Inner city street prayer - Back Burner - 24th Annual Outdoor Way of the Cross in Edmonton Alberta

Good Friday in Edmonton began as a gray morning that turned cold, rainy and windy. That didn't stop over a thousand people from walking the 24th Annual Outdoor Way of the Cross. It's an ecumenical prayer gathering that connects us with the signs of struggle and hope in the inner city and the world. Different groups volunteer to prepare the readings, reflections and prayers to reflect the chosen theme for each year. This year's theme was "Creating Home in a World of Fear."

Members of the Ukrainian Eparchy led the second station, "War Destroys Home." They told us stories of their ancestors and why they left the Ukraine. They told us how their adopted land of Canada treated them during the First World War and sent many to internment camps. They linked their stories to those of Aboriginal people in Northern Alberta who are losing their lands to oil and forestry developments. They took us full circle to the loss of homes clue to bombing in Iraq. We left that station singing an old favourite, The Prayer of St. Francis. A woman got out of her car and prayed silently with us as the huge crowd passed her.

When we paused for the third station at a local school, we listened to young Canadians of Salvadoran descent reflect on "Where is home in a materialistic world?" I remembered their parents leading reflections in years past, speaking English in accented tones and singing songs in Spanish. Their children now are the leaders, speaking from their own experiences of growing up in Canada and questioning the society they live in. Yet, they also held high a big poster of Oscar Romero, a reminder of what their parents endured and the reasons why they were exiled to Canada.

The Development and Peace Committee, one of the originators of the walk, led the prayers at a renovated house that is part of the Central Edmonton Community Land Trust. The Land Trust owns the land and people with low incomes purchase the houses on a "rent to own" basis at an affordable price. As I listened to the reflection, I noted that those representing Development and Peace were of several different races and a mix of ages. I celebrated this sign of growth and sustainability.

My husband and I have missed but one walk in those 24 years. As we walked familiar streets, we remembered coming before we had children, then carrying them in backpacks and pushing them in strollers. We pictured them as youngsters climbing railings and trees to get a better view.

Over the years, we have worked on different community initiatives in our neighbourhood. We remarked on the changes as we walked along. Some derelict houses are finally gone, new housing projects have been built and more houses acquired by the Land Trust. However, painful realities are still present and there is more work to be done. A young man with no shoes and high on drugs or alcohol stumbled past the crowd as if he didn't see us. A woman serenaded us as she and several men enjoyed an early morning drink by the liquor store. A man slept in a bus shelter as we walked by.

The weather worsened as the walk progressed. The wind whipped tip and flung the cold rain into our faces. Water seeped through our shoes and our jeans became soaked. As the chill seeped into me, I told myself to think about the people who didn't have homes and those who were in refugee camps.

For the last two stations, we stood in a parking lot by the Remand Centre. Many sought shelter under the roof of nearby buildings. We listened to an Aboriginal leader give thanks for water, women and Mother Earth. He drummed and chanted and the wind carried his haunting call to the huddled crowd. The last prayers were for victims of crime and those inside the jail, awaiting court and sentencing. They do not get to feel the wind and rain on their faces.

We made our way home, thankful for this experience of walking along with the hidden Christ, looking for his presence on the streets, and finding traces of his passing along the way.

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