A vigil endorsed by the Parkes Ministers Association is planned for a 7.30pm start tomorrow and Friday evenings.
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It will be held at the home of Ian and Marion Unger on the northern side of Parkes.
The Ungers have erected a huge cross on their property which is lit most nights and can be seen from many parts of town.
As vigils go, it will be quite informal - people can come and go as they please.
There may be input by way of personal comment and CDs throughout the hour long vigil.
To get to where the LED lit cross is...leave the Newell Highway opposite the Shell Service Station.
Harwood Street becomes Reymond Street and at the crest, turn right into the ‘Avarest’ to the carpark area.
As a matter of interest, the cross has been lit when good things like Christmas and Easter come around, and tragic events like the cafe siege in Sydney, the plane lost in the Java Sea, and now the loss of 150 people in the plane crash in the French Alps.
For Lent and Easter, there has been the outline of a heart added to the cross - in red LED lighting to indicate God’s love to all.
That is why this week’s vigil theme is ‘The Peace of the Cross.’
After Easter, if approved by Parkes Shire Council, the cross will be lit at night to signify hope and comfort for the living.
The cross is lit up at about 7pm and continues through to sunrise.
This Good Friday, the Combined Churches of Parkes will gather together at 11am for the Stations of the Cross at Cooke Park (in the Anglican Church in Church Street if wet).
In previous years, the Knights of the Southern Cross (from the Catholic Church) have coordinated an Ecumenical Stations of the Cross on Palm/Passion Sunday (the Sunday before Good Friday).
The Parkes Minister’s Association is working together to run this year’s Station of the Cross.
This means that many of the churches are not having a service in their own building on Good Friday but choosing to promote and attend this one combined service.
“Having the Stations in Cooke Park makes it more inviting for others in the community to be involved too”, president of the Minister’s Association Reverend Canon Brett Watterson said.
“The Stations of the Cross has been happening right across the world for centuries and ought to be something out in the community so anyone can join in the spectacle and wonder of the experience,” he said.
“There will be a combination of Bible readings, a small drama group, times of silence and times of singing, it is quite a moving experience,” Canon Brett said.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own fold up chair or blanket to sit on.