Holy Week calls forth the faithful of Good Shepherd Community in Fort Myers, Florida as it does throughout the world. With tremendous love and passion our people, poor, once homeless, and some still homeless along with persons who support us from various local Catholic parishes, and other Christian denominations, including Lamb of God Lutheran-Episcopal Church, walk together from Palm Sunday through Easter.
These pictures show us blessing the palms outside on Palm Sunday before processing into the House Church where we worship on one side and where up to five homeless individuals live as they make the transition from homelessness on the other side.
It shows our people outside in the local park walking the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. We pray in front of the Hospital where we lost six of our homeless people this year. On the Cross are petitions written by our people and nailed to the Cross with Jesus. With the fifteenth Station we all rise again with Jesus and say "We rise, we rise!" Then we proceed to the Church for our Good Friday worship.
On Easter this year we also had three baptisms-of a Grandmother and two of her grand daughters. So our Easter celebration was doubly full of joy this year!
Each week in the Easter Octave we say: Jesus is risen and I rise. We are filled with new life as we anticipate the refreshment of the Holy Spirit and pray that we may be a serving church.
Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP
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