Solemn service revives the way of the cross (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Solemn service revives the way of the cross

1:10pm Thursday 8th April 2010 in

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HUNDREDS of Christian worshippers wound their way through Basingstoke’s town centre for a focal point of the local Easter celebrations.

Around 200 people took part in Good Friday’s Walk of Witness – a largely silent procession that went from the Top of the Town to Castle Square in The Malls.

The event saw leaders and worshippers from the town come together, under the umbrella of the Alliance of Basingstoke Churches, to mark Jesus’s crucifixion before his Easter resurrection.

Andy Taylor, chairman of the Alliance of Basingstoke Churches, told The Gazette: “People treat the crucifixion solemnly because it’s a pretty gruesome thing going up on a cross. But it was for a very good result – the result was transforming for the lives of many.”

The crowd first gathered outside the United Reformed Church in London Street, where they sang two hymns and listened to two readings by Basingstoke’s Street Pastors.

They then set off in pairs, with some carrying small or large crosses, down Wote Street and into Festival Place by the entrance in Festival Square.

The procession then went past early morning shoppers in Festival Place before arriving in Castle Square, where Mr Taylor led more hymns and readings. He also invited people to attach flowers to a wire mesh that covered a wooden cross in the middle of the square, to symbolise that the day of Jesus’ death was positive.

Some worshippers then took up an invitation to eat hot cross buns and coffee at St Michael’s Church Cottage. Fred O’Loughlin, of Froyle Lane, South Warnborough, joined the Walk of Witness for the first time, and said he enjoyed it. He added: “It was quite exciting seeing us all sing together in the middle of a shopping centre – I thought it was quite cool.”

The Vyne, the National Trust property, marked the Easter weekend with face painting and an Easter egg hunt around its grounds. Children had to follow a trail to collect a number of clues before they were rewarded with an Easter egg, courtesy of chocolate giant Cadbury’s.

Nicola Pratt, assistant to the property manager, said: “We had 3,600 here on Easter Sunday, so despite the mixed weather, we haven’t done too badly. It’s good to see the children enjoying themselves.”