About 1,000 years before the Crucifixion, the Biblical psalmist prophesied in Psalm 22 the death of Jesus of Nazareth. That text opens with an anguishing exclamation:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?”
Those words will be part of the focus of the annual Community Good Friday Service presented on the YouTube channel of the Ecumenical Assembly of Bartholomew County Churches at noon Friday. Pastor Daniel Kane, worship pastor of Columbus’ First Baptist Church, has been a part of a five-person organizing committee for the gathering.
“We recognize that some people still might be a little wary about coming back together in person, so we wanted to make sure that things still could be as accessible as possible,” Kane said. “And we wanted to be able to move forward with technology to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.”
This marks the second straight year that the in-person gathering, normally held at The Commons in front of more than 200 people, has been canceled because of the novel coronavirus. Last year, in April, organizers had just enough time to shift gears and record an audio service that aired on Good Friday on the two local Christian radio stations.
The ecumenical assembly, made up of more than two dozen houses of worship, plans the service each year.
“Everything happened at the last minute last year when the pandemic hit full force,” said Kelly Daugherty, the assembly’s executive director.
Current plans call for 10 to 12 pastors and musicians to gather for the service pre-taping at Columbus Free Methodist Church, 1511 22nd St.
Normally, nearly a dozen churches are represented by readers, singers, musicians, and others. And most years, visitors easily can count attendees representing two dozen area churches or more.
The approximate hour-long service marks the most somber day of the calendar for Christians, who mourn the suffering and death of Jesus of Nazareth more than 2,000 years ago, according to Biblical accounts.
This year’s service will include translations into Spanish, and Mandarin, organizers said.
Each year, organizers emphasize that, while many individual churches host their own Good Friday services, they see the idea of various denominations coming together in unity as a big part of one of Jesus’ final recorded prayers that Christians be unified.
“With this, it doesn’t matter what denomination you are, because we all serve the same Christ,” Daugherty said. “I think it’s so important for all of us to be united in that as we commemorate what happened on the cross.”
A holy day such as Good Friday is too spiritually significant for Christians to simply let pass with a cancellation, even amid a health crisis, according to Kane.
“This is the essence of what the Christian church ultimately believes and preaches — and if we are able to share the truth of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection with the community, and especially with those who may not know Jesus yet, then that is one of the most important things we can do to celebrate at Easter,” he said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About the service” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Annual Community Good Friday Service.
When: Noon Friday.
Where: On the Ecumenical Assembly of Bartholomew County Churches YouTube channel. Also will be available long afterward to view.
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