A Good Friday Resurrection

When vandals struck, things looked bleak for the organisers of the annual Good Friday Act of Witness in Sturminster Newton.

When Canon David Seymour, the Vicar of Sturminster Newton, arrived in the Town Square early on Good Friday morning, he found an unpleasant surprise. The large, oak wooden Cross that always stands in the town centre for Holy Week and Easter lay on the tarmac broken in two.

“Naturally I was deeply distressed that a sign that means so much to so many people in Sturminster Newton had been spoiled by an act of needless vandalism,” David commented. Members of the community were united in their feelings of shock and sadness.

Members of local churches were due to gather at noon for their annual Act of Witness on Good Friday. Thanks to the skills of Wendy, David’s wife, the service went ahead as planned, with the Cross in place. Wendy is a trained carpenter and joiner, and she spent the two hours before the service mending the Cross.

Neighbours persuaded her to leave the clamps in as a sign of the Cross’ brokenness.

“You can break the Cross, but you can’t break the Spirit”, was how Wendy summed the events up.