Following in Christ's footsteps

By Jason Gabak / Special to The Citizen

Friday, March 21, 2008 11:29 PM EDT

AUBURN - The wintry streets of Auburn may be a far cry from the dusty path Christ followed to Golgotha, but Friday morning, Christ's footsteps were followed, in a sense, through downtown Auburn as people gathered for the annual Cayuga County Area Inter-Faith Ministries Cross Walk for the Community.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Dan Elbridge, of St. Luke's United Church of Christ, bears the cross for his 17th year during the Cross Walk for the Community, in downtown Auburn Friday morning.
Inter-Faith Ministries is a group dedicated to the idea of gathering people of all faiths to better serve the

needs of the community, through efforts like the Good Friday Cross Walk.

Led by Deacon John D. Tomandl, the walk has been a staple of Good Friday ecumenical celebrations for more than 20 years in Auburn.

While the walk is very much about following the footsteps of Jesus and contemplating his final hours before the Crucifixion, it is also a time designed to reflect on the needs of the community, as the walk focuses on prayers for the needs of the community, from guidance in government to the needs of the youth and

the elderly.

Tomandl led off the walk from the gazebo in State Street Mall with a reading and a reflective bit of prayer.

“Traditionally there are 14 stations,” Tomandl said. “Fourteen stations to the Lord's salvation. Today we'll be following the modern 12. While we walk, Lord let us reflect on your sacrifice that should be easy today.”

As the walk progressed through downtown, the dark clouds began to part and the sun began to shine down on the procession as it stopped in front of a bank, to pray for financial wisdom, that it be used as a servant not as a master, and the Seward House to pray for world and to encourage leaders of the world to act with compassion and mercy.

About two dozen joined the walk to pray and reflect.

For some this marked their first year participating and they found the experience to be a moving one.

“I'm Catholic,” said Tamara Angotti, of Auburn. “For us this is a very special day, a day to remember, a very

solemn day and a day to celebrate. I thought this would be a good way to show my respect to the Lord for the sacrifice he made.“

Others, like Melissa Morabito, have tried to make the walk a tradition for many years now.

“For me it is a time to reflect on Christ,” Morabito said. “When I'm walking I wonder what the people that followed Christ were thinking. For me it is a time to reflect on that and think about the sacrifice Christ made for all of us. It is a very solemn time for me to think about all of that.”

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