CUMMING–Chona De Jesus, a parishioner of St. Brendan the Navigator Church in Cumming, traditionally prays the Stations of the Cross each Good Friday. Because of the shelter-in-place guidelines, De Jesus looked for a way to not miss out on the Lenten devotion.

“I asked my husband first to put up 14 crosses in my backyard,” she said. Instead, De Jesus reached out to other Catholics in her Fox Creek neighborhood and asked if they’d each be willing to put up a cross in their front yards and recruit others.

She promoted the effort on the Nextdoor online community app.

“I made sure I didn’t violate any HOA rule,” added De Jesus.

Some crosses were metal, some wooden and all featured a laminated sheet of information about the station and what happened to Jesus. They also provided reflections geared for children as a group from St. John Bosco Academy strolled through the subdivision to pray the stations.

De Jesus hopes it will inspire other devotions that help strengthen the faith until it’s possible to return to Mass. Just seeing the parish is a comfort to her.

“Every chance I get, I drive by the church,” she said.

Neighbor Wendy Paxton, who also participated, wrote on Facebook about what the outdoor devotion meant to her, “We have 14 stations and it is so beautiful to walk the neighborhood and participate in each station. The best part is that we have neighbors that are not Catholic participating. Very cool! God is good!”