The Stations of the Cross are a preferred and significant strategy to journey by means of Lent and Holy Week, and we’ve got created instruments that you should utilize to create a digital Stations of the Cross expertise on your group. Learn more and order here.
We at the moment are in our second Lent and Easter season amid a world pandemic. Pastors and church leaders now have a yr’s value of expertise doing digital ministry. And but, there’s nonetheless a problem to stroll by means of Christmas, Lent, and Easter when folks in religion communities have such robust connections with the liturgical seasons.
Final yr we requested the Illustrated Ministry Community Facebook Group what they most wanted from us for Lent. The most well-liked request was for household devotional assets for Lent (which we already create, in order that labored out properly!). The second hottest request was for a “digital Stations of the Cross.”
Illustrated Ministry has a wide range of assets for the Stations of the Cross. Over time, hundreds of church buildings, colleges, and communities have used our Stations of the Cross Coloring Posters, Coloring Pages, and Devotional Information. You may try these three merchandise under:
We attempt to hearken to our clients and supply them what they’re searching for, so we began dreaming up what a digital Stations of the Cross may appear to be.
Digital Stations of the Cross
Our Stations of the Cross Worship Videos offer you the whole lot it is advisable create a significant Stations of the Cross prayer and worship expertise. You may create a digital Stations of the Cross expertise this yr, however it’s also possible to use it sooner or later for in-person worship gatherings, Good Friday companies, or retreats targeted on the Stations of the Cross.
These Stations of the Cross are based mostly on the 14 Scriptural Stations of the Cross, which Pope John Paul II launched on Good Friday in 1991. They’re offered as a substitute for the standard stations and as a method of reflecting extra deeply on the Scriptural accounts of Christ’s ardour. We have now added a fifteenth Station, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which you’ll need to save for Easter or omit altogether.
Whenever you order our Stations of the Cross Worship Videos, you’ll obtain the next:
- Liturgical Script: This script guides members by means of this digital expertise and accompanies the movies. You may learn the script whereas exhibiting the movies in a dwell (in-person or digital) worship service. You may also use the script to create a voice-over (learn by one particular person or many various voices) so as to add to the movies.
- Worship Movies: These 15 movies function the full-color Illustrated Ministry Stations of the Cross illustrations with music, sound results, on-screen scripture, and prompts that instantly tie in with the supplied liturgical script. We embrace 15 movies for the fifteen Stations (with background music and sound results), and two extra movies that embrace solely the sound results (in case you wished so as to add your individual background music in, however nonetheless wished the sound results). In the event you use the movies for all 15 Stations, your service will run for about 45 minutes.
- Stations of the Cross Reflection Booklet: This booklet is designed as an add-on to accompany the digital expertise. It features a modified model of the script, with extra area to put in writing notes and replicate. You can provide the booklet to members to counterpoint their expertise of the digital Stations of the Cross. Nonetheless, you don’t want to make use of the booklet on your digital Stations of the Cross to be a significant expertise.
- Media Equipment: We have now included graphics that can assist you promote your digital Stations of the Cross expertise on social media, in emails, and in your web site and publication.
use this useful resource
There are a number of how you would use these worship movies. Listed here are just a few concepts we had in thoughts as we created the Stations of the Cross Worship Videos. We all know, from expertise, pastors in our group are amazingly artistic, and we are able to’t wait to see the entire extra methods they find yourself utilizing this useful resource to create Lenten experiences for his or her communities.
Zoom Good Friday Service
We think about many will determine to make use of these movies throughout a dwell worship service, most probably on Good Friday. To provide you an thought of what that may appear to be, our workforce recorded Station 3 on Zoom, and you’ll watch it under:
This feature permits for probably the most quantity of participation from folks in your group. You may have a number of folks learn the totally different scripture passages from every Station and probably have totally different folks learn the scripts that associate with every Station. In the event you run by means of all fifteen (or 14 Stations, saving the fifteenth Station for Easter morning), this service would run round 45 minutes. Along with having folks undergo a guided expertise of the Stations of the Cross, it’s also possible to present them with the Reflection Booklet, which they might use through the service, and have for extra reflection after the service is completed.
Particular person Prayer Expertise
Another choice for utilizing these worship movies is to take the movies, import all of them into your video modifying software program of selection, and create a customized prayer expertise on your group that might be shared on Fb, used throughout a Zoom worship service, or premiered on YouTube/Vimeo on your group.
You can additionally invite folks out of your group to submit audio recordings of the scripture readings or narrations of the script for various Stations. You can import these voice-overs and use them to create your prayer expertise.
This enables you probably the most flexibility. Whether or not you need one particular person or a number of folks to learn the scripts for every Station, you have got the choice to go both route. You may also select to make use of the background music we offer, or simply reduce out the audio tracks from the movies, and add in your individual background music (maybe music from your individual context and congregation members).
Making a digital Stations of the Cross worship expertise out there on-line on your group permits folks to undergo the expertise at any time when it’s handy for them. You can additionally plan a time to assemble collectively to replicate on their expertise with the Stations of the Cross.
Out of doors Prayer Stroll with QR Codes
Over time, we’ve seen church buildings arrange out of doors prayer walks utilizing our Stations of the Cross illustrations. That chance is a superb choice proper now, because it permits you to create a secure, socially-distanced worship alternative for folks in your group. Beneath is a photograph from one church that has chosen to supply this to their group this yr.
One choice can be to create voice-overs for every of the Stations of the Cross movies, add them to YouTube or Vimeo, after which create QR codes that may direct members to every of the movies and guided reflections. Whether or not or not you utilize the full-color poster illustrations (as seen within the above photographs), you would create a strolling prayer expertise for folks to expertise all through Lent, particularly throughout Holy Week, as they bear in mind Jesus’ dying and put together for his resurrection.
Why it is best to use this useful resource to create a Digital Stations of the Cross
Have interaction along with your group in a brand new method
Maybe you’ve by no means used the Stations of the Cross along with your group. This might be an excellent alternative to attempt one thing new along with your congregation.
Certainly one of our editors who reviewed this product wrote the next after studying by means of the script:
“You all have redeemed the Stations of the Cross for me. Thanks for the strong theology, the start with beloved-ness, the great thing about the writing (severely beautiful), and the general pastoral sensitivity the workforce exercised within the creation of this useful resource. It’s pretty, and I might completely use it whereas I’ve been turned off by different shows of the Stations of the Cross prior to now.”
We clearly can’t use this as an official testimonial for the product because it got here from somebody on our workforce. However we nonetheless wished to share it with you as a result of their feedback meant a lot to us and to how we tried to translate the Stations of the Cross for our group.
Recruit volunteers out of your group
As a result of there are such a lot of alternatives to assist lead this Stations of the Cross expertise, it offers an exquisite alternative to contain many various folks in creating this significant prayer and worship expertise. You can invite a number of folks to learn parts of the scripture passages and even the narrated scripts for the Stations. This may be an excellent youth group challenge for Lent. Invite your youth group to work on placing this service collectively and permit it to be a present to your entire church.
Present a number of experiences with one program
Relying on how you find yourself creating and sharing your service, this useful resource might offer you many various touchpoints on your group throughout Lent. If you find yourself making a 45-minute video/service, you would use it for a Good Friday service and share it dwell over Zoom. Nonetheless, you possibly can then make the hyperlink out there for folx in your group who couldn’t watch it dwell, and so they can watch it on-demand.
You can additionally create the movies as standalone Stations and launch them each day on Fb or Instagram (utilizing IGTV), main as much as Easter morning.
