Friends,
 
Millions of people of faith take Good Friday to navigate the Stations of the Cross as a meditation on humanity and divinity.  For the past two years, Church in the Cliff has transformed public transit into this timeless spiritual practice in the form of DART Stations of the Cross.  Each year, I have taken the lead on this project and, each year, I have had tremendous anxiety about it: Will anyone show up?  Will people get anything out of it?  This year my anxiety was slightly different.
 
After a trip to Spain looking at a lot of art dedicated to the Passion and now a class on the Passion narratives of the Bible, I realize that my greatest anxiety is about the meaning of the Cross for contemporary Christians.  Like many churches today, our church does not emphasize the Cross.  Many of us grew up in traditions that emphasize sin and guilt, suffering and shame, so that the Cross became a vehicle for misery and oppression rather than liberation and hope.  It was about the bad that we had done and the bad that we deserved.  It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that we now focus on things like Communion, with its hospitality and inclusiveness: “All are welcome!” we say.  However, through my studies I have become convinced that being a Christian must take account of the Cross, even if to purposefully reject it.
 
So, this year, I’m asking you to teach me.  Tell me what the Cross means to you.  How is it a live symbol for you?  How do you think about it?  What form does your devotion take?  Where do you see God in it?
 
Specifically, I’m asking people to submit meditations and art related to the Stations of the Cross, which I will curate.  The selections will be printed on prayer cards and given to our pilgrims on Good Friday.  Those that are not used may appear in other venues, such as our Web site or Twitter feed.  We will only be able to use one meditation and one piece of art for each Station.
 
The nitty-gritty: The meditations need to fit on a 4x6 postcard, which means a maximum of 150 words of prose or 20 lines of poetry with 10-12 words on each.  Art can be in any medium, but must conform to those dimensions.  That is, we need a camera-ready photo of the work that conforms to a 4x6 space.  Also, bear in mind the small size of the card when considering the level of detail of a larger piece.  (See below for a listing of Stations.)  Please submit digital materials to sshirley999@yahoo.com by April 8, 2011.
 
I look forward to seeing what you come up with.  I pray that it is a time of reflection for you and a space in which you meet God.
 
Thank you,
 
Scott Shirley
Church in the Cliff
 
DART Stations of the Cross
 

1. Jesus is condemned to death. (Mockingbird)
2. Jesus takes up his cross.  (Cityplace)
3. Jesus falls for the first time.  (Pearl)
4. Jesus meets his mother.  (St. Paul)
5. Simon of Cyrene carries the cross.  (Akard)
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.  (West End)
7. Jesus falls for the second time.  (Union)
8. Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem.  (Convention Center)
9. Jesus falls for the third time.  (Cedars)
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments.  (8^th & Corinth)
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross.  (Dallas Zoo)
12. Jesus dies on the cross.  (Tyler/Vernon)
13. Jesus body is removed from the cross.  (Hampton)
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.  (Westmoreland)