Children got an interactive glimpse Friday of the final hours of Jesus' life.
The Chalice Players youth group at St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave., put on a reenactment of the stations of the cross on Good Friday.
The stations trace Jesus' journey as he carried his cross, was crucified on it and later buried.
"We have different elements of the various stations that make it kind of a touching-tasting experience for the kids," said co-director Alison Lee.
"In the end in the burial scene, we've got scented oils that the kids can come up and dip their fingers in to smell, to get a sense of what the body would have been anointed with."
Audience members moved with the actors from station to station, although the number of stations was lessened in hopes of keeping the younger children's attention longer.
People are also reading…
"We act it out in a way that hopefully they understand, that will touch them and make the story a bit more real as we move through Holy Week and into Easter Sunday," Lee said.
"This was cool," said Mark Gutweiler, who took his 4-year-old son Chase to the event. "It's nice they bring the youth into it. They don't make it all negative."
Lee hopes the performance helps break through society's generalized view of Easter, she said.
"The Easter Bunny and chocolates are definitely fun, but if you're coming at Easter with a Christian sensibility, that can get lost in the whole commercialized aspect of Easter," she said.
"This is a nice way to introduce and to remind young kids that there is more to Easter than immediately meets the eye."
Contact photographer Greg Bryan at gbryan@azstarnet.com or 573-4155.
