Join the Diakonia Council of Churches Ecumenical Good Friday Service
The Good Friday Service is organised by the Diakonia Council of Churches and the Denis Hurley Centre, and together with other churches, they will be running a ‘virtual pilgrimage’ for seven weeks after the service.
THE Diakonia Council of Churches is calling people of faith to its annual ecumenical Good Friday Service in front of the Durban City Hall, on Friday, March 29, starting at 06:00.
Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, is the day on which Christians annually observe the commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is the most solemn day of the Christian calendar.
Since 1985, the Diakonia Council of Churches has called Christians together on Good Friday to celebrate the central mystery of their faith – The Passion – which (in a Christian context), in essence, refers to the short final period of the life of Jesus Christ.
Each year, the service highlights a particular aspect of national suffering or injustice. This year, the theme is ‘Challenging Indifference’ – indifference to social justice, indifference to faith and indifference to the upcoming elections. The guest preacher is Rev Bulelwa Sihlali Woolley, assistant priest at St Martin’s Anglican Church in Durban North.
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According to Raymond Perrier, director of the Denis Hurley Centre, the service is hosted by the Diakonia Council of Churches, which, this year, is working closely with the Denis Hurley Centre as the centre commemorates 20 years since the death of Archbishop Hurley on February 13, 2004.
“We also celebrate 10 years since the Denis Hurley Centre started, and we mark 30 years of democracy in South Africa,” said Perrier.
This year, the Good Friday Service is supported by eThekwini Municipality as well as by the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Faculty of Arts and Design and a team of volunteers. DUT Drama students will be participating in the Good Friday service this year.
Meditative music by organist Melvin Peters will start at 05:30 on the City Hall steps, whereafter the first part of the service will take place at 06:00.
The initial part of the service takes place in front of the Durban City Hall. This is followed by a silent procession around the City Hall precinct, continuing past the Workshop and the old prison wall, then through the streets of the city and back to the Durban City Hall, while the bells of St Paul’s solemnly toll. The service ends with the flowering of the cross.
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“There will be a police presence as additional security. Entry to the Good Friday Service is free, and all are welcome, with a collection being taken up during the service to support the work of Diakonia. All are welcome to participate in this significant, multilingual Christian Easter service,” said Diakonia’s Reverend Ian Booth.
After Easter, Diakonia and Denis Hurley Centre, with other churches, will be co-ordinating a seven-week ‘virtual pilgrimage’ across the Durban suburbs to prepare us for the elections. This will take the form of weekly online sessions, further unpacking this year’s theme and surrounding the city in prayer between Easter and the elections.
Diakonia is also calling for volunteers to participate in the smooth running of the service. Contact their offices if you can help.
For more info, contact Chundran Chetty at the Diakonia Council of Churches on 031 310 3500 / centremanager@diakonia.org.za.
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