Methodists in the Brooklyn Downtown South Cooperative Parish of the United Methodist Church (UMC), otherwise known as Bold United Soul Seekers (BUSS), on Good Friday, April 3, 2026, heard the “Seven Last Words of Christ” in an almost four-hour-long worship service at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Preachers from Kings Highway, Fenimore Street, St. Paul’s, Vanderveer Park, Ghana Wesley, and St. Mark’s UMCs brought the message in the perennial service.
St. Mark’s and Ghana Wesley UMCs co-hosted the ceremony presided over by the Rev. Dr. Angel Abakah, pastor of Ghana Wesley UMC.
St. Mark’s and Ghana Wesley UMCs co-hosted the ceremony presided over by the Rev. Dr. Angel Abakah, pastor of Ghana Wesley UMC.
The Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Abel, UMC Long Island West District Superintendent, also joined the worship service that was punctuated with scripture readings, prayers, a liturgical dance by the BUSS Dance Ministry, and lofty singing by soloists, choirs, St. Mark’s UMC Praise Team, and the packed congregation.
Rev. Abel gave the benediction, and Rev. Janelle Gayle delivered the opening prayer.
Rev. Abel gave the benediction, and Rev. Janelle Gayle delivered the opening prayer.
“Jesus was suffering from one of the most brutal forms of execution,” preached the Rev. Jean Ablamy Lataillade, the Haitian-born pastor of Kings Highway UMC, in bringing the First Word, taken from Luke 23: 33-34, meditating on “Father, Forgive Them for They Know not What They Do.”
“Jesus did not wait until the pain was over to forgive,” he added. “It is significant that the First Word from the cross is forgiveness. Forgiveness is the foundation of our relationship with God.”
Meditating on “Today, You Will Be with Me in Paradise,” based on Luke 23: 39-43, the Rev. Roger Jackson, pastor of Fenimore Street UMC, said: “Prior to Jesus uttering the assuring words, in response to the request by the one thieve, who recognized at his dying moment that the Messiah was hanging on the cross by his side, the temporal needs of those who followed, or who was made aware of Jesus’s heavenly Kingship during the three and halve years, had been completed.
“Jesus had turned water into wine; He fed thousands with a meal prepared for one; made the lame to walk; caused the blind to see; and raised Lazarus from the dead – all as a means of manifesting His heavenly glory here on earth,” added Rev. Jackson in delivering the Second Word.
The Rev. Sharon Petgrave-Cundy, the Jamaican-born senior pastor at St. Paul’s UMC, brought The Third Word, “Woman, Behold Thy Son” (John 19: 26, 27), stating that “Mary’s place at the foot of the cross is close to her son.
“It’s 10 p.m., do you know where your children are? It was a reminder for parents to know where their children are. But, today, do you know where your children are – mentally and morally?” she asked.
“It’s 10 p.m., do you know where your children are? It was a reminder for parents to know where their children are. But, today, do you know where your children are – mentally and morally?” she asked.
“As a family, take time to worship together at home – listen to their conversation,” Rev. Petgrave-Cundy urged. “We should have hope and encouragement for our children.
“This scene is a powerful reminder of love,” she added. “This reveals the extraordinary relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ.”
The Rev. Melvin Boone, senior pastor at Vanderveer Park UMC, meditated on The Fourth Word, “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me”, based on Matt. 27: 45-46.
“God has been with Jesus during the entire time of his ministry,” he preached. “And, after that, he hangs on the cross dying.
“Have you ever lost hope? How many of you know you can find hope in despair? Have you ever been right and still have to suffer?” Rev. Boone asked. “In his suffering, He (Jesus) suffered the guilt and shame that had been placed on him.
“So, to you, my siblings in Christ, I challenge you to do more than just know the story (of Jesus Christ),” he added. “Never grow weary in well doing.”
“God has been with Jesus during the entire time of his ministry,” he preached. “And, after that, he hangs on the cross dying.
“Have you ever lost hope? How many of you know you can find hope in despair? Have you ever been right and still have to suffer?” Rev. Boone asked. “In his suffering, He (Jesus) suffered the guilt and shame that had been placed on him.
“So, to you, my siblings in Christ, I challenge you to do more than just know the story (of Jesus Christ),” he added. “Never grow weary in well doing.”
Rev. Abakah meditated on “I Thirst” (John 19:28), bringing The Fifth Word.
“There’s ‘I’ in all of us,” he said. “Jesus is saying the ‘I’ in me is thirsty.”
Pastor Abakah said there are three reasons for the words, “I Thirst.”
“There’s ‘I’ in all of us,” he said. “Jesus is saying the ‘I’ in me is thirsty.”
Pastor Abakah said there are three reasons for the words, “I Thirst.”
“Jesus uses the words, ‘I Thirst’ to reveal prophecy,” he preached. “Jesus uses the words, ‘I Thirst’ to define our humanity. Jesus uses the words to declare his passion for souls. Everything that happened to Him was for our salvation.
“The words, ‘I Thirst’, simply mean ‘I’m suffering,” Rev. Abakah added. “The people are crying, we are thirsty. There are souls crying beyond our church walls. They are thirsty.”
“The words, ‘I Thirst’, simply mean ‘I’m suffering,” Rev. Abakah added. “The people are crying, we are thirsty. There are souls crying beyond our church walls. They are thirsty.”
In delivering the Sixth Word on “It is Finished” (John 19:30), Deaconess Gail Douglas-Boykin, junior pastor at Vanderveer Park UMC, said: “The cross is not a Plan B. Love refuses to prey on you. He confronts hatred without reproducing evil.
“What we could not finish, God finished,” she said. “The cross unmasked the cruelty of Empire. Because Jesus has already finished the cross, you don’t have to carry it.
“When God finishes a thing, God finishes it faithfully,” Deaconess Douglas-Boykin added. “This afternoon, we stand at the foot of the cross not in despair. Keep your eyes on redemption. Hope is not finished. Love is not finished.”
In bringing the Seventh and Last Word, “Father, Into Your Lands I Commend My Spirit” (Luke 23:46), Rev. Morais G. Quissico, senior pastor at St. Mark’s UMC and BUSS coordinator, said that “Jesus had such an intimacy with our Father. He commended his spirit to God.”
On Resurrection Sunday (Easter Sunday), April 5, as is customary, each church in the BUSS parish conducted its own Easter Sunday Worship Service.
At Fenimore Street UMC, Rev. Jackson, in his sermon, based on Matt. 28: 1-10, preached on “Meeting Up for the Hook Up.”
At Fenimore Street UMC, Rev. Jackson, in his sermon, based on Matt. 28: 1-10, preached on “Meeting Up for the Hook Up.”
“Thank you, God, that, as a result of your love and faithfulness, we have a good reason to celebrate this day,” he said. “We can stake a claim to having faith in someone who did for all of humanity that which no other world religion has or is able to do.
“Our Lord and Savior got up from death and the grave, and is seated in heaven at the right hand of God the Father interceding for those of us who have asked Jesus Christ to come into our hearts and be Lord and Savior of our lives,” Pastor Jackson added. “We celebrate the resurrection of our Lord because, by meeting up with Him, we got and are hooked up both emotionally and spiritually.
“We are in our right minds, with a reasonable portion of health and strength,” he continued. “And we are the ones who, by the grace of God, created a meeting place where anyone can meet up with our risen Lord and Savior. And it’s right there in your heart, and the time is always the right time.
“That’s why this of all days is not a day to act reserved and dignified,” Pastor Jackson said. “This is a day to celebrate the indisputable fact that is rooted in faith that we serve a risen Savior, who has conquered hell, death, and the grave just to hook up with us, to remind us that He is with us.”
