Massive ‘empty cross’ lights the way to Owatonna sculpture garden
Workers erected “The Empty Cross” sculpture last Tuesday at Christian Family Church in Owatonna. It stands 70-feet-7-inches tall, weighs 78,000 pounds, and was assembled by a crew from Ames Construction in Burnsville. Staff photo by Joni Hubred
It really is a sight to behold.
Christian Family Church last week installed a massive 77-foot-7-inch, COR-TEN steel cross near the entrance of its campus on the west side of I-35 in Owatonna. It went up in two pieces on Tuesday, with additional work continuing through the week.
Pastor Tim Peterson said the church added the sculpture, called “The Empty Cross”, to “share the message of the cross. One of the things we’ll be offering the community is a small book on the power of the cross.”
“The big thing,” he added, “is to draw tourists to the (sculpture) garden, so they can be touched spiritually or mentally or however they need to be touched by God.”
The Minnesota Sculpture Prayer Garden will open sometime in the spring of 2024, “in time for Easter,” Peterson said. It consists of six bronze sculptures, including “The Coming King,” which was previously located in front of the church entrance. The statue depicts Jesus’ second coming as described in the biblical book of Revelations, Peterson said.
The group will also include “Fishers of Men,” an image of Jesus with a fishing net; “The Servant,” depicting Jesus washing his disciple Peter’s feet; “The Great Commission”, a globe representing the command to bring Jesus’ message to the world; “The Finished Cross,” a 40-foot cross with a crown of thorns and spikes; and “Hope,” which will be set apart from the others, in a more private location.
“Hope” shows Jesus holding a baby and sitting next to a woman. There’s a bench next to the woman, “and people can sit on the bench and can look into the face of Jesus… It’s amazing to watch how people are touched and find healing from that sculpture,” Peterson said.
The Minnesota garden is patterned after The Coming King pSculpture Prayer Garden in Kerrville, Tex. The “sister garden” has about 15,000 visitors every month, but Peterson expects far more at the local garden because of its location along I-35. The Federal Aviation Administration required red lights across the top, and a white light will shine into the piece.
Peterson declined to provide the exact project cost–he said the number was publicized in another news story, and there were negative comments from people who felt the money should have been spent in a different way.
“It’s a large financial investment,” he said, adding the cost was covered by donations. He and his wife, Cherrié Peterson, also pastor a Christian Family Church congregation in Edina, and there are over 1,000 affiliated congregations around the world.
“People were extremely generous,” Peterson said, “and we had a couple of very generous donors.”
He added that his wife came up with a way to put the project cost into perspective: “She said, when people ask what the cross cost, tell them it cost Jesus his life… This isn’t about how much money is spent, because people are touched by God.”
The church is planning an installation celebration on Saturday, November 25, 10:30 a.m., and the community is welcome.
“We want this to be a blessing to Owatonna,” Peterson said.