Lindsay first heard the phrase, “TGIF”, long before it was known to me. It was used by the nuns who taught at a local school near where she grew up. These days it is used everywhere. I’m sure it strikes a chord, not just with those who have devoted their lives to teaching, but with all those whose working weeks begin on Monday morning and last until Friday afternoon. It’s a phrase that captures that sense of relief that the weekend is here at last. TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!
Friday is a special day for all sorts of reasons. It was on a Friday 15 years ago that a bunch of local Christians set out on a prayer walk from the different parts of South East Edinburgh where they lived and worshipped. As they walked they joined up with other Christians from other churches, and, like streams flowing together, their processions grew larger and larger converging on the grassy area opposite Mt Vernon Cemetery. As one of the walkers that day, I remember how we arrived, carrying our crosses, and looked up to see similar groups making their way towards us from different directions.
We were about 40 in number by the time everyone had arrived, and we represented a variety of local churches. We sang some well known hymns and songs and prayed together, before each leader then took it in turn to share what that day meant to them. It was Mike Fallon a local priest, who summed it all up. “I’m not quite sure what I’m doing here”, he said, “but I do know it is significant. Because at this very moment something very significant is happening across the Irish Sea, and in our small way I feel part of it.” It was Good Friday, 1999 – the day of the signing of the Good Friday Peace Agreement. It was the day ‘The troubles’ were officially brought to an end.
Since that day we have made the Good Friday Prayer Walk an annual event, and over the years the numbers have crept up. Last year there were over 150 of us who ended up outside Morrison’s on Gilmerton Road, representing churches throughout the area and beyond. This year we will be there again. We meet, we sing, and we pray together. And we listen once again to the story of that first Good Friday, when someone did something remarkable for us; something which changed the world. Here are the words of one of the hymns we will sing.
There is a green hill, far away
Outside a city wall
Where the dear Lord was crucified
Who died to save us all
Thank God it’s Friday!
Much love
John