Area residents can proclaim their faith with yard crosses
CROSSES: Nancy Cox and her husband Donald gave more than 50 crosses to their senior mobile home park on Second Street in Coshocton. The Christian-based movement began in Frankenmuth, Michigan and has come to Coshocton County. BEACON PHOTO BY BETH SCOTT
COSHOCTON – Two years ago, an individual in Frankenmuth, Michigan complained about two crosses and a shield featuring a heart and a cross on a bridge in the small community that signified the community’s Lutheran beginnings. That one complaint spearheaded a Christian movement throughout Frankenmuth when people began placing small crosses in their yard to proclaim their Christian faith. After these crosses began to be noticed, the individual removed his complaint.
That act of proclaiming one’s faith has started to spread and has come to Ohio. In Thornsville, Ohio, Paul Smith has picked up this art of making crosses for people to spread the Word of God. Churches and organizations have ordered crosses from Smith throughout Ohio. The idea is to give each person two crosses, one to keep and one to give to a friend.
Jim Arganbright of Coshocton received his first cross from someone in New Concord, Ohio and decided, along with a prayer group from the Presbyterian Church, to bring the movement here to Coshocton County. The prayer group consists of Blair Porteus, John Snyder, Loran Fry, Donna Westfall, Cyndi Albertson, and Jon Carlisle.
“It’s just a good way to visibly show you’re a Christian,” said Arganbright. “If it offends you, you don’t have to look.”
Recently, the Presbyterian Church had a combined service with the Upper Room Assembly and Worship Center and the Salvation Army. During the service, approximately 175 crosses were handed out to those who requested them. Another 100 crosses have been handed out since.
One woman, Nancy Cox, from the Minn-lynn senior mobile home park on Second Street in Coshocton took approximately 50 crosses to give to everyone in her mobile home park.
“You can’t lose faith and you have to keep everybody praying,” said Cox. “That’s the most important thing. You have to have faith.”
She said that the crosses received a good reception.
“Just about everyone wanted them,” she said. “Everybody loved them. They are so pretty and Jim was so good and so nice.”
She said the crosses help remind her of her faith.
“When you look at them, you think about church and God,” she said. “It’s one way to spread the Word of God. It’s a small way, but it’s still one way to spread God’s Word.”
The crosses are free of charge and are about 13 inches tall and six inches across. They are free of charge and the story of how the crosses originated from Frankenmuth, Michigan comes with each cross.
“The requests for crosses are becoming overwhelming for Paul Smith,” said Arganbright. “It would be nice if someone here locally could carry this on in the Coshocton area. If some people were to do this, they could sustain it through donations but still at no cost.”
To receive a cross, call the Presbyterian Church at 740-622-0486.
beth@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Faith
