Ambassadors for Christ recall his suffering

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Ambassadors for Christ gathered at noon Friday for its eighth annual Good Friday journey with the cross.

Participants walked along in song and prayer with each person having a chance to carry the cross.

The group also stopped along the way at street corners for Stations of the Cross prayers.

The nearly five-mile journey commemorates what Christian scripture describes as the difficult and painful walk Jesus was forced to take to the site of his crucifixion, carrying the heavy cross on his back, and his sacrificial death to atone for the sins of humankind. According to the Christian Gospels, the walk, and Christ's subsequent death, occurred on a Friday, and was followed two days later by his resurrection.

Ambassadors for Christ began their walk at We Walk by Faith Bible Church, 1636 Himrod Ave., and followed Oak Street toward downtown Youngstown, then turned left onto Wick Avenue, left onto East Federal Street, over the bridge to Wilson Avenue and concluded at St. Stephen of Hungary Catholic Church, 854 Wilson Ave.

Ambassadors for Christ is an organization of six churches on Youngstown’s East Side. Member churches are Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist, Mount Zion Baptist, St. James Church of God in Christ, St. John African Methodist Episcopal, St. Stephen of Hungary and We Walk by Faith.