[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=dkUjSpRr93Q 400 330]
The two “Marking Our City” billboards near Grace Community Church‘s north and south I-45 locations depict a plain white cross, an American flag, and the words “150 FT CROSS COMING SOON.” But they probably show only the top portion of the structures the church is planning — and the 150-ft. label may be selling the project short. The Chronicle‘s Lisa Gray says
. . . the pastor hopes both structures will be 200 feet tall, roughly the height of a 20-story building. The Federal Aviation Administration, he said, may limit the south campus’s cross to 150 feet because it’s near Ellington Field.
Five-and-a-half minutes into the Grace Community Church video above, Grace senior pastor Steve Riggle walks viewers through a drawing of a more elaborate structure. Riggle asks
What if there was one of these at every entrance to the city? And it was there for the prayer movement in the city, not just a church. You talk about marking our city for God.
After the jump: More crosses on the side of the highway!
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The drawing shows a cylindrical prayer center mounted 40 feet above a stone base, reached by elevators and topped by a hollow and open globe. The cross stabs through the globe at the North Pole, which is quite a ways away from Houston.
Speaking at a news conference last week, Riggle said he was serious about wanting the structures “at every entrance” to Houston, writes Bay Area Citizen reporter Chuck Hlava:
“I would surround the city,” he said.
The crosses are not about Grace Community Church, Riggle pointed out.
“This is a symbol of a much larger vision – it’s for the city,” he said. “Here is an opportunity to physically and spiritually mark the city in a tangible way.” . . .
The total cost of the cross project doesn’t have a bottom line yet, and Riggle also plans to ask non-members of Grace from around the city to donate.
From a church brochure:
- Make Your Mark Prayer Launch [YouTube]
- Church hopes to grace Houston freeways with giant crosses [Bay Area Citizen]
- Opinionist: Identity Crosses [Houstonist]
- Church wants 2 giant symbols to bear witness [Houston Chronicle]
- Partnering Together [Grace Community Church]