Christians of different denominations mark Good Friday in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The days leading up to Easter Sunday are the holiest week of the year for Christians around the world.

Good Friday marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The day is key to Christians of all denominations, many of whom marked the occasion with services in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.

"There's a sadness but there's a joy," said Jackie Mayfield as she visited Dare to Imagine Church, a non-denominational church in Mount Airy.

She and others attended the church's noon Good Friday service, greeting each other with smiles on what is a somber day.

"This is a sad day for Christians, but it's also a happy day for Christians because we also know in three days that Jesus got up from the grave," said Kevin R. Johnson, lead pastor and founder of Dare to Imagine.

"God has been so good. There's so many things to be thankful for. So many things he's brought us through," said Kim Jones, who is a member of Dare to Imagine.

It's the hope that Good Friday brings during the holiest week of the year for Christians.

"This is Super Bowl for Christians," said Johnson. "This is our opportunity to come together to be reminded of our faith, to be reminded of why we worship."

That same reminder was the focus of service at Mount Zion Lutheran Church in Spring Garden, a building that has seen congregations mark Good Friday for more than 100 years.

"This is the pinnacle of our Christian faith where Christ goes to the cross and suffers for each and every one of us," said Pastor Robert Kieselowsky, executive director of Philadelphia Lutheran Ministries. "We have many holy days that we mark, but there is none like this where our salvation is being accomplished."

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was the subject of a powerful reenactment in Center City.

The Catholic Youth Group Mission Youth Philly did a reenactment of the Passion of the Christ, which marched through about 10 blocks of the area before ending at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

"This wonderful display of our Catholic faith today and the faith of all Christians was to help us realize that today, Jesus dies for us," said Father Dennis Gill, rector at Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

"We started with 500 people (marching), then it just grew and grew and grew," said Father Michael Moriarty of the crowd that grew as the event marched to the Ben Franklin Parkway.

Inside the Basilica, as at many other churches, Good Friday service focused on the story of sacrifice as Christians look towards the joy of Easter Sunday.