Scotch Grove church blesses new cross

     During the Nov. 26 church service at the Scotch Grove Country Church, a new handmade cross was blessed. The cross was designed, made, and donated by Paul Rohrbacher of Scotch Grove.

   During that service, Rev. Tim Slemmons from the University of Dubuque officiated the blessing and cross-lighting ceremony of the new illuminated cross.

   The Scotch Grove Country Church is owned by Wayne and Shirley Eiben.

   During the service, Rohrbacher threw the switch, lighting the cross. The church congregation placed their hands on the shoulders of the person next to them, symbolizing that each member actively took part in the lighting of the cross. The congregation then sang the song "The Old Rugged Cross."

   The design of the cross required a lot of hours for Rohrbacher in just imaging the design. A lot of ideas were drawn out on paper.

   The components of the cross included: a 22-foot square sheet of heavy gage steel, four large grommets, four LED bulbs, wire, and a 120 VAC (volts alternating current) to a 12-volt DC (direct current) step-down transformer.

   Rohrbacher drew the possible designs. His wife, Dena, offered her comments on the various ideas.

   First, the cross needed to be back illuminated so the congregation wasn't exposed to the direct LED light.

   Second, the cross had to stand out against any color background.

   Rohrbacher made a paper model of the intended cross to better visualize how it would look in-person.

   Finally, a decision was made to have a smaller cross in front of a much larger cross in the background.

   The four LED bulbs were mounted between the top and bottom of both crosses. A plasma cutter was used to cut out both pieces from the 22-foot steel sheet. They were then wire-welded together. Rohrbacher commented that it took a lot of grinding to remove the mill scale and access the welding material.

   After the grinding, the finish was applied to the crosses.

   The front side of the rear cross was painted gold. The rear of the smaller front cross was ground smooth, including the welds, clear coated, and left a bright steel color.

   The front side front cross was carefully sanded and cleaned with Acetone to remove all of the fingerprints and other contaminants. A propane torch was used on the front cross until a rich blue color shown. A clear varnish was added to coat the front.

   The Country Church used to be the Scotch Grove Presbyterian Church back in the day. Years ago, Rohrbacher made a large sheet steel Presbyterian Church cross. This cross was on display at the Nov. 26 service, and each element of the cross was explained as to what it symbolized. Rohrbacher presented that cross to Rev. Slemmons to be mounted in a permanent location at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.

   The Scotch Grove Country Church is located on 95th Avenue off County Road E-17.