THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS

1
(No Transcript)
2
(No Transcript)
3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS In the form of prayer
known as the Stations of the Cross we have a way
in which we can focus our prayer on the path
Jesus must have taken from his condemnation by
Pontius Pilate to his death and subsequent
burial. Fourteen particular moments or incidents
or stations on the route are selected. Some of
them are known to us from the Gospels, for
instance, when Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
(Luke 2327-31), whilst some come to us from the
practice of the first Christian pilgrims to the
Holy Land and traditional accounts of the way to
the cross., for instance, when Jesus meets with
Veronica. The Stations can be used either for
personal private prayer or as a corporate act of
prayer a church service. On some occasions
there may be singing. Sometimes servers may be
asked to add the use of a cross and candles to
the service. It is a very adaptable form of
prayer and worship. And, if wished, the prayer
can focus on intercession or on penitence or on
meditation, or on some other aspect of our
relationship with God. The origin of the
Stations probably dates back to early pilgrim
practice (from at least the 380s, fairly soon
after the end of the Roman persecutions,
Christian pilgrims have been going to the Holy
Land) of following the supposed route from
Pilates house to Calvary. When they got home,
perhaps they tried to reproduce a similar form of
prayer and devotion. And then in the late Middle
Ages, not least because pilgrimage to the Holy
Land had become practically impossible, it was
popularised, especially by the Franciscans.
16
At each station we pause for a time and reflect.
It has become customary for sets of Stations to
be put up for permanent display in churches, with
the incidents portrayed, perhaps in stained and
painted glass, or otherwise in sculpture, or, as
in these illustrations, in painting. In Saint
Peters Church in Swinton currently the Stations
are made as a public act of prayer and worship
each month through the year (on the second Friday
of the month at 7.30pm) and then each week during
the season of Lent, as well as at other times. We
are fortunate to have these paintings by Lynn
Howarth as our Stations. In past months I have on
a number of occasions let people know in advance
what the theme of my conduct of the Stations was
to be one month I used texts from Saint Paul
for the meditations whilst in Advent I used texts
from the Old Testament Christians have
traditionally read as prophetic of the passion,
death and burial of Jesus. One month I focused on
the particular details of the way in which Lynn
has depicted the Stations and I found it a most
valuable experience and I hope others may have
been both interested by it and found it useful. I
hope to do this again before too long, and
meanwhile this booklet will help us to appreciate
Lynns depictions even when we are not in Saint
Peters. Fr Jeremy Sheehy
17
The Stations of the Cross
The Church of Saint Peter, Apostle and Martyr
Presented by The Parish of Swinton and Pendlebury
18
Saint Peters Stations of the Cross Some eleven
years ago, Fr. Martyn Griffiths asked Lynn if she
would paint a set of fourteen Stations of the
Cross as a way of celebrating the forth coming
Millennium. This request was accepted by Lynn as
she saw it as a way to combine her love of art
with her love for the Christian faith and to try
to use art as a medium to inspire and influence
all who would care to look at the paintings
whilst in church. The paintings took almost
three years to complete between the years 1998
and 2001. During this period the parish had to
come to terms with the sad loss of Bert Howarth
who by then was Church Warden Emeritus having
previously been church warden from 1988 to
1998. Many of the congregation began to ask if
this collection of fourteen paintings could be
dedicated to the memory of Bert who was Lynns
father in law. And so it was that the paintings
were finally finished and dedicated to Bert
during the 2001 Lent celebrations. This set of
prints is part of a fund raising initiative for
the Parish of St. Peters Church, Swinton.