April 7, 2003

Alabama family leads effort to display Easter crosses
___By Cheryl Sloan Wray
___Associated Baptist Press
___BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP)--For several years, Gene and Lynda Murray of Hoover, Ala., celebrated Easter in a way that displayed their faith to their neighbors. They erected a 6-foot cross in their front yard, testifying to passersby that Easter had a significant spiritual meaning to their family.
___The Murrays now are encouraging Christians of many denominations to display similar crosses at their homes. The couple first took their idea to their home church, Green Valley Baptist Church in Hoover, and have since offered it to area churches of different denominations. As a result, they expect to see thousands of crosses displayed throughout the Birmingham area during the week leading up to Easter.
___"We had mentioned the idea to some friends who are members of a different church and they encouraged us to go talk to their pastor," Murray said. "As God called us to go out and talk to more pastors about it, we were overwhelmed by the responses we received. The Lord truly went before us and prepared the pastors' hearts for our message. Every one of the pastors said, 'Yes, let's do it,' within minutes of us being with them."
___The Murrays' own pastor, Jeff Vanlandingham, immediately supported the idea. The project is so important, he said, because it gives Christians a simple way to proclaim their faith.
___"We are really praying that it takes off, and we think it can," he said. "It's a project that both small and large churches can do."
___The symbolism of the project is important, Vanlandingham said. In a time of war and cultural conflict, the cross is a universal symbol for the hope of Christianity.
___Each church is responsible for its own crosses, with individual churches developing different ideas about how to accomplish the cross-building and distribution. Ideally, each family will have a cross to display. The crosses, which are made from 1-inch-by-4-inch rough boards, cost no more than $1.50 each to make.
___The crosses typically are set in the yard on Palm Sunday and remain through Easter. Murray encourages participants to keep their crosses plain and simple, without paint or fancy adornments. "We want it to be as much like Jesus' cross as possible. It was a simple wooden cross," he said.

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