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Barnes in Commonthe magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
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The Good Friday procession
Every year on Good Friday morning at half past eleven, a 200-metre-long procession follows silently as a cross is carried from the river up the High Street, past the Pond and St Mary's and on up Castelnau. A patient police presence keeps the Christians safe from impatient drivers, and people on the pavements doing their shopping, walking the dog or having a coffee, either studiously ignore the event, or gaze curiously at their dotty neighbours. A mother was heard last year trying to explain to her child what was going on – actually rather well. "It's because of Jesus. He died on a cross, darling, and these people care about that." This year, it'll happen again on April 14th. A few from each of the Barnes in Common churches will take that quiet, public walk to St Osmund's, say their prayers, sing a hymn and go on their way. They'll do it for themselves, for that mother and child and for the motorists and bus passengers, because of Jesus. It's a silent prayer. It's as simple as that. The Passover sederJanet Falush
I have fond memories from my childhood when the annual Passover seder at my grandmother's flat was a wonderful treat, with all my aunts, uncles and cousins around the table and the jokes repeated each year when we got to the misprints in our Haggadah. This, literally "The Telling", celebrates the liberation of the Jews from Egypt. Passover, Pesach in Hebrew, is the festival celebrated by most Jews the world over, whether or not they are religious. Different traditions have grown up in different communities, but they are all based on the traditional Haggadah, laid out 2000 years ago, which tells the story of the Exodus. It is told in answer to a question asked by the youngest child present, which begins, "Wherefore is this night different to all other nights?" Orthodox families will keep to the traditional text, all in Hebrew, which includes interpretations by learned rabbis. Others use modern versions and include more English and readings from other writers on the subject of liberation, pointing to the contemporary relevance. All use the plate of ritual foods which includes a shank bone and a roasted egg, to represent the sacrifices which used to be made in the Temple; bitter herbs (if you hear someone asking for horseradish at Two Peas in a Pod you will know why), to represent the hardships of slavery; a green vegetable to represent new growth in spring and matzo the unleavened bread which the Children of Israel baked in their haste when they left Egypt. Observant families will eat no bread, or any other products containing yeast or flour for the following seven days. The ritual includes drinking (or more usually sipping) four glasses of wine (very exciting for the children) lots of songs unique to this festival and, of course, an exceedingly good meal contributed to by the guests. It should be noted that this was not the type of celebration that Jesus would have been involved in (if indeed the Last Supper was a Passover celebration – over which I believe academics are still arguing) as at that time it was the sacrifice of the Pascal lamb which was all important. The other rituals were added after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD when it became a more domestic ceremony. Many synagogues have communal celebrations and non-Jewish guests are
always welcome. |
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