Thank you to all the artists who generously allowed the use of their words for the Stations posters trail in 2024. Posters were up during Holy Week, from Monday 25 March through to Saturday 30 March. Good Friday in 2024 was 29 March.
This year, during Holy Week, we presented a contemporary trail that follows pilgrim footpaths. Stations of the Cross began when early Christians visited Jerusalem, to follow literally in the footsteps of Jesus from Pilate’s house to Calvary. They would pause for prayer and devotion along the route. Those pilgrims brought the practice home with them. Many Christians of differing traditions have used this form of devotion since then.
THANK YOU to all the artists who have provided works to make this trail happen.
You could use this as a devotional walk during Holy Week. If you have no particular faith we hope you may find something that gives you pause for reflection on your own humanity and spirituality. The full list of locations is below. If you’re inspired to find out more, you can find additional resources here.
Jump to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
The fourteen stations traditionally represent these moments:
1 Jesus is condemned to death.
Find this at 104 The Avenue. Artist: Gisela Langsdorff – Mark 15:14-15
A show trial, surely. A crowd demanding their own kind of justice. Have you ever been accused unfairly? How did you feel? The Post Office scandal showed us clearly and recently how unfair trials ruined the lives of the wrongly accused. Injustice is infuriating. What makes you angry? Can we shout louder than the accusing crowd, making our point for justice?
2 Jesus takes up his cross.
Find this at the Methodist Church, the Avenue. Artist: Julia Vezza. Mark 15:17-20
“Oh, it’s just a cross I have to bear…” Words of stoicism throughout the centuries remind us that life isn’t always plain sailing. We all carry burdens – some are obvious to others, some live just within our heart. What would you wish to lay down today? What are your fears, hurts, guarded secrets that you long to let go?
3 Jesus falls for the first time
Find this at St Monica’s, De Vere Road. Artist: Debra Weiss. Isaiah 53:3
What trips you up? Maybe there’s something you repeatedly resolve to start or to stop, but then you find it hard to stick to the resolution. Maybe there’s something in your life or work you can’t control that feels like a recurring hurdle, and sometimes you just can’t jump clearly over it. How hard it is to not be in control! How draining is the frustration! How very human it might make us feel.
4 Jesus meets his mother Mary.
Find this on the Co-op noticeboard. Artist: Dirk Paterson. Luke 2:33-34
Parental influence on us is strong. For good or bad, they helped shape who we are, guiding and teaching us through key moments in life. What inheritances are you grateful for? What have you needed to change? If you’re a parent now, what are your hopes and fears?
5 Simon of Cyrene helps carry the cross.
This isn’t part of the trail this year. An alternative image is here. Mark 15:21
Did Simon of Cyrene regret being in the crowd on that day? Did he know what his part was? He was compelled to carry the cross, compelled to help. Not all of us enjoy being helped, fearing threats to our independence. But none of us really live without the help of someone else, seen or unseen. Who has helped you in times of need? Recall those situations now and notice how gratitude makes you feel.
6 Veronica wipes Jesus’ face.
Find this outside Michael’s Estate agent. Artist: Debra Weiss. Lamentations 3:48-50
Wiping away blood, sweat, and tears – a gesture of kindness and care in the midst of suffering. Legend has it that the cloth bore the imprint of Jesus’ face. Small acts of kindness can have long-term consequences – like stones thrown in a pond, waves ripple outwards changing people’s perspectives. Where is kindness needed most? Do you need kindness for yourself by yourself?
7 Jesus falls down for the second time.
Find this at the Congregational Church. Artist: Jonas Lammens. Psalm 55:4-6
What trips you up? Maybe there’s something you repeatedly resolve to start or to stop, but then you find it hard to stick to the resolution. Maybe there’s something in your life or work you can’t control that feels like a recurring hurdle, and sometimes you just can’t jump clearly over it. How hard it is to not be in control! How draining is the frustration! How very human it might make us feel.
8 Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.
Find this outside the William Loveless hall. Artist: Gisela Langsdorff. Luke 23.27-31
Women get a minor written part in the Gospels but if one looks carefully one finds women who financed mission, evangelised and prayed. Patriarchy has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to women’s contributions. What are our blind spots? What do we miss when we think only in stereotypes or headlines?
9 Jesus falls down for the third time.
Find this outside the William Loveless hall. Artist: Janet Driver. Psalm 22:1
What trips you up? Maybe there’s something you repeatedly resolve to start or to stop, but then you find it hard to stick to the resolution. Maybe there’s something in your life or work you can’t control that feels like a recurring hurdle, and sometimes you just can’t jump clearly over it. How hard it is to not be in control! How draining is the frustration! How very human it might make us feel.
10 Jesus is stripped of his clothing.
Find this at 100, High Street. Artist: Robert Mason. John 19:23-24
Nakedness means vulnerability. Clothes show the world who we want to be. Nakedness shows us to be just another human being. Do you have people with whom you can be vulnerable, to show your true self in all its human messiness? Does the idea of vulnerability cause you anxiety? The kind of honesty we get when we are able to be vulnerable is the bedrock of connection in relationships. With whom might you need to be metaphorically naked?
11 Jesus is nailed to the cross.
Find this at the Wyvern Stores. Artist: Sara Batts-Neale John 19:16-19,25
Pain and cruelty are still part of life today. Ongoing war and conflicts – where we see the casualties not as people but as numbers – feature in our headlines. Indiscriminate explosions coupled with deliberate one-to-one violence hurt nameless others. Why do we have such capacity for hate? How can we work on ourselves and our communities to find love, not fear; to include, not exclude; to listen, not ignore?
12 Jesus dies on the cross.
Find this at Wivenhoe Bookshop. Artist: Jacquie Boyd. Matthew 27:45-46;50;54
Death is final. Death is the final separation from those we love and grief can tear us apart. We never really get over it – we just live life differently, accommodating the loss gradually as grief becomes familiar. We learn to offer ourselves compassion for the journey ahead. Has bereavement been part of your life? Have compassion on yourself in your loss. We can’t make it easier; can’t make it go away. But the cliché is true – we only grieve because we loved, and our love does not stop at death.
13 Jesus’ body is removed from the cross.
This isn’t part of the trail this year. Find a related image here. John 19:38-40
Our real, fleshy, living bodies are amazing – the intricacies of intertwined systems that just make the body work are things of wonder. Each bit of each one of us matters and has a function to perform. Where, in that, is our soul and consciousness? Where is the bit that makes us Us?
14 Jesus’ body is placed in the tomb.
Find this at St Mary’s Church. Artist: Michael Fletcher . John 19:41-42.
The last dignity we are offered is a careful handling of that which we no longer need when we have died. Our old cemetery records the life and death of people long past, resting in a place of nature and tranquillity. A grave holds the place we can be to remember our loss, laugh at shared memories, be alone in our grief. Where are your special places? Where are your memories held?
stmaryswivenhoe 