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Christians walk together on Good Friday

Two people carry a large wooden cross on a sidewalk outside a church while others follow behind.
St. Barnabas, Chester parishioners carry the cross into St. Barnabas with the Rev. Louise Dightam (centre) for the final stations of the cross.
 on May 30, 2025
Photography: 
Helen Taylor

For more than 25 years, St. Barnabas, Chester on Danforth Avenue in Toronto has joined with local churches for a Good Friday walk. This year, 210 people of varying denominations walked about one kilometre along the Danforth, taking turns carrying a large wooden cross.

The walk carried the participants through the stations of the cross, beginning inside Riverdale Presbyterian Church, and then stopping inside Holy Name Roman Catholic Church, the Danforth Church and East End United Church, ending at St. Barnabas for the last stations and meditation on the cross. Inside each church, participants worshipped with readings, reflection, prayers and hymns. While they travelled from one church to another, they sang “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

“It was very meaningful to all worship together in each church, and to walk alongside fellow Christians on the way, ” said the Rev. Louise Dightam, priest-in-charge at St. Barnabas. “It was also heartening to see how the churches worked together on planning the walk, with one church preparing the bulletin, another repairing the large wooden cross, another storing it for the next year and we Anglicans providing the posters and social media content, as well as hosting a simple reception at the end.”