April 23, 2001
Michigan couple restoring
birthplace of 'Old Rugged Cross'
___By Edward Hoogterp
___Religion News Service
___POKAGON, Mich. (RNS)--Any way you look at it, the weathered wooden building near the center of this southwestern Michigan hamlet is a piece of history.
___You could look at the way it's built, with hewn timbers, wooden pegs and square-cut iron nails. You could talk of its original purpose, as part of a failed agricultural enterprise.Or you could simply consider its age--at 138 years old, it's among a small number of Civil War-era structures remaining in Michigan.
BOB AND MOLLY SHAFFER stand in front of the historic churchhouse where the hymn "The Old Rugged Cross" first was performed. (RNS photo)
___At times during its first five decades, the building served as a barn, a social hall and a Methodist church. And then it sat largely vacant for more than 80 years.
___Bob and Molly Shaffer appreciate all that history. But to them, the building's true significance stems from a single day in 1913 when traveling evangelist George Bennard used it for the first public performance of his hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross."
___Bennard, who conducted revival meetings around the Midwest, had worked on his hymn at several Michigan stops before performing it at Pokagon--both solo and with a choir--in 1913.
___In the decades that followed, "The Old Rugged Cross" grew to become one of Christianity's most popular hymns, while the old barn-church was abandoned.
___Two years ago, the Shaffers bought the 90-foot-long building from a local family for $10,000. They gave it to the Pokagon United Methodist Church, which is the successor to the congregation that first heard Bennard's hymn. With others, they formed the non-profit Old Rugged Cross Foundation with hopes of restoring it to the way it looked in 1913.
___The effort is expected to cost $1.6 million and take at least three more years to complete. But the Shaffers seemed optimistic as contractors began replacing rotted beams last year, clearing out rubble and straightening walls that had been leaning as much as 15 degrees from vertical.
___Eight-inch-square timbers that were supposed to support the south wall had turned to dust. The sanctuary floor had collapsed under the weight of time. Raccoon droppings sat a foot deep on the rotted boards.
___The whole structure might have caved in except for three maple trees that took root decades ago along the north foundation and gave the tired walls a place to lean.
___The group has so far raised $83,000. By next summer, they hope to bring in another $200,000 so contractors can lift the building off the site to put in a basement and new foundation walls.
___When the restoration is complete, the former sanctuary will be opened for community worship services, weddings and other events. The kitchen will become a museum, focusing both on "The Old Rugged Cross" hymn and the history of Pokagon.
___
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