As we move closer to Easter Sunday, many churches are preparing for virtual masses to commemorate the holiday. On Good Friday, several pastors kept with their annual traditions, with some coronavirus-inspired modifications.
In Tavernier, Pastor Marlin Simon of Spirit & Truth Ministries carried the wooden cross for the 34th time as part of the annual “Cross Walk.” Participants donning masks and hand sanitizer maintained social distance as they trekked from the church at MM 89.6 to Tavernier Towne at MM 91.4, before turning around and returning to Spirit & Ministries.
The Weekly spoke with Simon, 81, about the annual Cross Walk and how it all began in a one-on-one interview last year. Simon is a Keys resident of 60 years and pastor of 33 years at Spirit and Truth Ministries on Plantation Key.
In 1965, Simon said, he witnessed Arthur Blessit walking with a cross in the Keys. Blessit is a Christian preacher who has walked all over the U.S. as well as Central America and South America. It was Blessit who jump-started people to walk with the cross, Simon said.
In Marathon, Rev. Larry White undertook the “cross walk” alone on Good Friday, April 10 along Overseas Highway in Marathon. Rev. White leads the St. Paul AME church and has been carrying the cross for many years now, usually with a group of parishioners. In 2020, he undertook the walk alone while broadcasting his message on an iPhone.
