Since 2006, not long after its inception, the Dallas Area Christian Progressive Alliance has sponsored a walk on Good Friday. The focus may change each year, but the main purpose of the walk is to resurrect Jesus’s teachings on the day of his death. We invite everyone to join us this year and future years on this walk through the center of our city, bearing witness to the needs of our city, state, nation and world to become blessed by feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, giving water to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger/sojourner/alien/immigrant and visiting the prisoners and ensuring all are treated justly.
View video of last year’s Good Friday Walk at our YouTube channel: YouTube.com/dallaschristians .
The 13th Annual Good Friday Walk will be Friday, March 30, 2018. Sign up for the electronic newsletter for updates.
The recent election has ushered in policies that distress many Christians. While Jesus called for inviting in “the foreigner/sojourner/alien” (Mt. 25:31-45), a sentiment found throughout the Bible, immigrants and refugees are being jailed, expelled, and turned away. God’s creation, the Earth, is under threat from human caused climate change and recently proposed policies will increase that threat. While some strides have been made to fulfill Jesus’ mandate to care for the sick, recent proposals may reverse even the moderate gains made. And even though Jesus did not condemn them, LGBTQI people are the target of laws that shame and discriminate.
For the past eleven years, Dallas Christians have participated in a pilgrimage through downtown Dallas to remember Jesus’ teachings on the day of his death. This year’s march, sponsored by the Dallas Area Christian Progressive Alliance, will continue to be a prayerful witness that focuses on the heart of Jesus’ mission—social justice. Along the way, members of clergy and participants engage in reflection on walk themes. This year, the walk will include a prayerful sojourn past First Baptist Church where it’s pastor has advocated policies that exclude not only our immigrant and refugee neighbors, but who misrepresents scripture to exclude our LGBTQI neighbors, as well.
The theme, “For God So Loved the World,” echoing John 3:16, reminds us of the value of God’s creation in all its forms.
The Gospel-based themes that are the focus of this year’s march are: (1) immigrants and refugees and the mandate to invite them in (Matt. 25:31-45); (2) love and justice for our LGBTQI neighbors (Matt. 12:31; Mark 12:30-31; and Luke 10:27); (3) care for creation (John 3:16); and (4) addressing violence (Matt. 5:9).
Walk Route and Stops:
The walk will follow a route west on Main, north on Ervay and southwest on San Jacinto, then south on Griffin to end at Dallas City Hall. When there is construction along the route, the route may be altered.
- The march begins with a gathering at 10:00 am at the Main Street Garden, Main/Commerce at Harwood in downtown Dallas, for a beginning prayer, common commitment to remember Jesus’s teachings as we walk, instructions, and sending.
- The walk continues west on Main Street to Pegasus Plaza, Main at Akard for a reflection on racial injustice at the site where Allen Brooks was lynched in 1910.
- Participants continue west to arrive at the Rosa Parks memorial, Elm at Lamar. There we will engage in quiet reflection, focusing on victims of gun violence.
- The walk follows Griffin south to Belo Garden, Griffin at Main/Commerce. There we will have a symbolic communion table of “repentance,” honoring those who suffer injustice. We will place photos and names on the “table” and consider the words of immigrants and share a prayer from a parent who lost her daughter at Sandy Hook.
If you would like to receive this information as a Word document, please send a request to news@DallasChristians.org.