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SMITH?S PARISH, Bermuda - Members of Centenary UMC, which is a part of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, celebrated Good Friday flying kites at Horseshoe Bay beach.

Good Friday is a national holiday, traditionally observed with kite flying, codfish cakes and hot cross buns. The event begins with an interdenominational worship service.

Kite flying has religious significance, said the Rev. Ed DeLong, who has pastored the church for the past year. The custom started when a Sunday school teacher explained to his class that the cross piece of a kite is symbolic of the cross of Jesus and also represents the steeple of a church. Kites are often handmade from colored 'patches' that are reminders of various stories of faithful followers of Jesus.

The congregation, with the encouragement of their pastor, used the event as a time to tell others about Christ and the church.

The local TV news station interviewed DeLong at the beach and showed the film clip several times Good Friday evening. It 'sparked conversations with Bermudians,' he said, as he shopped in the local stores and walked through the neighborhoods of the church and parsonage.