TO mark the most important time in the Christian calendar, churches across the area are holding special services all week as well as taking to the streets to mark the carrying of the cross by Jesus through Jerusalem.

Congregations from Stevenage churches will join together at 10.30am today (Good Friday) for a service at Holy Trinity followed by a silent walk behind the cross along the High Street to Bowling Green. Refreshments will follow at Springfield House.

In Letchworth GC churchgoers will meet at Broadway Gardens at 11am on Good Friday, before following the cross along Eastcheap to Leys Square where a service will be held.

Members of the 14 Hitchin Churches Together will congregate in Bancroft Gardens for prayer at 10.30am, then walk along Bancroft and High Street for a service in Market Place, at 11am.

On Saturday members of Baldock churches will be celebrating Christ’s life outside Tesco on the High Street when they perform songs in a variety of styles, from traditional hymns to rock and pop, with a live band.

The tale of Christ’s last days on earth will be retold by a large cast of villagers on Saturday.

Weston’s Passion Play was first performed four years ago to a crowd of hundreds and this professionally directed retelling of Jesus’ resurrection aims to explain why Holy Week and Easter changed world history.

This year the script is being re-worked, based on the King James Bible, to help celebrate the 400th anniversary of its publication.

The play starts at Park Drive at 2.30pm and will be followed by a Service of Light at the village church.

Money for church funds will be raised through an admission charge of �5 for adults, �2 for children and �10 for a family ticket.

For further details contact the Rev Tetzlaff at silke.tetzlaff@virgin.net or 01462 790330.