JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In the Villa San Jose neighborhood in Jacksonville, just north of Baymeadows Road on the Southside, families have found a new way to provide hope in the Easter season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In honor of Good Friday, they created their own Stations of the Cross to place in their front yards. Catholics typically go to their local parishes to go through the 14 Stations of the Cross, which represent the 'Passion,' death and burial of Jesus Christ. Due to social distancing guidelines, they had to find their own way to keep the tradition alive.
Michael Rainka has a display in his front yard.
"We are station number 12, 'Jesus dies on the cross'," said Rainka.
From 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Friday, Rainka said they had already seen at least 75 people come through and it wasn't slowing down. He said some families would come through and say 'thank you' on their way through, others would reverently pray at each station and some would live behind mementos, like small crosses.
"There are signs around the neighborhood pointing people in the right directions and the first house has a little booklet with pictures. It's about seven or eight pages long It has each of the stations with a brief outline and easy to follow along information," said Rainka.
Rainka said they all started to set up around 6 p.m. Thursday. Due to the higher outcome of people than they expected, they plan to leave the stations out throughout Easter weekend.
Despite being stuck at home, Rainka said this time of 'quarantine' has introduced new friendships with families in nearby homes, giving them the opportunity to express their faith in a more unified way.
"We've met a lot of neighbors we normally wouldn’t have met, people a good half a mile away who we normally wouldn’t have a chance to talk to or see, so it really brought our neighborhood together," he said. "The response has been amazing. It’s nothing we've really been expecting."
He said they've been out in their front yard, with their 4-year-old son, watching groups of complete strangers walk from home to home looking at the different stations and it reminds them they aren't going through this alone.
He invites anyone in the community to come and take advantage of their displays.
"It brings home the point that we are in this thing together. It’s not just one of us, it’s everyone. It feels good to have something up in the neighborhood for other people to come by. They can still keep their distance," he said. "Easter is a time when most people celebrate with their families. Usually, it's a week-long of different things, obviously, this year is going to be different, but at least it gives people a chance to get out of the house and practice their faith in a somewhat unorthodox manner, it makes me feel good."
