The Stations of the Cross was created by Michael Cuppett through the Arts and Justice Project which is sponsored by Unbound and UKirk Ministries. As we journey through Holy Week together, may this experience bring our current context into focus alongside the narrative of Christ’s death. For more Holy Week reflection, check out Ashes to Rainbows: A Queer Lenten Devotional by Unbound and More Light Presbyterians.
1. Jesus is condemned
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testifies before Congress that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her. (Washington D.C., Sept 2018. Photo from Getty Images)
2. Jesus carries his cross
A medical worker in Wuhan transports a patient to the temporary Huoshenshan field hospital during efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus. (Wuhan, China, Feb. 2020. Photo from Xinhua News Agency via the AP)
3. Jesus falls the first time
A woman mourns at a wall of the Pulse Nightclub. This incident was considered the deadliest mass shooting in the United States until 2017. (Orlando FL, June 2017. Photo by Scott Audette from Reuters)
4. Jesus meets his mother, Mary
A woman grieves for her son who was killed in an attack by the Islamic State. (Mosul, Mar 2017. Photo from the NY Times "2017 Year in Photos")
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross
A Rohingya refugee walks with her infant from Myanmar towards asylum in Bangladesh. (Myanmar-Bangladesh border, Nov. 2017. Photo from the NY Times "2017 Year in Photos")
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
A 2-year-old Honduran girl screams as her mother is detained by U.S. agents. (Southern U.S. Border, Jun. 2018. Photo from the NY Times "2018 Year in Photos")
7. Jesus falls a second time
Two women flee from a concert, where a gunman killed 58 individuals and wounded another 413. This incident is still considered the deadliest mass shooting in the United States. (Las Vegas, Oct. 2017. Photo from the NY Times "2017 Year in Photos")
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Time Magazine names “the Silence Breakers” as 2017 person of the year. The publication drew attention to the #MeToo movement and the ubiquity of sexual assault in the United States. (Dec. 2017. Photo from the cover of Time Magazine.)
9. Jesus falls a third time
Students are evacuated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. A 19-year-old killed 17, igniting the March for Our Lives protests. (Parkland FL, Feb. 2018. Photo from the NY Times “2018 Year in Photos”)
10. Jesus is stripped
John Moore documented the Southern Border crisis in 2014, and occasionally found personal remains from those seeking asylum. (Southern U.S. Border, 2014. Photo by John Moore from Getty Images)
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross
A crown of thorns. (Original illustration by Michael Cuppett)
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus is taken down from the cross
Border fencing along the southern U.S. Border casts a silhouette as the sun sets. (La Joya TX, Apr. 2013. Photo by John Moore from Getty Images)
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb
Rohingya Muslims flee genocide (Oct. 2017) A Rohingya woman kisses her son, Abdul, upon landing on shore. Abdul died in the boat en route to asylum in Bangladesh. (Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Oct. 2017. Photo from Time Magazine’s “Top 100 Photos of 2017”)
Michael Cuppett is a Master’s student at Princeton Theological Seminary, a freelance designer, and a trained church musician. Professionally, he has worked with Ministry Architects consulting, The Zoe Project (sponsored by the Lily Foundation), Feed Truck Ministries Inc. in Kingston NJ, and currently works as a designer for Evolving Faith. Michael has hands-on experience in immigration work and activism through his involvement with Interfaith-RISE, an affiliate of the US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants that assists asylum seekers at the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey. Michael plans to complete his Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Christian Education and Formation in 2022.
Unbound Social