For more than 40 years, St. Joseph the Worker has played host to a Living Stations of the Cross Service. Open to the public and people of all faiths, this year’s event is at 7 p.m. March 13 and 15. The 45-minute program is designed for audience members ages 6 and up.
Director Cindi Scheffler works with Barry Shay, director of high school Catechism, and 60-100 ninth graders to bring the depiction of Christ’s death to the stage.
While the story remains the same, the years have brought change to the production. “The prayer service started in the old church with no costumes, lighting or music,” Scheffler says. “It has since moved to the main church [in the round] and has grown to include beautiful music, costumes, fiery staging and more.”
The performance includes meditative prayers, following each station. “It has become a tradition for many families, who attend regularly and who’ve included it in their Lenten/Easter season,” Scheffler says.
Scheffler shares that the experience can have a personal and spiritual effect on audience members, and she counts herself as one who has been impacted. After some losses in her family, “To live at the foot of the Cross had a profound effect on me,” she says. “We have also had students over the years that have been so affected by this service that they followed the call to seminary,” she says. “It’s a great way to teach the Passion of Christ to early teens, to see them work hard for the benefit of the church community.”
