KUCHING, March 30 ― Parishioners packed churches throughout Sarawak to attend the Good Friday service to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary, over 2,000 years ago.

Good Friday is a public holiday in Sarawak, the only state in Malaysia where Christians form the majority.

The Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) Kuching Church was filled with the morning worshippers as the Good Friday service here started with the song Crown Him and ended with O The Wonderful Cross.

Apart from singing songs of praise, the life of Jesus in his final hours, according to the Gospel of Mark 15:16-39, was also narrated and explained to parishioners who attended the service.

At the Roman Catholic Blessed Sacrament Church at Taman BDC, a large number of young people attended the Children’s Stations of the Cross held at the church compound this morning.

A parishioner Boniface Tumek said the youngsters got a better feel of the Via Dolorosa, Way of Grief, or the Way of Sorrow or the  Painful Way —  believed to be the street within the Old Jerusalem which Jesus walked on his way to crucifixion.

Tumek said the Good Friday service consists of three parts, with Part 1 is the Liturgy Of The  Word where the worshippers celebrate the passion of the Lord (Gospel John 18: 19-42) while  Part 2 is the Veneration of the Cross,  something that is unique to the  Catholics.

He said the third part is the Holy Communion Service which is not patterned on the usual Sunday service.

The Good Friday service was led by Father Felix Au.

At Kampung Bunuk in Penrissen, near here, some 1,000 worshippers attended the Good Friday

The service was conducted in Bidayuh language as all the worshippers are Bidayuhs.