Community Good Friday service April 2
Highland Lakes residents and churches are all invited to a community Good Friday service at 6 p.m. Friday, April 2, at Marble Falls High School's Mustang Stadium, 2101 Mustang Drive. Staff photo by Daniel Clifton
Several Highland Lakes churches are inviting people to come together Friday, April 2, at 6 p.m at Marble Falls High School’s Mustang Stadium for a community Good Friday service to live out Jesus’ prayer before his crucifixion.
“In John 17, Jesus prays for the unity of all believers, and so that the world sees him and his glory by all of us working together,” said the Rev. John Weems of Lake Shores Church of Marble Falls. “This (Good Friday) service is open to all churches and all people. It’s a chance for the entire community to come together and worship.”
The idea for this service actually rose from a community Easter worship last year.
“It came about as a result of last Easter when after (the pandemic started) we all kind of closed our doors and we were staying home,” Weems said. “Several of us thought it would be good to have community Easter service, and it turned out to be such a blessing.”
As last year’s community Easter service wrapped up, the Rev. Matt Netzer of Rockpile Church told other organizers he was already booking Mustang Stadium for a community Good Friday service for 2021.
“This was one of Matt’s ideas,” Weems noted.
Netzer passed away on Jan. 8.
“We were all on board with it but even more so after his death,” Weems added.
While people and churches often gather on Sundays for their own worship services, Weems said he’s noticed how Highland Lakes congregations and individuals live out their faith and Jesus’ call for unity in so many ways. After the October 2018 flood, people came together to help others devastated by the aftermath, even walking alongside them for many months.
Then, during the pandemic, churches came together to provide meals and support people who were struggling. And more recently, during the February winter storm, churches and individuals helped make meals and deliver them.
“We may worship in different churches on Sunday, but we all worship the same God, and we all serve others to glorify his name,” Weems added. “A service like this is important, especially in the world we live in today with so much divisiveness, anger, and dissent. It’s important to just come together as a community and share and experience God’s love for us, all of us.”
The stadium is located at 2101 Mustang Drive. Weems said there is plenty of room for people to spread out during the service. Local businessman Alan Williams will share a message, and communion will be offered as well.