Description
Good Friday. A very difficult story that sits at the very heart of our faith. We would not be Christians if it were not for this story, and the story of Easter Day. These two stories change the followers of Jesus once and for all. We owe the story the justice of telling it well and clearly.
And yet…it is a difficult and painful story. A story of death and suffering. Many people in our culture (and indeed in our churches) find it hard, if not impossible, to think about death. Many Christians find it hard to come to church on Good Friday because this story is too confronting, too painful, too real.
We need to think carefully about how we can share the story of Jesus’ crucifixion with our communities in ways that people of all generations can hear it in all of its complexity. In ways where it can be engaged with by people of all ages, all needs and all kinds. Thus, there are several resources offered here to choose from. Don’t forget you can make your service more intergenerational simply by including people of all ages in the planning and leadership of your service – and there are plenty of opportunities for that here.
A Bible engagement that pares back sensory input, offering a ‘hearing’ with silence, singing and sound.
A suggestion of an intergenerationally friendly telling by Andrew McDonough of Lost Sheep.
An activity to encourage people to reflect on the feelings they have when they hear this story.
A communal activity making a communion tablecloth which you can use again on Easter Sunday.
A more fun activity to help think about what the cross means to us today.
In whatever way you choose to tell this extraordinary story at the heart of our faith this year, may it be a meaningful and faith engendering experience for your whole community.
