MG Kids walks the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday in Morristown

On Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion, the Rev. Melissa Hall, assistant rector at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown, led an interactive children’s Stations of the Cross service for about 50 people. Children read short Scripture verses and played various biblical characters as they walked to different locations throughout the church, re-enacting Jesus journey from judgement by Roman governor Pontius Pilate to his death on the cross.

Worshipers of all ages signed and placed “love letters” to Jesus in a basket before the altar. Then a host, or piece of Communion bread, was placed in an “Easter sepulcher” constructed and decorated by teen parishioner Max Woolley, and the congregation sang “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”

MG Kids Correspondent Carl Hausman, 11, attended the service and wrote this description of the events and meaning of the service.

By Carl Hausman, MG Kids correspondent

On Good Friday, April 6, I went to the children’s Stations of the Cross at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church of Morristown. I got there several minutes early, talked to Pastor Melissa and took up the job of temporary deacon (the guy who holds onto her booklet of the service and gives it to her when she needs it) and then read “The Stranger Next Door” until everyone was there.

The Stations of the Cross is a series of stations. In each station, the kids watch as a few play the parts of what was happening in the Crucifixion or did readings to tell the story.

First, we went up to the pulpit. One of the kids, Pablo, was put in a fancy purple robe and a crown made out of plastic. He was Pontius Pilate. Then, Melissa took Julian (Pablo’s brother) and gave him a white robe and had him be Jesus. Pilate asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” The crowd of kids was the high priests, who were convicting Jesus.

Second, we went up to the altar. “Pilate” sat in a big chair. It was read: “Each year, it was Pilate’s custom to release a prisoner.” One kid was randomly selected from the crowd to be the rebel murderer Barabbas. When Pilate called, “Who do you want me to release?” Barabbas, much to everyone’s hilarity, shouted “Barabbas!”

The crowd voted for Barabbas to be set free. Then Pilate asked them: “What do you wish me to do with the King of the Jews?”

They replied: “Crucify him!!”

Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”

But they shouted yet louder, “Crucify him!!!”

And so, Jesus was taken to the side of the altar and a crown of thorns (actually, a crown of dried vines; it was tested on me earlier in the week and had several sharp branches!) was set on his head and a “club” (a small stick) was used to “beat” him (not really).

Next, everyone at once tried to lift a heavy wooden cross. No one could for very long or very well.

We walked forward a little till we came to a chair with a basket of palms in front of it. This was where Jesus, had he actually been carrying the cross, would have been supposed to fall down a first time. To make the noise, Melissa slammed a chair against the concrete floor. Several of the littler kids levitated in shock.

Then we came to a second and then even a third chair, and Jesus could not get up. So they took a person from the country who had never even heard of Jesus and made him carry the cross.

Finally, we came to a place where the cross had been relocated to. Here, nails, which represented bad things in our lives, were distributed. We were supposed to hide them until Easter somewhere in our house and then throw them out.

Next, we went to the chapel altar, where a piece of bread representing Jesus was put into a “tomb.” It was a small black-and-red box. It was called a sepulcher, which is the name of a villain in a computer game I play. A candle representing Jesus was blown out because he had died. The curtain of the temple was torn in two (we ripped an old bedsheet in half).

Then, afterwards, we went to the parish hall and spread homemade over-sugared icing on hot cross buns that had lots of cinnamon. (Yum!) Then, I went home in anticipation of candy to be found in the morning in two days. So, all in all, it was a good day.

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Stay tuned to Morristown Green for details of the Spring Arts Festival at St. Peter’s, including the second annual MG Kids Art Show opening April 27, Wordplay II on May 1 and a full day of arts workshops for kids 6 to 13 on May 12.