‘Gospel alive in the streets’: Good Friday marchers pray for justice in 46th Outdoor Way of the Cross procession
Pictured left: The Outdoor Way of the Cross event is a slow-paced two-hour walk that began and ended at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples on Friday, April 3, 2026. Photo by Shaughn Butts/Postmedia
Hundreds of people marched through Edmonton’s core and prayed for justice in this year’s Outdoor Way of the Cross procession.
It was the 46th year of the Good Friday tradition, and brought people from different churches and faith groups to five locations in the inner-city.
There, speakers talked about current events and issues that reflected this year’s themes of protecting people’s rights and fighting injustice.
Mukluks, boots and sneakers trudged through mud, puddles and slush as participants walked through the city on the chilly foggy morning.
“It makes the gospel alive in the streets,” said Bob McKeon with the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples.
McKeon said while it’s not a replacement for the regular sermons in the church, it’s important for people to get out into the community. He said he’s been attending the march since it’s very first year, and has only missed it two or three times.
McKeon said this year’s theme is rooted in scripture from the Book of Matthew in the Bible.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” McKeon said quoting a passage.
He said the text connects to how in the Bible Jesus was wrongly accused and suffered injustice.
“Thousands of years later, we think of the injustices people are experiencing today,” he said.
At the first station, speakers told the story of Samuel Bird, the 14-year-old boy who was killed and his body hidden, leading to widespread searches in the summer.
Elder Garry Gairdner with Sacred Heart Church recalled the “long season of anguish, uncertainty and relentless searching.”
“Their persistence revealed the quiet powerful hope that every child matters, every Indigenous child matters, that love does not give up,” Gairdner said.
The Outdoor Way of the Cross event is a slow-paced two-hour walk that began and ended at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples on Friday, April 3, 2026. Photos by Shaughn Butts/Postmedia
Maria Kruszewski spoke about giving abundance to those who are less fortunate in front of the new facility for Boyle Street Community Services at the King Thunderbird Centre.
Kruszewski, with the Inner City Pastoral Ministry, then told the story of a young unhoused woman who her pastor had found without most of her clothes, sheltering under a piece of cardboard in the middle of winter.
Kruszewski said how she helped the woman get clothed, got her a hot sweet cup of coffee and how she slept through that day’s sermon after finally getting warm.
“In a province and country as well off as ours, there is no excuse for anyone to be hungry, or naked, or homeless,” Kruszewski said.
Throughout the march, Thomas McKercher helped carry the large wooden cross and kept it standing straight while people spoke. He said it was his ninth year doing the event.
“It’s hollow but it’s heavy. It’s awkward if you were to carry it by yourself,” he said. “The one that Jesus carried was probably solid and a lot heavier.”
By Liam Newbigging
Published on the Edmonton Journal website
