Trinity Tweens Lead Palm Sunday Pilgrimage

Palm Sunday is a collision of emotions as “Hosannas” give way to “Crucify Him,” with the journey between those two extremes being the subject of many a sermon and Bible study lesson. This past Sunday, tween parishioners led us on this journey, with theatrical storytelling across seven stations, a “pilgrimage” from the church to the churchyard to Trinity Commons, and back again, bringing scenes from the Passion story to life for family and friends.

Station One: Jesus Goes to Jerusalem

Starting at the Chapel of All Saints, participants waved palm branches and called out “Hosanna!” while Margaret (as Narrator) and Hannah (as Jesus) discussed the merits of using a small young donkey as a transportation method. “If I ride on a donkey, people will know that I am coming to bring peace.”

Station Two: The Money Changers

The gathering moved along the bridge between the church and Trinity Commons, then down to the Lower Lobby, where a table welcomed the group to the imagined exterior of the Great Temple in Jerusalem.  Hannah (as Jesus) whisked the money off the table. “Don’t you know? This is God’s House. It should be a place where everyone comes to pray. But you are making it a den of robbers!”

Station Three: The Last Supper

Up the stairs to another floor of the Commons, the group reenacted the Last Supper. With the words used each Sunday at Communion, the group heard Hannah (as Jesus) offer, “Take, eat. This is my body,” and “Drink, all of you, and remember God’s love.”

Station Four: In the Garden

Crossing the bridge once again back to the Trinity Churchyard, the group entered the “Garden of Gethsemane” while singing the song, “Jesus Remember Me” led by flutist Melissa Baker, whose daughter Lyla was also in the production. Gathered on and around a blanket in the grass, the group relived Jesus praying, pulling in close to him until Eleanor (as Judas) betrayed Hannah (as Jesus) with a kiss on the forehead.

Station Five: Arrest and Trial

Meanwhile, back along the bridge and over to the Mezzanine stairs, soldiers arrived to arrest Hannah (as Jesus). Jesus’s followers ran away, and it was time to face Caiaphas, the high priest, and Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. Eerily the children set the stage with cries to “Crucify him!” Ngozi as Pontius Pilate asked, “What has he done wrong?” but conceded to the crucification as the roar of the crowd grew louder. On the sidelines, Jovie (as Peter) denied knowing Jesus, shouting “No! I don’t know him!”

Station Six: Death of Jesus

The stairs connecting the upper and lower lobbies in Trinity Commons served as Calvary, with Margaret (as the Narrator), announcing it as “Golgotha, also called the Place of the Skulls, where they put Hannah/Jesus on a cross between two thieves.” Hannah shared some of Jesus’s final words: “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”

Station Seven: Burial of Jesus

In closing, Hannah (as Jesus) solemnly left the staged hill in silence, with all eyes on the procession. It was finished. And, all the participants were able to experience the weight of this moment for themselves.