on Good Friday we transformed the church into easter icons: a stations of the cross exhibition. we were open from 12-8pm and saw over 90 people come and visit. we had 14 stations covering the story of Jesus' passion. I had a larger team helping this year and this was reflected in the creative stations. (i posted some pictures here)
1. the last supper - we created our own last supper picture based on the da vinci painting. then steve turned it into a flash movie, which help us think about whether we were or could be a betrayer, a denier or a deserter of jesus.
2. jesus is condemned - simon painted the crowd standing before Jesus and then we projected the words 'crucify him'
3. peter disowns jesus - steve drew 9 images associated with the life of peter and then people had an opportunity to have them ironed onto a t-shirt
4. jesus is mocked and beaten - hannah had taken photos of some of the team with words like 'blasphemer' and 'liar' on their backs
5. simon of cyrene is made to carry the cross - helen made a display of nike trainers with their slogan 'just do it' and reflected on how simon was forced to carry the cross and how many people today are forced (told to 'just do it') today to work in appalling conditions and for little money. people then had an opportunity to make a handprint and sign their name to show their support for the 'stop the traffik' campaign.
6. jesus talks the women of jerusalem - hannah, helen and miriam created a mind map exploring the theme of blessing in luke's gospel
7. jesus is stripped - items that expressed vulnerability and applicances without their covers created by miriam and owen
8. jesus is crucified - a picture of the cross surrounded by pictures of consumerism made by sarah and naomi with a reflection by ashley on christ and consumerism which ended by asking whether we had 'stripped christ of his transformative power by refusing to be transformed'
9. soliders cast lots - we borrowed an idea from the icons of easter exhibition which si johnson organised back in 2005 and used a looping video (filmed by richard) of someone rolling dice and asking whether we gamble with the lives of others
10. 'here is your son ... here is your mother' - hannah created a giant spider's web as a symbol of how the church is joined together with christ at the centre. as jesus words created a new family, the start of the church based no longer on blood, but on trust and relationship to christ
11. jesus and the pentient thief - helen created three towers which explored the themes of crime and restorative justice
12. 'my god, my god, why have you forsaken me?' - ashley and joel built a room, on which there was nothing but the words of jesus on one wall, to help communicate a sense of alienation. people were then invited to write pslams of lament and pin them to the outer walls
13. 'it is finished' - steve videoed me in a bob-dylan-like-style video holding up verses from john's gospel, ending with the words 'it is finished'
14. jesus is laid in the tomb - dot made a gravestone, which we wrote the words 'jesus, beloved son, friend and master'. people we asked to contemplate that on good friday we remember the death of jesus and the burial of god.
it was a real team effort this year and we celebrate the end of the day with a meal out together. thanks to everyone who helped make it happen and to those who came. a few months until we need to start thinking about next year.
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