His brother Jake, 8, selected one that read “Iraq.”
“We’re praying for the soldiers serving our country,” Jake said, with a bit of coaching from his mom, who said she wants to expose her four children to social issues.
The seven members of the Kettering family were among the 200 walkers in the 26th annual Holy Week event on Friday, April 2, in downtown Dayton. Sponsored by 26 nonprofit community organizations, the annual event follows the walk of Jesus to his execution on the cross by pairing each of the 14 stations with a current issue of concern. This year issues ranged from the death penalty and the environment to immigration and homophobia.
The prayer service — led by 14 readers from the various organizations — was held in locations that corresponded to each issue. To symbolize the issue of child care, the group gathered at the playground in Cooper Park; for guns, they stopped in front of a pawn shop with a “guns” sign in the window. Prayers for Haiti were recited in front of Cachet G., a shop that sells goods from around the world.
At the same time the activist group was gathering at Courthouse Square, about 70 members of seven Springboro churches were joining together for a more traditional Good Friday Cross Walk that began at Springboro’s St. Francis Episcopal Church and ended at Springboro United Church of Christ.
“It’s great that we can be unified on a thing like this,” said Pastor Wayne Botkin, whose South Campus United Methodist Church was new to the event.
At the end of the half-mile walk, congregation members were invited to drive a nail into a small wooden cross, symbolizing Jesus’ crucifixion for the sins of each human individual.
Betty Redmond of Springboro said that ceremony was among the most moving parts of the walk.
“It helps you to understand what happened two thousand years ago, and to recognize that you are a part of that process.”
Contact this reporter at
(937) 225-2440 or MMoss
@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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