The annual Twin City Area Ministerial Alliance Good Friday Cross Processional, a collaboration of numerous congregations, will take place the afternoon of April 3.
Participants in the free event are urged to arrive shortly before 1 p.m. at the parking lot of First United Methodist Church of Festus-Crystal City, 113 Grand Ave. (across the street from the Festus Public Library). Participants will proceed east on Festus Main Street-Crystal City Bailey Road and stop at the garden of Grace Presbyterian Church, 105 Bailey Road, with pauses along the way for scripture readings and prayer.
While inclement weather could affect the event, it hasn’t during the time the Rev. Leslie Limbaugh, president of the alliance, has been part of it. Limbaugh is pastor of Selma American Baptist Church, south of Festus.
“All the years I’ve been participating, we’ve been able to have it,” she said. “I have been involved with the procession for the last nine years.”
The size of the procession usually depends on the weather conditions, she said.
“I would say, from year to year, we have 20 to 50 people,” Limbaugh said. “That’s dependent on the weather. We have, maybe, around 10 churches participate. There are seven or so regulars (congregations), with some individuals who come from other churches.”
The procession typically involves participants carrying a large cross as they walk the route. But in 2022, they made the journey without a cross when organizers could not find their large cross with wheels and the only other available cross was considered to be too heavy to tote. The procession without a cross happened after the processional took a hiatus for two years due to the COVID pandemic.
Limbaugh said organizers are prepared for this year’s processional.
“We have a cross,” she said. “It does not have wheels. It is a weight that is carriable by someone who is strong or by a couple people.”
The Twin City Ministerial Alliance Good Friday Cross Professional started in the late 1990s, according to a 2015 Leader story. Limbaugh said the processional helps set the tone for Easter weekend.
“At each station, there is a prayer and a reading,” she said. “It lasts about an hour. It’s about a mile walk.
“The point is to remember what Jesus Christ has done. It’s a good community experience to remember what Jesus has done for us and to prepare us for Easter.”
She said anyone may participate.
“Everybody’s welcome,” she said. “It’s ecumenical. Any denomination is welcome.
“Even if you are not Christian, but want to learn more about it, we welcome you.”
For more information, call 636-937-6515 or visit the Twin City Area Ministerial Alliance page on Facebook.