Area church gets new cross for steeple

POTTSTOWN » An area church that has been standing for over a century has a new shine to it after receiving a much needed repair.

Christ Episcopal Church, 316 E. High St., is showing off a brand new cross that was newly installed at the top of their steeple. The new stainless steel adornment has replaced the old one after it was discovered last year that the cross was beginning to lean.

“The old cross was taken down because the base part broke off internally,” said Bob Gross with Christ Episcopal Church. “It broke off far enough down that it wasn’t really obvious. We noticed it was tilting one direction on one day and in another direction on another.”

Church officials noticed the tilt in the summer of last year and took swift action to avoid any falling items. Because of how the cross broke, repairs made it difficult, but finding someone to do the work on installing a new cross came with its own difficulties.

“The problem is that it was also the lightning rod. So they got it down, capped the thing and then we had to figure out what to do about it,” said Gross. “This is the only guy for states around that does this kind of stuff.”

Crews from CJ Diirner & Sons could be seen in a crane Friday preparing to put up the new cross. By close to 9 a.m., the new cross was sitting on top of the steeple and had been unveiled.

The original cross had been in place since the church was built in 1876. It weighs over 250 pounds, was originally gold plated and is made of cast iron. Gross said although there will be a new, slightly less ornate cross atop the church, the old cross will be displayed in the front yard for people to see.

MARIAN DENNIS – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA After the original cross on top of Christ Episcopal Church broke last summer, church officials have replaced it with a new stainless steel version. The original , which was more than a century old, was originally gold plated and was made of cast iron.