The Stations of the Cross

Over the next two weeks we are going to use the traditional Stations of the Cross with prayers written by Church of Scotland minister, the Rev’d Muriel Pearson.  These will be sent out, from tomorrow, each evening in addition to the normal Daily Devotions we sent out each morning.  Muriel is a Church of Scotland Mission Partner and Associate Minister of St Andrew’s Jerusalem and Tiberias.  She is based in Tiberias where she leads worship in the English-speaking congregation, welcomes pilgrims and visitors, and liaises with partners in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories engaged in seeking peace with justice.  She has been in post since September 2021 and, since mid October 2023, has been back in Scotland speaking and leading worship.  She returns to Israel at the beginning of February.

This version of the Stations of the Cross is being promoted jointly by the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church, and ourselves.

Muriel writes:

“Palestinian Christians cry out to Christians worldwide, ‘Is it nothing to you who pass by?’ (Lamentations 1:12)  Here are a new set of prayers alongside Scripture readings and the wonderful woodcuts Ecce homo by Margaret Adams Parker, who has graciously granted use of her work for this Stations of the Cross.

“The Stations of the Cross, as a practice of Christian devotion, began in the 14th century.  Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem from 16th century onwards walked the Via Dolorosa, retracing the steps of Jesus as handed down by tradition. This year there will not be many pilgrims walking the well-worn path because of the ongoing war in Gaza. Yet many of all faiths are walking their own Via Dolorosa as the war brings great suffering.

“Even if following the Stations of the Cross is not part of your tradition, I hope you will find this a useful aid to devotion and to prayer for all those suffering in conflict around the world and particularly in Israel-Palestine.

“The woodcut print Stations of the Cross are published in Praying the Stations of the Cross – Finding Hope in a Weary Land by Margaret Adams Parker and Katherine Sonderegger, Eerdmans Publishing, 2019.  The images are under copyright to the artist, Margaret Adams Parker,  For further information about the artist and her work, visit www.margaretadamsparker.com.”

I hope you find time to use this traditional devotion as we continue to journey through Lent and to remember, in your prayers, the plight of those who have been displaced, who live with terror, and whose future seems precarious.

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship