PORTLAND, Maine — In a symbolic re-enactment of Jesus’ actions, clergy from Catholic and other local Christian churches washed the feet of those gathered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland on Thursday as part of Holy Week observances.
“When the lord gathered his disciples at the Last Supper he washed their feet as a significant symbol of how they were then to go and serve one another in his name,” said the Rev. Michael Seavey of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland just before the ceremony began at noon.
The interfaith service also involved clergy from St. Luke’s Cathedral, Woodfords Congregational Church, St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Clark Memorial United Methodist Church and Hope Gateway Methodist Church.
“And it’s a ritual that is common among all of us,” said Seavey. “It’s a ritual that can unite us.”
For the Rev. Maria Anderson of St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, the ritual washing reinforces Jesus’ main message.
“It was about serving one another and coming in contact with one another,” Anderson said.
Earlier in the morning, in a private ceremony, clergy members washed, pumiced and powdered feet at the Preble Street Resource Center, which provides services for homeless people in Maine.
