Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

And straightaway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with
the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried
him away, and delivered him to Pilate.  And they all condemned him to be
guilty of death.  When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus
forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the
Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Golgotha.  Then delivered he him unto them to
be crucified.  And they took Jesus and led him away.

V. God spared not his own Son:
R. But delivered him up for us all.

Let us pray.

Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do
worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully
be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.

                      Who on Christ's dear mother gazing,
                        Pierced by anguish so amazing,
                        Born of woman, would not weep?

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a
skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha.  Though he were a Son, yet
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.  He was led as a
sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened
he not his mouth.  Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and
riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.

V. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all:
R. For the transgression of his people was he stricken.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered
pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified; Mercifully grant
that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the
way of life and peace; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

                     Who, on Christ's dear mother thinking
                        Such a cup of sorrow drinking,
                       Would not share her sorrows deep?

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

Christ Jesus, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross.  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every name.  O come, let us worship
and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is the Lord
our God.

V. Surely he hath borne our griefs:
R. And carried our sorrows.

Let us pray.

O God, who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright;
grant to us such strength and protection, as may support us in all dangers,
and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

                       For his people's sins chastised,
                         She beheld her Son despised,
                  Scourged, and crowned with thorns entwined.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

What shall I testify unto thee?  What shall I liken to thee, O daughter of
Jerusalem?  What shall I compare to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin
daughter of Zion?  For thy ruin is deep as the sea: who can heal thee?
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  The Lord shall
be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

V. A sword shall pierce through thine own soul also:
R. That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Let us pray.

We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts; that, as we have
known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel,
so by his cross and passion we may be brought unto the glory of his
resurrection, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

                       Saw him then from judgment taken,
                         And in death by all forsaken,
                         Till his spirit he resigned.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, coming
out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it
after Jesus.  If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross and follow me.  Take my yoke upon you and learn of me;
for my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

V. Whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me:
R. Cannot be my disciple.

Let us pray.

O God, whose blessed Son did overcome death for our salvation: Mercifully
grant that we who have his glorious passion in remembrance may take up our
cross daily and follow him; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

                         Jesus, may her deep devotion
                         Stir in me the same emotion,
                         Fount of love, Redeemer kind.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

He hath no form or comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that
we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him: he was
despised, and we esteemed him not.  His visage was so marred more than any
man, and his form more than the sons of men.  He was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of
our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

V. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts:
R. Show us the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole.

Let us pray.

O God, who before the passion of thine only begotten Son didst reveal his
glory upon the holy mount:  Grant unto us thy servants, that in faith
beholding the light of his countenance, we may be strengthened to bear
the cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory: through
the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

                      That my heart fresh ardor gaining,
                          And a purer love attaining,
                        May with thee acceptance find.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.  All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, and he
was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: for the transgression of his
people was he stricken.

V. But as for me, I am a worm and no man:
R. A very scorn of men, and the outcast of my people.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind,
hast sent thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh
and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the
example of his great humility; Mercifully grant that we may both follow
the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his
resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

                        True repentance, Jesus, win me:
                      Saviour print thy wounds within me.
                       Brand them on my stubborn heart.

                    As thou bought'st, through tribulation,
                         In thy passion my salvation,
                         Let me bear therein my part.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which
also bewailed and lamented him.  But Jesus turning unto them said,
"Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and
for your children."

V. They that sow in tears:
R. Shall reap in joy.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou has made,
and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:  Create and
make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our
sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God
of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ
our Lord.  Amen.

                       Let me mourn, O Lord, beside thee
                      For the sins which crucified thee,
                         While my life remains in me.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

O my people, what have I done unto thee, or wherein have I wearied thee?
Testify against me.  Because I brought thee forth from the land of Egypt,
thou hast prepared a Cross for thy Saviour.  Because I led thee through
the desert forty years, and fed thee with manna, and brought thee into
a land exceeding good, thou hast prepared a Cross for thy Saviour.  What
more could I have done unto thee that I have not done?

V. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter:
R. And like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.

Let us pray.

Keep, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and,
because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by
thy help from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable to
our salvation; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

                      Take beneath the cross my station.
                           And in all thy desolation
                           So unite myself with thee.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say,
place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink and mingled with gall:
and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.  And they parted his
garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophet, "They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture
did they cast lots."

V. They gave me gall to eat.
R. And when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink.

Let us pray.

O Lord God, whose blessed Son, our Saviour, gave his back to the smiters
and hid not his face from shame: Grant us grace to take joyfully the
sufferings of the present time, in full assurance of the glory that shall
be revealed; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

                        Jesus, great beyond all other,
                      Turn not from me, heav'nly brother,
                          Let me too bewail thy pain.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they
crucified him.  And with him they crucified two thieves; the one on his
right hand, and the other on his left.  And the scripture was fulfilled,
which saith, "And he was numbered with the transgressors."  O my people,
what have I done unto thee?  I did raise thee on high with great power:
and thou hast hanged me upon the gibbet of the Cross.

V. I, if I be lifted up:
R. Will draw all men unto me.

Let us pray.

O God, who by the passion of thy blessed Son hast made the instrument of
shameful death to be unto us the means of life and peace: Grant us so to
glory in the Cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss; for
the sake of the same thy Son our Lord.  Amen.

                       Let my soul, thy death declaring,
                        Thy unsparing passion sharing,
                         Count thy bruises one by one.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple standing by, whom
he loved, he saith unto his mother, "Woman, behold thy Son!"  Then saith
he to the disciple, "Behold thy mother!"  When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, "It is finished."  And when he had cried with a loud
voice, he said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."  And he bowed
his head, and gave up the ghost.

� All kneel.  Then may be said the Lord's Prayer silently, after which all rise.

V. Christ for our sake became obedient unto death:
R. Even the death of the Cross.

Let us pray.

O God, who for our redemption didst give thine only-begotten Son to the
death of the Cross, and by his glorious resurrection has delivered us from
the power of our enemy; Grant us so to die daily from sin, that we may
evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through the same
thy Son Christ our Lord.  Amen.

                    Let thy stripes and scourging smite me;
                         At thy holy Cross requite me,
                        Let thy blood refresh me there.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

All ye that pass by, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my
sorrow.  Mine eyes do fail with tears, my soul is troubled; my heart is
poured out in grief because of the downfall of my people.  Call me not
Naomi (which is Pleasant), call me Mara (which is Bitter); for the
Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

V. Her tears are on her cheeks:
R. She hath none to comfort her.

Let us pray.

Grant we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and
peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with
a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

                        O how said and sore distressed
                       Now was she, that mother blessed
                           Of the sole-begotten One.

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
R. Because by thy Cross and Precious Blood thou hast
   redeemed the world.

When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimethaea, named Joseph,
who also himself was Jesus' disciple; he went to Pilate, and begged the
body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.  And when
Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid
it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled
a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

V. Thou shalt not leave my soul in hell:
R. Neither shalt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.

Let us pray.

Grant, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy blessed Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affection
we may be buried with him; and that through the grave, and gate of death,
we may pass to our joyful resurrection; for his merits, who died, and was
buried, and rose again for us, the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

                        Deep the woe of her affliction
                         When she saw the crucifixion
                           Of her ever glorious Son.

� Here may be said the Apostle's Creed.

V. O Saviour of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast
   redeemed us
R. Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Let us pray.

Almighty Father, who hast given thine only Son to die for our sins, and to
rise again for our justification; Grant us so to put away the leaven of
malice and wickedness, that we may always serve thee in pureness of living
and truth; through the merits of the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

+ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship
of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore.  Amen.

	Hey Richard! Can anyone else make reservations here!!!??? :-)



Glen

    Sure! ;-)
    
    I wanted 16 sequential replies to share the "Way of the Cross/Way
    of Justice" experience last Friday.
    
    Peace,
    Richard
    

First Station

Jesus is condemned to death
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph building

All sing:

	Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
	Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
	Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
	Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

	Were you there when they judged that he must die?
	Were you there when they judged that he must die?
	Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
	Were you there when they judged that he must die?

First voice - With Pilate, the Roman governor, we may well ask, "Why?
	What has he done?"

Second voice - He has stood with the poor, the condemned, the untouchables of
	the society, while claiming that he is the one sent by God.

Third voice - If he had cast his lot with the ruling class, if he had
	exhibited power and influence, his claim may have been credible.
	Instead, he identified with the poor and the powerless, with
	"sinners and tax collectors," with women and Samaritans,
	so he was not only incredible, he was dangerous.  If what he
	claimed was true, then his life, his words, his very existence
	would be judgment on all that had been so carefully established
	and maintained both in the system and in its leaders own
	self-understanding.  Rather than entertain that possibility, we
	must be rid of him!

First voice - In a classic example of the co-mingling of church and state,
	the frightened Jewish religious leaders manipulated a frightened
	Roman civil authority to have Jesus executed.  But their plot was
	in vain, and to this day we are left with their dilemma.

Second voice - Jesus sides with the condemned, he enters our world through
	the doorway of the poor.  He takes a new family to himself - all
	those rejected and abandoned by society, by us.  He stands in
	solidarity with all those who die unnecessarily and draws to himself
	all the forces that oppress human beings.  He is the incarnation of
	the innocent, condemned to death.  The kingdom is found where the
	poor ones are welcomed home and given life.

All - So as we walk the way of the cross, we, too, carry a cross: our own
	rejection of who we are and our attempt to walk in solidarity with
	the poor and the outcasts of our society.

All sing:

	Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
	Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
	Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
	Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Second Station

Jesus accepts his cross
Shooks Run Park

All sing:  How Great Thou Art

First voice - The great Manitou placed humankind in a Paradise, the Garden
of Eden, and saw "that it was good."  Adam and Eve were irresponsible and
"passed the buck" when confronted by God, choosing to blame someone or
something else for their downfall.  We, too, have often proved poor stewards
of our planet and the goods of creation.  Personal pleasure, industrial
greed and carelessness have polluted our waterways and our air.  This is
the cross we are giving our children and their children's children as we
degrade the environment.

	Jesus here bears his cross in a supreme gesture of responsibility to
compensate and atone for all of our sins of irresponsibility toward our
fellow creatures and the planet entrusted to us and the many generations to
follow in our footsteps.

	When President Pierce, in the mid-19th Century, made an offer to
Chief Seattle for a large area of Indian land, Chief Seattle's reply made
a most profound statement about the environment, more critical than ever
for us today.

Second voice - "We know that the white man does not understand our ways.
One portion of the land is the same as the next, for he is a stranger who
comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs.  The earth
is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves
on.  He leaves his father's graves, and his children's birthright is
forgotten.

	He treats his mother, the earth, and his brother, the sky, as
things to be bought, plundered, and sold like sheep or bright beads.  His
appetite will devour the earth and leave behind only a desert....You must
teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of
their grandfathers.  So that they will respect the land, tell your
children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin.  Teach your
children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.

	Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

All sing:  How Great Thou Art

Third Station

Jesus meets his mother
Goodwill Industries store

First voice - Here we stand, oblivious to the results of our most mundane
	actions, blind to our role of bearers of Christ.  We accept the
	ways of our day, not questioning the greed that surrounds us.  We
	try not to see the decay, the anger, the frustration.  We ignore
	the sorrow, and condemn only that which bothers our person.

Second voice - One out of every seven persons in our society lives below the
	poverty level.  In 1990, El Paso county had 39,519 residents - 10.4
	percent of our population - living below the poverty level.

First voice - Our mothers, as did Jesus' mother, bear it all in their hearts.
	Yet they remain silent as they see their children lacking enough
	money to buy nourishing food, seeking shelter under a bridge, in a
	crowded shelter, or in a run-down, unsafe, dwelling.  Our mother
	sees us angered by the indecency of a society in which we tear out
	entire neighborhoods to eradicate low-income housing.

Second voice - Watching the pain of others can be harder to bear than our own
	pain.  In a variety of ways, we are all victims of the work ethic.
	Poverty is seen as an attitude problem; as a problem that will erode
	our "quality of life."  Unemployment is seen as personal failure.
	Efforts to seek assistance are traditionally met with blaming and
	interrogation.

First voice - Today our unemployment rate in the USA is approximately 7.6%.
	This does not include those who struggle to survive on part-time
	jobs and with poverty level wages.  Nor does it include those who
	have grown discouraged and stopped looking for jobs.

Second voice - In 1991, less that 1% of our Federal Budget went to AFDC -
	our largest entitlement program.  Still, we speak of punitive
	programs to put parents to work, or of limiting entitlements to
	two years.  The simple truth is that there are simply not enough
	jobs to go around.  Mandatory job searches for nonexistent jobs
	lead to loss of confidence and loss of pride.

All:  We have created an impoverished underclass upon which we can blame
	all the problems of our society.  Yes Lord, to share in your way
	we must all open our arms to the hidden sufferings of the poor
	which are constantly happening around us.

Thirteenth station

Jesus is taken down and lain in the arms of his mother
Colorado for Family Values office

Song: {solo}  Tramp on the Street

First voice - Despite a history of struggles to open our society to all
	people, now that the cold war is over we have embarked on an
	effort to define just what is good, and what is not.  This
	pseudo-religious cultural warfare would remove rights and
	effectively use "family values" to excommunicate many of our
	brothers and sisters from humanity.

All:  We pray for the day of compassion - the day that homophobia will be
	considered as noxious as racism and sexism.

First voice - Mother, we look at the society that cradles us - a society
	that looks with disdain and hatred at so many of its children.

All:  We pray for the day of compassion - the day that homophobia will be
	considered as noxious as racism and sexism.

First voice - As Jesus was liberated by death, we too must part from those
	we love.  We must allow our children to exist with honesty.  If we
	do not understand, we may grieve - but this grief can be the price
	of our souls.

All:  We pray for the day of compassion - the day that homophobia will be
	considered as noxious as racism and sexism.

First voice - Homophobia is widely preached in the name of maintaining
	morale and discipline.  Also implicit is the fear of disruptive
	heterosexual response.  We need education in the truth to give us
	the courage to openly expose and challenge bigotry and prejudice
	in our society.

All:  We pray for the day of compassion - the day that homophobia will be
	considered as noxious as racism and sexism.

Song: {solo}  Tramp on the Street

Fifteenth station

He is risen!
Monument Valley Park

Song:  Lord of the Dance (to the tune "'Tis a Gift to be Simple")

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
and I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
at Bethlehem I had my birth.

Refrain:

	Dance, then, wherever you may be,
	I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
	I'll lead all wherever you may be,
	I will lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame,
the holy people, they said it was a shame,
they whipped and they stripped and they hung me high,
and they left me there on a cross to die.

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black,
it's hard to dance with the devil on your back,
they buried my body and they thought I'd gone,
but I am the dance and I still go on.

They cut me down and I leap up high,
I am the life that'll never, never die,
I'll live in you if you live in me,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

Fourteenth station

Jesus is buried in the tomb
Near the Bijou Street bridge

First voice - An astute politician came to help the authorities out of an
	embarassing situation.  The body must be taken out of sight, it must
	nor mar the peacefulness of the Holy Day, nor must this reminder of
	the lapse in the highly touted Roman justice be left to nag at the
	civil authorities.  And so Jesus was quickly placed in a tomb....
	no time for the usual amenities.  The important thing is to hide the
	body so folks won't be confronted with it, won't be reminded by its
	sight of what they allowed to happen, of what was done in their name.

		We build prisons in remote locations, and fight to keep our
	neighborhoods free of "undesireables" and send difficult students out
	of our sight in suspension....we don't want to look at what we do
	to one another....we'd rather not know.

All sing:

	Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
	Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
	Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
	Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

	Were you there when they judged that he must die?
	Were you there when they judged that he must die?
	Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
	Were you there when they judged that he must die?

Twelfth station

Jesus dies on the cross
Focus on the Family

Refrain:  O God, I'm dying!

First voice - Jesus is slain!  Centurions roll dice for his garment!  Today
prostitutes are slain!  They say, "They deserve it." "It's their lifestyle."
"What can you expect?"  Ghetto youths slay one another, attempting by
violence to wrest for themselves some part of the American Dream.  They are
written off as lawless gangs and thugs who are the low element in our society.
Are we so immunized and desensitized to violence that we are beginning to
think it is inevitable, even excusable?

	We isolate ourselves from others by fear; we arm ourselves for
protection.  Recall that the attitude of Jesus toward the criminals on the
crosses beside him, was one of compassion and love.  If the criminal is
executed there is no chance for his own personal redemption and forgiveness.
Jesus also points out the the sacredness of human life in that it comes from
God.

Women - "No one is an island, entire of itself; everyone is a piece of
	the continent, a part of the main.

Men - Anyone's death diminishes me, because I am involved in the human race.

Women - "No one is an island, entire of itself; everyone is a piece of
	the continent, a part of the main.

Men - Anyone's death diminishes me, because I am involved in the human race.

All - And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls
	for thee." (John Donne)

First voice - Let us spend a few moments in silent sorrow for our own sins,
	our community's sins and our nation's sins.

	Pause for silent prayer

Refrain:  O God, I am dead!

Fourth station

Jesus falls the first time
The old police station

First voice - Alike in many ways, diverse in many others, all humans are born
with the same basic needs.  foremost among these needs is the need to be
loved.  The need to be accepted without complaint in all of our weaknesses
and in all of our strengths.

Second voice - The USA was established as a white society, founded upon the
genocide of another race and then the enslavement of yet another.  Even today
our minorities must live with fear, lies, unemployment, insecurity, crime,
guilt, overall economic inequality - oppression that is planned.

All - Forgive us, for we have fallen under the weight of the cross.

First voice - Think for a moment about the dangerous silent presence of
"neo-racism" in our world today.  No longer do we tolerate overt displays
of prejudice - yet there is a far more cutting oppression exercised by
those who are in power - those who have the power to institutionalize
prejudice.

All - Forgive us.  One out of two black children is born in poverty.

Second voice - One out of two black children is born into poverty.  Black
infant mortality is twice that of whites.  The life expectancy of the
native American averages not in the 70s but in the 40s - and their infant
mortality is seven time higher than the national average.  Black unemployment
is three times that for whites.  One out of every two young black males is
unemployed.  One of every four black men is either in jail, on probation
or on parole.

All - To be whole as a nation can only come when we are able to move beyond our
past.  Jesus died on the cross to bring us together.  Racism negates his
suffering and death.

Eleventh station

Jesus is nailed to the cross
A bank

First voice - Listen closely and you will hear the nails being pounded into
	Jesus' hands and feet.
	(pause)
	and remember a Scripture which teaches you to love your enemies and
	to do good to those who persecute you.  Remember that our leaders
	believe in the myth that military might will cure all our problems.
	They must.  After all, we are first in military spending among the 19
	leading industrial nations.

Second voice - The past 50 years of experimentation with nuclear weapons has
	cost us trillions of dollars, polluted large areas of land, affected
	the health of hundreds of thousands of people and left a deadly legacy
	of environmental destruction and radioactive waste.

First voice - At his recent confirmation hearing, Defense Secretary Les Aspin
	testified that the Bush Administration may have underestimated
	weapons costs.  This means that the paltry $12 billion per year cut
	in our $280 billion per year military budget may be more than we
	are willing to make.

Second voice - No country on Earth could attack us and survive the retaliation
	of which we are already capable.  We rattle our arms not to accomplish
	good, but to punish people of other nations when their actions do not
	meet with our approval.  In 1992, our arms exports were worth more
	than $35 billion.

First voice - If you really know
	(pause)
	and love Jesus, war will nail you to the cross.  You will suffer wounds
	with each dollar that is spent, and with each atrocity that is
	committed.

	Let us pray.... (pause for silent prayer)

Tenth station

Jesus is stripped
Los Ninos

First voice - The took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one
	for each soldier. (John 19.23-24)

Second voice - (spoken in Spanish)  Like Jesus, Mexico will be stripped of
	it's resources, both human and environmental, if the North American
	Free Trade Agreement does not mean just wages for decent work and
	and decent working conditions for my people.

Third voice - President Bush said, "The Free Trade Agreement is a chance to
	expand opportunity and economic growth from the Yukon to the
	Yucatan.  The agreement will create more jobs on New Mexico's and
	Canada's borders."

First voice - The soldiers said to one another, "Instead of tearing the
	robe, let us throw dice to decide who is to have it." (John 19.24-25)

Second voice - (spoken in Spanish)  The United States industries pay my
	people 60 cents an hour and save millions of dollars on cheap
	labor.  Sixty percent of Mexico's laborers receive minimum wages
	today.  For a half a day's work I can buy a chicken for my family
	to eat.  For two hours work on an assembly line, I can buy a
	toothbrush.

Third voice - The multinational corporations will be able to maximize our
	profits with less governmental regulations.  We will offer you
	work with decent wages and improved standards of living.  You will
	live the American way.

First voice - Oh God of the working people, we pray that the drafters of the
	Free Trade Agreement will seek sustainable authentic development of
	all peoples, their culture and their environments.  Such development
	is sacred and holy, building your Kingdom here on earth.

All:  We pray for the scales to fall from our eyes that we, and our
	government will protect and respect the rights of workers as
	contained in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Amen.

Eighth station

Jesus speaks to the women
Child Care Center

				Litany

First voice:  AIDS baby.
	All respond: "Weep not for me but for your children."
First voice:
	Overburdened child		All: "Weep not for me..."
	Snow baby			All: "Weep not for me..."
	Scapegoated child		All: "Weep not for me..."
	Runaway child			All: "Weep not for me..."
	Violent child			All: "Weep not for me..."
	Sexually-abused child		All: "Weep not for me..."
	Self-mutilating child		All: "Weep not for me..."
	Fetal Alchohol Syndrome baby	All: "Weep not for me..."
	Self-blame child		All: "Weep not for me..."
	Suicidal child			All: "Weep not for me..."
	Battered child			All: "Weep not for me..."
	Unwanted child			All: "Weep not for me..."

Second voice - Jesus redirects the weeping of the women from himself to the
multitudes of children throughout the centuries who will be abused and
neglected due to ignorance and selfishness.  Living in a time when childhood
was thought to be of little consequence, he warnsthat children are vulnerable
and can be victimized.
	El Paso county, according to the Colorado Children's Campaign, has
made little or no progress in reaching health, education and welfare goals
for its children and youth for the past three years.  The increase in child
poverty to 14.4% as well as an increase in the number of infants born
weighing less than 5-1/2 lbs. reveal a struggling underclass that cannot
afford health insurance or gets by on minimum wage.

All:  Lord Jesus, we lift up the unwanted, troubled children to your care.
Help us to have love and courage to act as a parent, foster parent, big
brother or sister, tutor, coach, teacher, child care worker and child
advocate.

				Litany

First voice:  AIDS baby.
	All respond: "We will care for you."
First voice:
	Overburdened child		All: "We will care for you." 
	Snow baby			All: "We will care for you."
	Scapegoated child		All: "We will care for you."
	Runaway child			All: "We will care for you."
	Violent child			All: "We will care for you."
	Sexually-abused child		All: "We will care for you."
	Self-mutilating child		All: "We will care for you."
	Fetal Alchohol Syndrome baby	All: "We will care for you."
	Self-blame child		All: "We will care for you."
	Suicidal child			All: "We will care for you."
	Battered child			All: "We will care for you."
	Unwanted child			All: "We will care for you."

    
    I've been reading some of the stations.  Was this a religious event
    or a political event?
    
    Jill

    .34  Hmmm.  I've learned that the line of division between the two
    (religion and politics) is very blurry sometimes.  If you're refering
    to the notes marked "Way of the Cross/Way of Justice," it would be wrong
    if I said it was strictly one or the other.
    
    Richard
    

    
    Just wondering.  Never seen anything quite like it.  If I've got
    some time, I'll read some more.
    
    Jill

Ninth station

Jesus falls the third time
Antlers Doubletree Hotel

First voice -  Another fall!  Weakness is prevailing, yet the centurions
	beat and ridicule Jesus for his lack of strength and stamina.  We,
	to, can be critical of those our society who "fall" due to human
	frailty and a lack of material resources.  Welfare recipients are
	derided and demeaned, yet resources allotted to them quickly pass
	through their hands into the pockets of entrepreneurs.

All:  Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours! (Luke 6.20)

First voice -  The poor, the weak and the needy are stripped of society's
	respect and affirmation because they are supposedly not responsible
	or productive citizens.  All the while, white collar crime "robs us
	blind" and mortgages the future for generations to come.  Yet, because
	it is subtle and covered with a veneer of acceptability, we fail to
	detect the stench within its whitened sepulchres.  Somehow a necktie
	and clean hands can make injustices acceptable.  PAC payoffs
	continue despite the repeated call for campaign finance reform.
	Exorbitant CEO salaries continue along with investments in companies
	that exploit the people of developing nations.  Corrupt banks are
	bailed out while farmers and unemployed home owners suffer
	foreclosure.  And lest we forget, the S&L bailout will cost us
	two hundred billion dollars.

All:  Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours!

First voice - Despite the fact that we are urged to have "a preferential
	option for the poor", institutions and individuals can view the
	"poor" as lazy, shiftless, and "milking the system."  Poverty is
	too often viewed a human failure rather than a community sin.
	The road to God is through the poor and oppressed.  If the church
	is anything at all, it needs to be the voice of those with no
	voice.

All:  Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours!

First voice - Long ago, the prophet Amos stated:

Second voice - "Because you have trampled upon the weak and exacted from them
	levies of grain, though you have built house of hewn stone, you
	shall not live in them!  Though you have planted choice vineyards,
	you shall not drink their wine!  Yes, I know how many are your crimes,
	how grievous are your sins: oppressing the just, accepting the bribes,
	repelling the needy at the gate!  Seek good and not evil, that you
	may live; then truly will the Lord, the God of Hosts, be with you
	as you claim!  Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail at
	the gate; then it may be that the Lord, the God of Hosts, will have
	pity on the remnant of Joseph."

All:  Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours!

pause

All:  Jesus, you fell three times on the path to our redemption and identified
	yourself with the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick and imprisoned.  Help
	us to find strength when we fall and help us to find you in those our
	society labels as failures.

Seventh station

Jesus falls the second time
The El Paso County metro jail

First voice - The violence of the system degrades, keeps down, rejects and
never forgets failure and weakness.  So many in our society fall again and
again under the burden.  We have names and categories for them: alcoholics,
addicts, abusers, enemies.  We see these people as problems, rather than
as individuals.  Too often, we refuse to admit the truth - the marginalized
are victims of our educational, economic and legal systems, and they are
scapegoats for our personal racism, sexism and intolerance.  It's a miracle
the journey continues at all, and that anyone gets up again.

Second voice -

				Prisoners

		Steel doors - guillotine gates -
		of the doorless house close massively.
		We were locked in with loss.

		Guards frisked us, marked our wrists,
		then let us in to the drab Rec Hall -
		splotched green walls, high windows barred -

		where the dispossessed awaited us.
		Hands intimate with knife and pistol,
		hands that cruelly grasped and throttled

		clasped ours in welcome.  I sensed the plea
		of men denied:  Believe us human
		like yourselves, but for Grace...

		We shared reprieving Hidden Words
		revealed by the Godlike imprisoned
		One, whose crime was truth.

		And I read poems I hoped were true.
		It's like you been there, brother, been there,
		the scarred young lifer said.

					- Robert Hayden

All:  God, we stand before you, naked in body and soul, in need of mercy and
forgiveness.  Once again we commit ourselves to disarming our hearts, to
set aside all that provokes violence, causes division and demeans humanity.
May we be stripped of anything that does not reveal your care and
providence and glory to the world.

Sixth station

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Colorado Springs Medical Center

First voice - The upright will ask: Lord, when did we see you hungry and
	give you food, thirsty and give you drink?  When did we see you
	sick and visit you? (Matthew 25.37-40)

Second voice - We remember Veronica wiped the suffering, sweaty face of
	Jesus and we live in a country where 37 million people do not have
	access to health care, two million chronically ill Americans cannot
	purchase health insurance, and 20 to 40 million Americans are
	hungry.

All sing (just these words):  "God Bless America"

Third voice - Imagine a country with the world's richest economy that has
	more children die before their first birthday than 23 other nations;
	where the black infant mortality rate is twice that of whites; a
	country ranked behind 14 other countries in life expectancies; and
	a country which is one of only two industrialized countries that
	does not offer basic health care to all its citizens.

All sing:  "God Bless America"

First voice - Imagine a country that leads the world in rapes, and where
	violence is women's #1 health risk; where violence is a young
	black man's #1 death risk.

All sing:  "God Bless America"

Second voice -  Oh God of Veronica and compassionate people everywhere,
	enlighten our minds that we might see health care as a basic human
	right; that we might stockpile medicines rather than weapons, and
	guard people's health rather than our turf.

All sing:  "God Bless America"

Fifth station

Simon helps Jesus carry the cross
U.S. Post Office

First voice - When they led Jesus away they seized Simon of Cyrene, who
was coming in from the fields, and laid the cross on him, to carry it
behind Jesus.  (Luke 23.26-27)

Second voice - With Simon we are pressed into service on behalf of others.
Massive human need cries out for Simons of Cyrene.  Do we shoulder the
cross of the devastated Somalian people, or did we construct it?  Is our
bread for the hungry of Somalia distributed by military Simons of Cyrene
a work of mercy or retribution?  Did we not sell the war lords the guns and
put them in power?

Third voice -  Why do we jump at the chance to carry the cross of suffering,
hunger and death for the people of Ethopia, Bosnia, Cambodia and
Afganistan, but not Haiti, not Havana, not Honduras?  Are they too close
for our interests?

First voice - We must admit of racist policy in turning away desperate
refugees.  We admit our own seeds of ethnic cleansing on our streets, on
our reservations.

Second voice - God of the people of color: Give us courage to resist even the
smallest discriminations in the attitudes of our hearts.  With your light,
scorch the seeds of genocide which grow in our silence and our secrecy.

All sing (twice): What so ever you do, to the least of my people,
	that you do unto me.

	On Good Friday, I participated in the eighth "Way of the Cross/Way
of Justice" observance held in Colorado Springs.  (It was actually my fourth
time to participate in the event.  I do not participate every year.)

	The Way of the Cross/Way of Justice was planned this year by the
7 Christians listed in Note 91.2783, and has been annually sponsored by
the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission (Note 66.23).  About 60 persons
partook this year.  The following 15 entries are taken directly from the
program that each participant was provided with at the outset of the 3 hour
walk.  Different people took the role of the voices at each station of
the cross.  For example, I was the "First voice" for the first station
and a part of the "All" for the rest of the walk.

	The event each year does make connections between the crucifixion
of Christ and modern urban and global conditions.  It places significant
responsibility on the actions and choices of Christians, both individually
and corporately.

	As a bit of side note, a photo appeared in the Saturday issue of
the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph of Friday's event.  There I was, right
in the shadow of the cross.  'Suppose it means something? ;-)

Peace,
Richard

Way of the Cross/Way of Justice 1994, Colorado Springs

                                 Presenters:
1. Jesus is condemned to death - First Strike Theatre Troupe
   ===========================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in those who suffer persecution
for the sake of their conscience and their radical adherence to the Gospel.

2. Jesus accepts his cross - Dignity
   =======================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in those who suffer rejection
and violence, and in those who suffer fear and ignorance because of prejudice.

3. Jesus falls the first time - First Congregational Church (UCC)
   ==========================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in those who are rejected and
discounted because of their class or social standing.

4. Jesus meets his mother - Benedictine Sisters
   ======================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in women who are marginalized
simply because they are women.

5. Simon helps carry the cross - Holy Cross Associates
   ===========================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today because of our apathy.

6. Jesus falls the second time - SET
   ===========================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today with those the powerful ones
have deemed dispensable.

7. Jesus meets the women - Women's Commission
   =====================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in victims of domestic violence.

8. Jesus falls the third time - Soup Kitchen
   ==========================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in those oppressed by poverty
and joblessness.

9. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus - Southern Colorado AIDS Project
   ================================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in those ignor and left out
because of the skewed priorities of our society.

10. Jesus is stripped of his garments - Holy Cross Novices
    =================================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in those stripped of the dignity
because they lack the necessities of life.

11. Jesus is nailed to the cross - Shove Chapel, Colorado College
    ============================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in those torn by contention
over religion.

12. Jesus dies on the cross - Hispanic Cursillo
    =======================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in those persecuted and condemned
because of their race or ethnic origin.

13. Jesus is taken down from the cross - St. Mary's Young Adults
    ==================================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in alienated youth.

14. Jesus is laid in the tomb - Greccio Housing
    =========================
We stand with Jesus suffering and dying today in those who are homeless.

15. Resurrection - Calvary United Methodist Church
    ============
Jesus has conquered death and lives in His people forever!