Stations of the Cross Service brings final journey to life | Douglasville Sentinel

Attendees watched as dozens of costumed church members re-enacted Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, followed by his betrayal and abuse by Roman soldiers.

“It let’s me feel how Christ suffered and that gives me a little more understanding of what he went through,” Hector Melara, who has played roles in the church’s previous Stations of the Cross events, said as he watched.

“He died for someone who didn’t even love him. They hated him,” said Melara, who originally is from El Salvador and joined St. Theresa’s when he moved to Douglasville from the Boston area in 2000. “That’s the biggest message.”

Douglasville resident Emmaline Pursley, a member of nearby Douglasville First Methodist Church, said she found the event’s message especially pertinent with the world’s current climate of conflict.

“Jesus was about love, unity and grace,” said Pursley who was attending her first ever Stages of the Cross service. “We sometimes have a hard time finding those things in our country and world today.”

“It’s a good way to bring people back to the root,” he said. “The way the world’s moving us — society — it’s actually teaching us the opposite of what we should be doing.”

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