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June 5, 2007: Lift high the cross!

Lift high the cross

Lift high the cross!

A giant crane lifted the 34-foot steel cross to its home atop the new St. Paul sanctuary early on Tuesday morning, June 5, 2007. What a thrill!

The cross now stands as a sign of God’s grace to the surrounding neighborhood. The project is a reaffirmation of St. Paul congregation’s commitment to strengthen the central core of Davenport along Brady Street and to reach out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Both thoroughly modern and historically classic in design, the cross draws on some features of an orthodox cross. The cross and the new sanctuary have been designed by Paul Barribeau of the Groth Design Group, Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

A symbol of grace on Brady Street

Learn about the design of the new St. Paul cross

Three years ago, during building idea forums, a number of St. Paul people kept raising the same question: “Is there any way we can have a cross outside the new sanctuary to let people coming up Brady Street know that we’re a church?”

The Building Design Team listened. They agreed that the tiny cross atop the 1952 spire on the north side of the building wasn’t too obvious. Several idea prototypes followed. In the end, a cross of stunning design would make it into the blueprints.

Today, the one-ton, 34-foot-high, galvanized steel cross is in place, rising above the top of the new tower of light. Painted a copper patina bluish-green, it provides interesting contrast to the tan stucco and yellow brick. And the color of the cross also complements the color of the old spire visible in the distance.

Soaring above the cupola

According to Paul Barribeau of the Groth Design Group, the architect who designed the unique cross, “We wanted the top of the cross to soar above the top of the cupola. But the vertical arm of the cross would have been very long and spindly. The secondary cross arm further below was designed to break the long vertical and add interest.”

Indeed it does. Worshipers in the new sanctuary are able to look up and out the east window of the new tower of light and see the shape of a cross right through the window. When the sun hits that lower crossbar, a shadow appears both on the outside of the tower and on the interior plaster walls.

Historic and modern

Pastor Peter Marty refers to the cross as “thoroughly modern and historically classic.” It draws on design elements from the Eastern Orthodox Church, but has the look of a traditional western or Latin cross above with features of a so-called Jerusalem cross below.

On an Orthodox cross, a small crossbar near the top of the vertical represents the sign posted above Jesus’ head. It bore the mocking title bestowed on Christ by the Romans in the New Testament account of the crucifixion: “INRI” (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews). On the lower portion of an Orthodox cross, a lower crossbar (often slanted) represents a footrest that began appearing in Christian art around the sixth century. The purpose of the footrest was to support the weight of the body being crucified and thus prolong the suffering.

Our St. Paul cross only alludes to these different historic elements, never fully copying any one of them. In this sense, the cross is truly unique to our church.

Looking up the eight or nine stories to the top of the cross, Pastor Marty reflected, “What an incredible symbol. We’ve never had this kind of powerful visual statement to the surrounding community. There is certainly no hiding that we worship a crucified and risen Lord.”

And for those curious about protection against lightning strikes, the answer is “Yes, we’re covered.” A massive one-inch cable connects the metal cross high above with God’s good earth below.