Stations and Soup

Church of the Redeemer invites all in the community for a Lenten evening of the Stations of the Cross and a soup supper. You do not have to be a member of Redeemer to participate.

We will begin with Stations of the Cross in the nave (upper level) at 6:00 pm. After Stations of the Cross, we will head to the parish hall (lower level) for a simple soup supper and community gathering.

All are welcome to participate fully at Redeemer.

• All races.
• All religions.
• All countries of origin.
• All sexual orientations, including LGBTQ+.
• All genders.

Way of the Cross (Stations of the Cross)

The Way of the Cross is a devotion to the Passion of Christ. It recalls a series of events at the end of Jesus’ life from his condemnation to his burial. The Way of the Cross imitates the practice of visiting the places of Jesus’ Passion in the Holy Land by early Christian pilgrims.

The first stations outside Palestine were built in Bologna in the fifth century. This devotion was encouraged by the Franciscans, and it became common in the fifteenth century.

The number of stations for prayer and meditation in the Way of the Cross has varied, but it typically includes fourteen stations. Each station may have a cross and an artistic representation of the scene.

The Book of Occasional Services includes the following stations in the Way of the Cross:

1. Jesus is condemned to death.
2. Jesus takes up his cross.
3. Jesus falls the first time.
4. Jesus meets his afflicted mother.
5. The cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene
6. A woman wipes the face of Jesus.
7. Jesus falls a second time.
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.
9. Jesus falls a third time.
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments.
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross.
12. Jesus dies on the cross.
13. The body of Jesus is placed in the arms of his mother.
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.

The Book of Occasional Services notes that eight of the stations are based on events that are recorded in the gospels. The remaining six (stations 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 13) are based on inferences from the gospels or pious legends, and can be omitted from the Way of the Cross.

Some have questioned its disassociation of Jesus’ death from his resurrection.

(Description taken from Way of the Cross)