Tears flowed from behind a woman's sunglasses. A man put his hand hand over his face. A couple wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders.

Tristaters take part in the annual Way of the Cross on Fountain Square. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Christians, Jews and Muslims from throughout the Tristate prayed for Cincinnati's healing in consecutive events Friday at Fountain Square mid-day.

        Throughout the day, the faithful paused and prayed on the steps of Holy Cross-Immaculata Church in Mount Adams.

        The traditional Good Friday and ecumenical observances struck a common cord -- peace for the city of Cincinnati. At the end of a week marked by violent protests over the death of a young man, there were public prayers and rallies for justice.

        At Fountain Square, the first was Interfaith Prayers for Our City, sponsored by the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC).

        “When one of us is hurt, we all hurt. When one is oppressed, we all are oppressed,” the said Rev. Taylor Thompson, MARCC president and pastor of Quinn Chapel AME Church in Forest Park. “When one of us is healed, we all are healed.”

        The 18th annual Way of the Cross/Way of Justice followed. It recalls the Good Friday crucifixion of Jesus and normally follows a procession through downtown and Over-the-Rhine, the neighborhood hardest hit by three nights of rioting that followed the police shooting death of an unarmed black man, Timothy Thomas.

        The procession was not held this year because of safety concerns, and the event was confined physically to the Fountain Square stage. Still, several of the planned stations were especially poignant.

        Members of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, in a station initially planned for in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse, prayed for equal protection under the law and equal access to the law.

        “Wealthy individuals and corporations have unequal influence in law making and access to legislators, while many law enforcers still practice racial profiling,” a speaker said.

        The response was, “Hate evil and love good; enthrone justice in the courts.”

        During the interfaith prayer service, several religious leaders -- white and black -- prayed for Mr. Thomas and his family, all citizens, police officers and elected officials.

        In his remarks, the Rt. Rev. Herbert Thompson, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, asked the 300 people in attendance to observe two minutes of silence to pray for the city.

        “Good Friday seems to be a contradiction,” he said. “It is about what occurred in a city 2000 years ago, the crucifixion of Jesus. It was a time of fear and unrest. Two days later, Jesus was raised from the dead, and the last word was God's.”

        Ilyas Nashid, Iman of the Cincinnati Islamic Center, read from the Koran that God made mankind from a single man and woman into “nations and tribes that should know each other.”

        After the service, Cincinnati Catholic Archbishop Danial Pilarczyk connected the week's civic unrest with Holy Week and the Christian belief of Jesus' resurrection.

        “What we celebrate is that Jesus died for our sins, and all this suggests there's still a lot of sin,” he said. “Not all right is on one side or the other. There's plenty of blame to go around.

        “Redemption is still going on.”

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