As the world recognizes Good Friday and the Easter weekend, churches will see both familiar faces and unfamiliar faces — from families who attend church every Sunday to those who only attend on Christmas and Easter.
Today, most churches are preparing to deliver a sermon on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but Spokane’s Gathering House, 733 W. Garland Ave., wants the community to experience it.
With the help of staff and volunteers, lead pastor Rob Bryceson has designed an immersive self-guided tour to experience Jesus’ sacrifice.
Tonight from 4 – 7 p.m., attendees will be greeted at the door and encouraged to participate in the eight different stations set up throughout the church. As participants walk through the final days of Jesus’ life, they will even have an opportunity to write down their own sins and nail it to the cross.
“This is not a church service,” Bryceson said. “This is a tactile experience that allows you to reflect on Jesus’ life and your own life.”
For its third year, the church has added even more stations to the experience — including a series of videos medically explaining how crucifixion feels and a chance to submit worries to the sacred chest while all the names of Jesus are spoken aloud.
Bryceson’s favorite station allows attendees to smell all of the fragrances mentioned in the Bible. For those willing, volunteers will anoint and pray for attendees with their favorite fragrance.
“As Protestants, we’re used to being put in a chair and have someone talk at you,” he said. “Here, we’re all creative people, so we came up with a way to worship Jesus without just singing and listening to a sermon. This is a way to encounter Jesus through something tactile.”
Bryceson encourages the community to come as they are and at their own time. With darkened windows and Gregorian chant playing softly in the background, the experience is emotional and cleansing for many people. He said some participants stay just for 20 minutes and others stay for the entire three hours.
“Some stations affect people differently,” he said. “But everyone can agree the event is a highly spiritual and emotional experience.”
Open to the entire community, the Good Friday event sees hundreds of attendees of all denominations. Several different churches in the area even encourage their congregation members to attend.
“It is an individual collective,” Bryceson said. “It is the community’s expression of faith. People come after they get off work, and they are inspired by Jesus.”
Every person who attends is encouraged to write or draw on a huge roll of paper displayed in the church after the event. Bryceson said it is the physical display of the spiritual community.
Once attendees are finished with the stations, they are hand stamped with Jesus’ words: “It is finished.”
Despite the large event this evening, Bryceson wants to remind the community the church will still hold a traditional sermon on Easter Sunday.
The church, that celebrates its 130th birthday this year, has experienced huge changes over the last few years — from uprooting their historic building to a modern location in the Garland District to creating a coffee shop that doubles as a rehabilitation job training program.
But passion for people and for Jesus is still at the core of their practice.
“Even if you were just sleeping underneath a bridge last night, you are welcome to our church,” Bryceson said. “Come as you are, and we will meet you there.”
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