About 60 gather to commemorate sacrifice

Mele Veituna, of Cromwell, carries a cross on Good Friday, during the Cromwell Combined Churches’...
Mele Veituna, of Cromwell, carries a cross on Good Friday, during the Cromwell Combined Churches’ Walk of the Cross. PHOTOS: RUBY SHAW
People of all denominations gathered in Cromwell last week to celebrate one of the most significant day’s in the Christian calendar.

The Walk of the Cross is an annual event organised by churches across Cromwell, held every Good Friday.

About 60 people walked through Cromwell, taking turns to carry the cross and listen to scripture readings along the way.

The walk finished at St Andrew’s Church — Cromwell’s Anglican church, which organised this year’s Walk of the Cross.

Retired Anglican priest Barry Entwisle, of Cromwell, said the combined churches had been marking Good Friday together for about 20 years.

Dunedin siblings Will, 18, and Clara Stevens, 10, rest with a cross while listening to scripture...
Dunedin siblings Will, 18, and Clara Stevens, 10, rest with a cross while listening to scripture during the Walk of the Cross in Cromwell, on Good Friday.
"It’s a lovely occasion and a perfect day," he said.

Despite conducting their worship in different ways, churchgoers were still "one family" and it was fitting to commemorate the day together, he said.

Cromwell resident Mele Veituna said it was wonderful to be part of the service and she enjoyed how it was conducted.

"It’s a blessing," she said.

The Anglican Bishop of Dunedin, Steven Benford, took part in the walk and said while people might worship in different ways, love of Christ was a common foundation across the different denominations.

The re-enactment was to symbolise Christ’s carrying of the cross to the site of his crucifixion, which Christians mark on Good Friday.