CITY OF NEWBURGH — Jesus was briefly delayed by technical difficulties on Friday.



But a problem with the sound truck was quickly resolved, and then members of the Church of St. Patrick and St. Mary were able to proceed with their annual Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession through the city’s east end.



At the center of the procession was Jesus Christ, played this year by Juan Machuca, who was repeatedly whipped and slapped by other church members playing Roman soldiers as he carried his cross.



The stations commemorate the final hours in Jesus’ life, leading to his crucifixion and death.



A crowd of at least 500 made the trek this year, and many others watched from the sidewalks.



Ronald Jackson was one of them.



The retired North Junior High School principal had just finished getting a haircut at Razor Sharp Barber Shop when the procession passed by on Liberty Street. Jackson planned to attend Good Friday services at Ebenezer Baptist Church on First Street later.



“This is beautiful,” Jackson said. “It’s good to see the young people involved … We all need this.”



The Lundgren family from Cornwall — Eric, Jasmin, their son Parker, who will turn 7 on Easter, and daughter Sydney, 6 — were on their way to the Department of Motor Vehicles office at Broadway and Lander Street, but had to wait to cross Liberty Street until the stations procession had gone by.



They didn’t mind a bit. They were planning to attend a more traditional stations observance at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church in Cornwall-on-Hudson later on Friday.



“This is very moving,” Eric Lundgren said. “And it’s nice to see the community come together like this.”



The marchers surprised Danielle Field, who’s new to the area and was working at Caitlyn’s Creations on Liberty Street.



“I think it was pretty cool,” Field said. “That’s a great start to my Easter weekend.”



Tamara Evans, a mother of two, watched as the procession rounded the corner of Benkard Avenue and William Street.



“My children are too young for this,” she said. “They only understand the Easter Bunny. But this is my favorite part of Easter, the story of the Resurrection.”



Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion. That event will be celebrated in churches on Sunday.



The DMV office was responsible for at least one other person unexpectedly watching the procession. Manuel Oritz, of Walden, dropped a friend off there, then stood on Broadway to watch Jesus, the soldiers and the others walk down Broadway.



“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Oritz said. “The people need to see this, especially the non-believers.”



mrandall@th-record.com