Walk with the Cross – a montage for 2020

From Ian Beckett, Chair of the Heart4Harlow Civic Group

I doubt many of us will forget Good Friday 2020 for a long time, and certainly this will be a year to remember. Normally, by now, Harlow’s Christian Community would have united in witness and undertook the annual Walk with the Cross, enacted scenes from Christ’s Passion, worshipped with gusto in the Harvey Centre and settled down to lunch at St Paul’s Church in our town centre. I have put together a montage of images from previous years to accompany this message.

We knew this was going to be a challenging Easter months ago. Thoughts about how we would “do church differently” were abundant and many of these have been realised, through online services and robust communications with our church communities. We considered a virtual Walk with the Cross but the idea came too late and lockdown prevented that idea coming to fruition.

I have a vision that next year we might consider a very different Walk with the Cross. A number of Walks with the Cross actually: imagine four different walks with crosses, from the four corners of the town, taking in our different churches and places of worship, converging on our town centre, bringing our town together. Now is the time to dare to dream and with faith I honestly believe many of our dreams today can be made real when we come out of this time of crisis.

Heart4Harlow was already changing before we faced this latest challenge. We were already aware that we needed to be doing things differently. We knew that existing relationships needed to be strengthen and new relationships developed in our churches and faith groups, with our elected representatives and political parties, with our businesses and commerce, with the arts, education and sport and with our health service and the workers on whom we so desperately depend at this time.

The challenge to change is for all of us, not just Heart4Harlow. Easter is a time of change and a time to change. As the darkness of Good Friday gives way to light and renewed hope on Easter Sunday it is worth reflecting upon the sacrifices we are being asked to make, the greater sacrifices that many vital frontline workers are making, and the greatest sacrifice that I believe was made for all of us by Christ Jesus over two thousand years ago.
Have blessed and joyful Easter. Stay home, stay safe, stay well.