THE FIRST — A 14-foot-tall wooden cross stands across the street from Perrysville Church, located at 88 Amsterdam Road, SW, Scio. That cross is the first crafted and erected by a Christian ministry that, to date, has produced 28 crosses by request for properties in four Eastern Ohio counties. -- Christopher Dacanay

PERRY TOWNSHIP — Wooden crosses serve as a reminder of the Easter holiday for many, and for others, they represent more, namely hope in the new life won for believers by Jesus of Nazareth through his death and resurrection, according to Christians.

Spreading that hope was the goal of a Christian ministry begun at Perrysville Church, located at 88 Amsterdam Road, SW, Scio. That ministry is responsible for crafting and erecting more than two dozen crosses — the same size as the one Jesus is said to have carried to his crucifixion — in Jefferson, Harrison, Tuscarawas and Carroll counties.

At its core, the ministry has been a team effort, drawing skills and contributions from a host of men like Brian McHugh, a member of Perrysville Church, who said the ministry is a “preaching of the cross,” citing the Bible’s 1 Corinthians 1:18-25: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

Cliff Brown, another Perrysville member, recalled the ministry’s origin, which he said had “God’s hand on it from the start.”

The church was hosting an event in 2020, during which Brown began speaking with the Rev. Dixie Hendricks, pastor of Perrysville and Pleasant Hill Church near Carrollton. Hendricks expressed her desire to have a cross placed permanently next to the church’s pavilion, across the street from the church itself.

Hendricks recalled her desire to have a tangible symbol to bring “hope” to others.

“(The cross) was a source of pain,” Hendricks said, “but Jesus isn’t on the cross anymore. He was raised from the dead. He gave us a specific command: ‘Take up your cross and follow me.” The cross, to me, is a symbol of his life, and that’s the power we live in.”

Brown took Hendricks’ words to prayer and gathered a team to help him with the project. Hendricks had specifically requested Brown use rough-cut oak wood, and Brown wanted the cross to be as close to the size of Jesus’ own cross as possible.

Brown said he made a prayerful guess, planning the cross to be 14 feet high, with 3 feet underground. About two years later, Brown would listen to a documentary about the crucifixion, which placed the historical cross at 14 feet high and confirmed Brown’s intuition.

“That was a defining moment for me,” Brown recalled. “I felt like we were doing something that God wanted us to do.”

The men constructed the first cross for across the street in the spring of 2021 and, months later, built another one for Pleasant Hill Church. Between individuals hearing about the crosses by word of mouth and passing by them on the road, more people began requesting crosses for their own property, Brown said. Beginning with Perrysville Church members and extending far beyond, the ministry has built 28 crosses to date, with most in the last year.

“It amazes me that everybody’s come together and how well it’s worked,” Brown said. “There’s been a lot of work, but we had enough guys to make it happen and people put a lot of time into it.”

Wood is obtained from Denoon Lumber in Bergholz and transported by Dan Shawver. Those in the ministry gather at Brown’s farm, where they begin by cutting the lumber, carving complementary notches into the two beams so they fit together.

Four holes are drilled into the overlapping beams. Ken Stoneman provides pegs, which are driven into the beams. The rough-cut oak is often soft and wet, but once it dries, the wood compresses and tightens the pegs in place.

Gary Booth double-treats the wood, making it weather-proof, and a layer of tar is applied to the bottom 3 feet of the cross, which will be underground. Finished crosses are heavy, taking up to four people to carry. Crosses are brought to the requesting individuals’ property, where they are placed in a hand-dug hole and cemented in.

During construction, each man has his own role in the system. Participants have the system down pat, being able to construct eight in about three hours with eight helpers. Those who have contributed to the ministry at any point include Brown, McHugh, Shawver, Stoneman, Booth, Krieg Brown, Kurt Brown, Vance Leggett, Bob “Tiny” Benedict, Mark Zantene, Eric Waidmen, Justin Hart, Brian Fisher, Scotty Fisher, Bob Hobson and Shane Grimes

“Many, many laughs” have been shared by the ministry’s men during their work, recalled Grimes. The men are afforded plenty of time to bond and share the ways God has been working in their lives, added McHugh.

Cliff Brown said, “We’ve been so blessed by the things Good has allowed us to do. It’s work, but it’s a privilege.”

The men and Dixie have many stories to share of people being positively affected by the crosses. One individual, Grimes recalled, saw the men putting up a cross and turned his vehicle around to give the men a $100 donation — the ministry doesn’t ask for anything in return for the crosses, but donations go toward purchasing lumber.

Hendricks said many individuals have expressed their gratitude for the crosses. She mentioned one woman who was experiencing a difficult period in life but saw the cross while driving and later said, “I looked at the cross, and it brought me peace, and I know that I’m not alone.”

In each situation, it’s the Holy Spirit that speaks to someone in those moments, Hendricks said, but the physical cross opens them up to it.

“You never know what people are going through,” Hendrick said, “and sometimes (they see) just that little glimmer and they’re drawn to the cross. God speaks in so many ways.”

At the Perrysville and Pleasant Hill churches, services frequently begin and end around the crosses. They were utilized in recent Easter sunrise services, during a play last year and other outdoor services.

“When we do things here, it’s always around the cross,” Hendricks said. “Either it starts out or it ends up.”

Brown said he has enough lumber ordered for 20 or more crosses to be built, with about seven requests yet to be fulfilled. As long as individuals want to look upon the cross, the ministry will be ready and willing to help provide that avenue for hope.