With Passion : County’s Christians Carry On Lessons of the Crucifixion

They carried a 70-pound cross 13 miles from an Oxnard church to Ventura’s Grant Park, they lighted a cross on a mountaintop for all of Simi Valley to see, and they re-created the pageantry and the pain of Christ’s crucifixion on an Oxnard street.

Across Ventura County, residents marked Good Friday with remembrances of Christ’s suffering.

Thursday on the hills overlooking Simi Valley, Skip Faria, his children and friend Neil Havens made their way up the mountain to keep a 20-year tradition alive.

Homes and cars shone below as Faria and his children hooked up a floodlight and generator to light up the concrete cross atop Mt. McCoy.

For those who spend evenings on the windy hill, usually staying until 11 p.m. or midnight, the cross lighting has less to do with Christ’s resurrection than it does with community service and maintaining a piece of Simi Valley history.

Even if evening clouds sometimes cut the cross’ visibility--in good weather, travelers on the Ronald Reagan Freeway can spot it from miles away--Havens said Simi residents are glad to see the cross lighted year after year.

“People say, ‘Maybe not everyone can see it, but we sure appreciate you doing it,’ ” Havens said.

The first few tugs on the generator’s starter cord didn’t work--the small red engine spat a few times, then switched itself off. Faria added some oil, working now with a flashlight in the deepening gloom, then gave one more yank.

The engine coughed to life, and slowly, a yellow glow stole over the concrete cross perched on the hilltop.

“We have light!” yelled Havens.

Members of the local Rotary Club volunteer each year to illuminate the cross each night of the week before Easter, taking turns keeping vigil over the equipment.

Sometimes they reminisce.

Havens, a Simi Valley native whose wife is a local historian, said he used to attend Easter services atop the mountain. Worshipers even hauled a piano up to the hilltop.

“The whole church choir would be up here,” he said, staring out over the city. “I tell you, it was pretty impressive.”

But this year was still good, with Havens, Faria and the children lighting a campfire, munching on s’mores and then calling it a night.

Faria’s children--Dana, 12, and David, 10--fell asleep, leaving their father to count out the hours until it was time to shut off the light.

Faria said later that he welcomed the time to reflect. Left to himself, he thought about the recent deaths of his mother and grandmother.

“The cross kind of took on extra meaning for me,” he said.

Carrying a Cross ‘to Feel What He Felt’

On Friday, as the afternoon sun pounded on their thinly clad backs, youngsters dragged a cross from Oxnard to Ventura.

John Novickas said that on Good Friday he wanted to come as close as he could to sharing with Jesus the experience carrying the cross to the crucifixion.

So the 18-year-old dressed the part with a tan bedsheet draped over his shoulder like a toga and tied it with a length of old rope.

“I want to feel what he felt,” he said. “And even though it might seem funny, I want to share that experience.”

But he wasn’t the only one who dressed for the occasion.

Scores of faithful and celebrant teens wore old bedsheets and sandals, while others decided to walk barefoot and one even wore a heavy burlap sack.

Novickas was one of about 100 teens from around the county who trekked 13 miles from the Channel Islands Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Oxnard to Ventura’s Grant Park carrying a 70-pound cypress cross.

For some it was a chance to celebrate the day of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice while others saw it as an opportunity to plumb the depths of their religious devotion.

“Doing this is a way for me to learn more about my faith,” said 15-year-old Shawn Cornelius of Ventura. “And on top of that it’s good exercise.”

The Channel Islands Fellowship began the walk six years ago with only a handful of teens as a way to celebrate their faith and teach the community about the meaning of Good Friday. Over the years the number of teens has swelled as the church began including youth groups from eight other congregations.

The walk kicked off a weekend of Easter festivities at the Channel Islands Fellowship that will climax with a musical presentation of the crucifixion Sunday at Oxnard State Beach.

“This has a phenomenal impact on their faith,” said Pastor Bill Coulter of the Channel Islands Fellowship. “When you’ve got a large group like this the dynamic is different and much more powerful.”

Interpretations of the Crucifixion

In Oxnard’s La Colonia, thousands gathered once again for the annual Passion play.

The occasion turned out to be a family affair, with babies in strollers, children licking melting Popsicles and holding their grandparents’ hands as they gazed on the violent spectacle before them.

Getting whipped, kicked and abused by Roman soldiers, the play’s Jesus carried the wooden cross down Cooper Road on his way to the crucifixion set for a few blocks over. As Mary Magdalene, the Virgin Mary and other women wailed, pleading for his life, Roman governor Pontius Pilate made his famous speech of washing his hands clean of Jesus’ blood.

After the crucifixion, worshipers milled into Our Lady of Guadalupe for prayer and liturgies in honor of Christ’s death and resurrection.

For some, the day offered a lesson in history.

Esmeralda Lopez, 19, tried in vain to teach her little brother, Gerardo Lopez, and his buddy, Jorge Robles, about the death of Christ and why he was pinned to a cross. But the boys were in a joking mood, and instead peppered her with questions about those guys “with the brooms on their heads”--referring to the Roman soldiers’ helmets.

Sighing in defeat, Lopez just shook her head and turned her attention to Jesus getting hung on the cross atop a small grassy knoll in Colonia Park.

“There’s no hope for you guys,” she said. “Some people don’t know what’s going on. They don’t read the Bible and they don’t know the purpose of this,” she said to a fellow spectator.

But the day was not lost on vendor Eduardo Aviles. Good Friday is always a booming business day for the Mexico City native who sells ice cold lemon, coconut, guava and raspberry ice treats to the thirsty and hot spectators.

“This is the day we make up for other days of slow business,” said Aviles.

Indeed, 4-year-old Andrea Osequera, donning a new flowered hat and dress in honor of Easter, sucked mightily on her lemon Popsicle as she watched Jesus make his way down the street from Christ the King Church on Cooper Road to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church four blocks away.

While Andrea enjoyed her treat, 15-year-old Margarita Franco stared in horror at the spectacle.

“It’s bad. I don’t like it because they are doing that to God,” said the Oxnard resident.

Despite her revulsion, Franco said she would come back again next year.

“I guess I want to see it.”

Munoz is a Times staff writer. Baker and Metcalfe are correspondents.