Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Participants from five local churches continue a 13-year tradition that takes the YMCA back to its biblical roots beyond its ''swim and gym'' image.
By ROBERT KING, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2003
SPRING HILL -- As the sun rose Friday above the Hernando County Family YMCA, swimmers were doing laps in the pool, and people were fighting the modern battle of the bulge in the gym.
But outside, under a stand of pines and oaks, the sun's appearance was greeted by about 100 people who came to the YMCA for spiritual exercise -- a Good Friday service that has been a YMCA tradition for 13 years.
YMCA leaders acknowledge their organization is most often known as a place for "swim and gym" programs. But, as executive director Sue Ball is quick to note, the first YMCA was based on the premise of offering young men Bible study and prayer as an alternative to the temptations of the streets of London.
"We believe in a healthy spirit, mind and body," Ball said. "The Y is a Christian organization. That doesn't mean we are exclusive of others. We are very inclusive."
This year's Good Friday service featured participants from five local churches. And it had an unabashedly Christian message that focused on the fact that Good Friday represents the day Jesus was nailed to a cross on a hillside outside Jerusalem. Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead two days later, now celebrated as Easter.
The Rev. John Hensel of the Christian Life Assembly of God in Spring Hill, who preached the main message of the service, asked and answered a key question about the idea of a "Good Friday."
"How can the death of an individual who loved so much be considered good?" Hensel asked.
"Because only through his death can we be given life."
Pat Kieley, a 73-year-old Spring Hill man who is a YMCA member, said this was the second time he has attended a YMCA Good Friday service. He said the service is clearly in keeping with the YMCA's original Christian roots.
"It's gotten into my heart," Kieley said. "It makes me think of going home and picking up some Easter lilies for a woman I know who is having some health problems."
Daisy Swackard, a member of New Hope Missionary Baptist in Hudson, performed one of the two interpretive dances that were part of the service. A YMCA member, Swackard agrees that many people don't understand the full scope of what the YMCA is about.
"The Y stands for Christ," she said. "The Y stands for community outreach."
While prayers are routinely conducted before athletic contests and special events, Good Friday is the only day of the year where the Hernando County Family YMCA holds a religious service, Ball said.
For the most part, the YMCA focuses on building character through programs for kids, its day cares and, soon, through a new teen center that will offer kids a wholesome place to hang out. "We're not a church, and we're not trying to be a church by doing this," Ball said.
The Rev. Jerry Waugh of Northcliffe Baptist Church in Spring Hill conducted the invocation for the service. He said the YMCA's Good Friday service helps fulfill the Y's mission of building its community.
"I think it's wonderful," Waugh said. "In our individual churches, we celebrate the Easter season. But a day like this allows our community to come together and celebrate it."
-- Robert King covers Spring Hill and can be reached at 848-1432. Send e-mail to rking@sptimes.com .