A SILENT and solemn Walk of Witness in Brentwood has been hailed an incredible success, with more than 700 Christians turning out despite the prolonged wintry weather. Good Friday began at a packed St Thomas of Canterbury Church in St Thomas Road and finished at the United Reformed Church in New Road. At the halfway point on the procession, a small play about the sentencing to death of Jesus by the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate was put on by students from Becket Keys Free School. Father Colin Hewitt, the vicar at St Thomas, said: "It was amazing, it was a massive success and the number of people was incredible. Someone tried to count heads and they lost count at over 700 people. "This was the biggest Walk of Witness for many years. "With the weather we thought 400 to 500 people would come, if we were lucky.
"To see so many people turn up must be a sign of the times."
He added: "The students of Becket Keys were very good, and everyone enjoyed their performance, which was brilliantly put together."
All of St Thomas's Easter events have been popular this year, with hundreds turning up every day.
Good Friday is one of the Christian calendar's most important days of the year and marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The Walk of Witness is often held in silence, with the experience being a very sober and peaceful walk.
The Christians taking part prayed silently and remembered the life of Jesus and how he died for their sins.
The march, which people from churches across the Brentwood area joined, followed a route through the centre of Brentwood, along the High Street and into Crown Street.
The sombre sight of hundreds of Christians could not have been more different to the hordes of fans of The Only Way is Essex who stormed Crown Street the previous week for the opening of Joey Essex's shop, Fusey.
At the end of the walk, when they arrived at the United Reformed Church, the silence was broken as they sang together in their hundreds.
