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Hundreds join Good Friday marches in Norfolk

2009: Hundreds of Christians across Norfolk joined in walks of witness behind wooden crosses on Good Friday in a show of faith and to highlight the real meaning of Easter.

 

Around 100 Christians processed in silence behind a wooden cross in Downham Market (pictured above), as they reflected on the events of the first Good Friday.  They stopped at various points in the town for a Bible reading, prayer and hymn.  Stops included Tescos, Baker’s Oven and the Town Square.


GBCT Good Friday 003 WEB2Gorleston and Bradwell Churches Together saw around 80 people (right) walk from the Lifeboat Station car park to Magdalen Methodist Church.

Yarmouth Parish Clergy organised a  Silent Witness which started from the St Nicholas Anglican Church in Yarmouth finishing at the market place. On the way around 50 Christians from many denominations joined in and silently walked through the streets carrying a huge and heavy cross.

In Dilham, near North Walsham, the cross procession saw a return to its hey-day following an appeal for more people to join their dwindling band marchers.

Anne Dunne, parochial church council secretary, had expected only seven members of the ageing congregation to attend but was delighted to find a much larger following arrive at the village's Cross Keys pub.

She said: “We had 22 people, including two children in push chairs, and even a dog. We were stretched right out along the road. We were absolutely thrilled to bits.”

In Thetford, Canon Bob Baker said the turnout for the town's walk of witness, which began at the Methodist Church on Tanner Street and ended at St Cuthbert's Church, was one of the best he had seen.

And the King's Lynn Churches Together group turned heads as it walked through the busy town centre. Reverend Neil Harper said it was important to remind people Good Friday was not just another Bank Holiday. He added: “In the middle of a busy day, a block of silence still makes people stop and take notice.”

 

At Sheringham, over 200 walkers trekked up Beeston Bump and Cromer, Dereham and Wymondham saw good turn outs while pilgrims from across the country arrived at the sacred shrine in Walsingham.

 

NorWalk4WebIn Norwich (pictured right) a silent walk from Chapelfield Road Methodist Church to Norwich Cathedral saw 200 people join in and witness nails being hammered into a wooden cross in front of The Forum. Click here for a full report.

In Bury St Edmunds the town's streets became a stage in order to mark Good Friday with a traditional Passion Play.

A number of locations hosted scenes during the performance, before ending in the Abbey Gardens where the crucifixion was staged.

 

., 15/04/2009

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