Good Friday brought the renewal of a downtown Aiken tradition, with Saint Mary Help of Christians Church having its youth group offer its annual Stations of the Cross presentation.
Wyatt Garrett, a South Aiken High School senior, had the lead role this year, portraying Jesus, whose arrest, trial, execution and burial were depicted in the re-enactment, with costumes, prayer, Bible readings, music and live action in the mix.
It turned out to be a family affair for the Garretts, as Wyatt's younger brother, Owen, a South Aiken High freshman, handled the role of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who played a central role in the trial.
The presentation begins in the original St. Mary's Church, on Park Avenue, and heads next door to the Aiken County Judicial Center and eventually turns and ends in the median in front of the church.
Joan LaBone, leader of the church's youth group, described the presentation as "prayer acted out" and said this particular Good Friday tradition at St. Mary's dates back at least to 2005.
"It was smaller this year, because this is Masters Week, so a lot of the kids are gone," she said, noting that the 2023 event had about 20 students on board, from elementary through high school.
"They volunteer," LaBone said, "and some of them don't want to read and so they're the ones that act ... Generally, the oldest kids always play the roles of Jesus, Mary and the centurions." Preparations began about six weeks ago, with the start of Lent, she said.
Mead Hall senior Maria Reyes had a major role in this year's event, portraying Mary, Jesus' mother. The afternoon gathering, she said, was "a physical manifestation of what we're doing to remember Holy Week and Good Friday, specifically."
It's extremely familiar territory for some students, including Joey Webster, a sophomore at Town Creek Christian Academy. He noted that he first came on board as a third-grader. His roles along the way included those of a centurion and that of Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, and this time around, he portrayed John, another disciple.
Kayleen Sharp, one of the adult leaders, noted, "Our parishioners love it, so it's one of the highlights of the season, so we typically do about the same thing. We just choose different youth group members to play each role."
