A Day of Solemn Reflection

Christians from around Southern California, with roots as far and wide as their religion’s influence, came together to commemorate Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony conducted a solemn liturgical service for about 400 people at St. Barnabas Catholic Church in Long Beach, where the congregation is a mix of seemingly every race and ethnicity.

“Today is a sad day, because it’s remembering the death of Jesus,” said Dee Thorp, 57, who grew up in the Philippines. “But that Cardinal Mahony is here, that really makes it special.”

Mahony urged Thorp and the other parishioners to put their own lives in perspective by remembering the cycle of suffering, death and resurrection that Jesus went through.

“You and I, in our daily lives, pass through these same cycles,” Mahony said.

Thorp felt that the cardinal’s message was directed to youth. She worries that in her own culture, young people are straying from the strict Catholic tenets that she says defined her generation, one that grew up in the more traditional society of the Philippines.

About 400 people attended the noon Stations of the Cross service presided over by Father Alden Sison at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Canoga Park. Worshipers lined the pews as altar servers, carrying a tall wooden cross and candles, commemorated the crucifixion.

Victor Garcia and his wife, Margarita, both age 52 and Salvadoran immigrants, said they always take Good Friday off from their jobs to attend church. “Since I was a child, this was a very important day for me,” Victor Garcia said. “You reflect on life, problems, your kids, a lot of things.”

Although the service was in English, Margarita, who speaks mainly Spanish, said she understood its significance: “It’s the same in all languages.”

Celeste Johnson and Gloria Banales, insurance administrators at a Woodland Hills aerospace company, came to the church during their lunch break.

“I felt compelled to be here,” said Johnson, 45, of Winnetka. “It made me feel peaceful and made me reflect on the cruelty of humanity, and how I’m a part of that and what I can do to make it better.”

At the Neighborhood Congregational Church in Laguna Beach, young and old followed a giant labyrinth marked on canvas to help examine their faith.

“It’s a metaphor for life,” said Deborah Rogers of Laguna Beach, who led her 3-year-old daughter through the labyrinth.

For Carolyn Miller, 77, of Anaheim, the ritual was the perfect way to pray on a holy day.

“You feel like you’re with God when you’re walking it,” said Miller, who brought her two grandchildren with her to follow the circular path. “You can talk to him.”

In Laguna Niguel, about 60 people from several denominations gathered to carry a 6-foot wooden cross in a mile-long interfaith processional from St. Timothy Catholic Church along Crown Valley Parkway to commemorate the suffering of Jesus.

“We’re doing this to be a witness to the community,” said Gloria Fetta, co-director of religious education at the church. “We’re reliving part of his passion and his death.”

Irvine Mariners Church offered four Good Friday services in which members had an opportunity to nail their burdens, written on note cards, to a 7-foot wooden cross.

Times staff writer Elaine Gale in Orange County contributed to this story.