Greetings and gifts on Good Friday

Members of Chilliwack’s Crossroads Community Church found a creative way on Easter weekend to both introduce its new pastor in person and to celebrate Easter with the community.

For two hours on Good Friday afternoon, April 2, the Crossroads community hosted an event in the parking lot at Cottonwood 4 Cinemas in Chilliwack, the last location the congregation used for in-person services. Unbeknownst to the congregation, the theatre had advertised the event on its website several weeks before, so people with no connection with Crossroads also came.

Participants could drive to four different locations in the parking lot:

• In one area, Pastor Gerry Binnema and wife Elaine greeted and chatted with people, meeting most for the first time.
• In another, free popcorn was provided by the theatre and distributed by Kyle Dyck, the church’s youth pastor.
• At the third, a trailer was set up to receive donations for the local food bank.
• At the final station, volunteers gave goodie bags to participants, age-appropriately geared for preschoolers, children aged 5 to 9 and 10 to 12, teens and adults.

“We gave out the gift bags with the instruction to wait until Easter Sunday to open them, an effort to create the sense of waiting and anticipation appropriate for Good Friday,” said Binnema.

A door prize was presented on the church’s website during the Easter morning online worship service.

“It was good fun, and we had a good turnout,” says Binnema.

Do you have a story idea about Mennonites in B.C.? Send it to Amy Rinner Waddell at bc@canadianmennonite.org.