Churches' 'Path to the Cross' teeming with unique exhibits

Sixty-five unique exhibits tell the "Path to the Cross."

Members of First Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church, both of Cape Girardeau, gathered crosses for the event. They range from simple wooden crosses to stained-glass representations to a tiny cross made from Hershey's Kisses wrappers.

Among them:

A U.S. Army-themed cross, belonging to Claudine Pinckley.

• A German cross made of rounded black metal that likely dates to the mid-1800s.
• A picture of steel beams at the site of the destroyed World Trade Center towers. The beams had been sheared off and form a cross.
• A wooden cross with a note attached indicating it is made from the "pruned branches of olive trees growing on the hills of Bethlehem."

Brenda Randolph, who serves on First Presbyterian's Mission Committee and organized the event, said each exhibit has a special meaning or attribute.

"Each of these has a story, and we tried to tell the story," she explained.

When asked which cross drew her eye, she immediately pointed to one in particular, a golden cross inlaid with images from the Nativity.

"When you look at this, it's a cross, but when you look closely, it's the Nativity," she said. "To me, that's the one that's the most unique."

Don Gibson created this stained-glass cross.

The event, which will also feature music and refreshments, continues from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 16. The event is set for Peace Park, located beside First Presbyterian Church at 235 Broadway, weather permitting. Otherwise, the exhibits will be inside the church's lobby area.

Randolph noted the churches are accepting donations at the event. Those funds will go to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to "provide funding to partners already on the ground giving humanitarian assistance in and around Ukraine."