St. Stephen’s in Spokane gets new cross

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Spokane’s South Side has gone more than 30 years without a cross atop its steeple.

On Tuesday, a brushed stainless steel cross was hoisted by crane and mounted onto the steeple, a crowning touch that church members had long missed seeing.

“For the last 30 years we’ve been wanting to put a cross up there,” said the Rev. Bill Osborne, rector of the church.

Church members and group of preschool children gathered in the parking lot outside to watch the new cross being raised.

The original cross on the 1967 church came down twice during wind storms. It was re-erected following the first toppling using insurance coverage. The second time it blew down, the insurance company declined to cover the loss, so the church remained without its cross, Osborne said.

The new cross is wider and taller, but sits lower on the steeple. The original cross was mounted atop a metal framework, which remains on its side in a landscape area near the church. The original cross, only 15 inches wide, was moved to the church entry.

The new cross is about 5 feet wide.

The work was made possible through a gift from longtime church member Florence Kirk, who has been in poor health, but was able to attend Tuesday’s raising.

“It means an awful lot to me,” said the 91-year-old from the passenger seat inside a warm SUV. “The church has been very generous to me.”

She said she has attended St. Stephen’s for more than 40 years.

“That is wonderful,” said Kirk’s daughter, Lynelle Kirk-Spence, after the cross was put in place.

“This is so exciting she was able to get up here” to see the cross being hoisted, she said of her mother.

Osborne said the cost of the job was in excess of $30,000.

The cross was designed by Madsen Mitchell Evenson & Conrad architects, of Spokane.

It was hoisted by Rob Elmer and his employees at J.W. Elmer Construction, of Spokane.

The church was designed in 1966 by Royal McClure and Tom Adkison, leaders in the midcentury modern architectural movement in Spokane. Construction extended into 1967. The main portion of the church features a 16-sided layout, which creates the appearance of a circle.