the props more closely but some turned up too close to time... there's a reason I was keen to have them 30mins early!!
Some of the images that appeared at Stations
STATION ONE: "WAITING"
INTRODUCTORY
WORDS WELCOME TO THIS EASTER WALK
We acknowledge the Wonnarua people &
their connection to the land on which we gather:
TODAY this Walk is different and involves a
journey through [6] STATIONS.
STATIONS are places where people wait while
they are going from one place to another. People wait at bus stops, train
stations and airports.
Think of some stations where you have been?
Stations are also places where people take
time to think about Jesus and his journey to the cross. They remind us how much
compassion and love Jesus has for all humanity
AND they invite us to place our story
alongside the story…
READER
ONE:
WAITING,
39 Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives, as
he often did, and his disciples went with him. 40 When
they got there, he told them, “Pray that you won’t be tested.”
41 Jesus walked on a little way before he
knelt down and prayed, [waiting]…
42 “Father, if you will, please don’t make me
suffer by having me drink from this cup.
But do what you want, and not what I want.”
43 Then an angel from heaven came to help
him. 44 Jesus was in great pain and prayed so sincerely
that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood.
45 Jesus got up from praying and went over to
his disciples. They were asleep and worn out from being so sad. 46 He
said to them, “Why are you asleep? Wake up and pray that you won’t be tested.”
47 While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd
came up.
It was led by Judas, one of the twelve apostles.
He went over to Jesus and greeted him with a
kiss.
48 Jesus asked Judas, “Are you betraying the
Son of Man with a kiss?”
After a scuffle
and a disturbance…
52 Jesus spoke to the chief priests, the
temple police, and the leaders who had come to arrest him. He said, “Why do you
come out with swords and clubs and treat me like a criminal? 53 I was
with you every day in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me. But this is your
time, and darkness is in control.”
LEADER:
Waiting for rain, waiting for news, waiting for
the worry or pain to end,
waiting to see what God is doing…
As we move from
this station, reach in and take a strip of paper,
That you can take with you to be reminded
about waiting…
STATION TWO: "TRUTH" "Below My Feet" Mumford & Sons playing on loop
TRUTH
IS HARD WORK,
Truth is hard work… honest answers to
life’s questions,
Knowing that we have to live each day in
relationships, community and the environment.
Farms, mines, transport, retail, education,
community, faith…
We live in a varied and sometimes harsh
country,
But that doesn’t mean we need to have hard
attitudes.
Compassion rings true, grace rings true,
humility rings true,
Trampling everyone else to get what we want
is hollow,
Holding power over or bullying others is
destructive and unfair…
READER
TWO: John
18
33 Pilate then went back inside. He called
Jesus over and asked,
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on
your own or did someone tell you about me?”
35 “You know I’m not a Jew!” Pilate said.
“Your own people and the chief priests brought
you to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom doesn’t
belong to this world. If it did, my followers would have fought to keep me from
being handed over to the Jewish leaders.
No, my kingdom doesn’t belong to this
world.”
37 “So you are a king,” Pilate replied.
“You are saying that I am a king,” Jesus
told him.
“I was born into this world to tell about
the truth.
And everyone who belongs to the truth knows
my voice.”
38 Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?”
Later, in John 19,
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the
Jews.
15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take
him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief
priests answered.
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them
to be crucified.
LEADER:
A crowd occupying Jerusalem a week earlier,
turned.
Voices were raised in fear and self
interest or even ignorance,
Hope only offers when justice is coming and
this was a hopeless situation…
We
spend a few moments here, thinking and praying silently,
For people we know, for our community, for
truth tellers and companions on the road
STATION THREE: "ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE" Box of Photos to take/pray for
“Another world is possible,” was the catch
cry of “Occupy Wall St” that went worldwide…
It’s not a slogan from the usual suspects,
It’s a hope for different values, for
fairness and consideration...
It’s as ordinary as the hope that the sun
will shine,
Or the bank will have money in your account
when you go to get it out…
Sometimes we choose to serve others,
sometimes we don’t get to choose…
READER
THREE: Luke 23:
26-27
26As
they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the
country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27A
great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were
beating their breasts and wailing for him.
[People
deeply in shock and grieving the loss of hope and the violence]
Who was Simon?
What was he going through?
Too scared to say no, too moved to step
away…
What are your hopes for the world?
What are your hopes for you?
LEADER:
Come forward and take a photo, any photo, From
the box.
These photos are from different stories and
different parts of the world.
What’s your prayer for the world… take the
photo with you to look at and remember…
As you come you will notice these sandals.
These sandals have their own story,
They belong to Queenslander Dave Andrews,
A community organiser and founder of ‘The
Waiters Union’ share house community
These sandals carried Dave through places
like India and Asia, meeting the poor,
These sandals were there when he learnt the
value of serving others,
And there when he committed himself that ‘another
world is possible’…
‘Waiters Union’ run a community garden,
helping programs, accommodation & care,
They are the shoes of someone who believes
another world is possible…
we
take our walk further on this journey
STATION FOUR: "STORIES" "Give in to My Love" Paul Kelly playing on loop
Stories are powerful, they cross boundaries
like culture, language and time.
We are wired for stories and their impact
can change people and events.
The stories we accept and the stories we
hear and reject, shape who we are…
This is the story of an innocent man,
suffering the death of a criminal,
This is the story of Jesus who disturbed
the balance of power,
Who sided with those on the edges, the
poor, the disregarded,
And who didn’t stop speaking the truth,
despite danger to himself.
This is a story of Jesus who stands
alongside you and I in our lives and struggles…
READER
FOUR: Luke 23:
32-43
32Two
others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.
33When
they came to the place that is called The Skull,
they crucified Jesus there with the
criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
34Then
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35And
the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying,
“He saved others; let him save himself if
he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!”
36The
soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37and
saying,
“If you are the King of the Jews, save
yourself!” 38There was also an inscription over him, “This is the
King of the Jews.” 39One of the criminals who were hanged there kept
deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40But
the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the
same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed have been condemned
justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done
nothing wrong.”
42Then
he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43He
replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
READER
FIVE:
This is a story of the cruelest of
punishments, carried out to discourage others.
This man shows compassion and concern in
the face of great pain…
What story is holding you back? What story
causes you grief?
What story are you telling with your life?
LEADER:
We wait here, wondering what unfolds in
this story… Things get worse…
STATION FIVE: "BAD"
LEADER:
“Desperation… dislocation… separation…
condemnation… revelation…
In temptation… isolation… desolation”
These are the lyrics of the refrain from the
U2 song “Bad”
READER
SIX: Luke 23:
44-49
44It was
now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon, 45while
the sun’s light failed;
and the curtain of the temple was torn in
two.
46Then
Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my
spirit.”
Having said this, he breathed his last.
47When
the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said,
“Certainly this man was innocent.”
48And
when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle
saw what had taken place, they returned
home, beating their breasts.
49But
all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee,
stood at a distance, watching these things.
READER
SEVEN: [“Funeral
Blues” WH Auden, but just start reading…]
Stop all the clocks, cut off the
telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy
bone.
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum,
bring out the coffin, let the mourners
come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead,
Scribbling on the sky the message ‘He is
Dead’.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the
public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton
gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and
West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I
was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every
one,
pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
We stand in silence as we remember the
story, how bad that must have been…
But we cannot stay here…
STATION SIX: “SILENCE” "I Grieve" Peter Gabriel playing on loop
We stand, we wait, we listen… a little off
the edge of the story, but puzzled…
READER
EIGHT: Luke 23:
50-56
50Now
there was a good and righteous man named Joseph,
who, though a member of the council, 51had
not agreed to their plan and action.
He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea,
and he was waiting expectantly for the
kingdom of God.
52This
man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
53Then
he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth,
and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no
one had ever been laid.
54It was
the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.
55The
women who had come with him from Galilee followed,
and they saw the tomb and how his body was
laid.
56Then
they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.
On the sabbath they rested according to the
commandment.
READER
NINE:
This is a story of shock, of nurture and
care,
A recognition of hopes dashed, of a flame
extinguished…
What had happened, what went wrong?
Who do you know, that things seem to go
wrong for?
How have things gone wrong for you?
How will hope be rediscovered?
We grieve… we stand together…
LEADER:
But as we leave this space we are invited
to each take a folded paper cross,
A symbol of hope and a reminder of one who
stood by us,
Who died speaking and living the truth,
even at a cost to himself…
These stations will be here for 30mins more
If you want to revisit or simply spend
time…
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-10386543-1497206124-4134.jpeg.jpg)
