JACKSON, Tenn. — Aug. 2, 2019 — Thanks to generous donations, Leadership Union installed a large concrete cross on Union University’s campus in Hadley Circle July 31.
Leadership Union is a cohort of faculty and staff who are selected by Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver to participate in the program. The goal of the program is to assist participants in becoming effective leaders with purposeful contributions across campus. This project of installing a cross sculpture on campus represents a shared vision of the third Leadership Union group of 10 faculty and staff who served in the 2018-2019 academic year.
In their original presentation to Union’s Executive Committee, the cohort proposed placing the cross at the entrance of the walking trail across Pleasant Plains Extension, but the Executive Committee suggested placing it instead at the Hadley Drive Circle in front of the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel. The cross will be visible from the 45 Bypass.
“The cross is a visual representation of what [God] did for us in sending his Son to die on the cross, and that’s just a constant reminder to us of his goodness and grace,” said Nancy Cherry, member of Leadership Union and associate dean and chair in the School of Education.
On the morning of July 31, construction crews went to work installing the 17-foot high cross, which is made of concrete and weighs approximately 5,000 pounds. The concrete of the cross is infused with a tan color. Construction Products created the steel and concrete cross, and Dement Construction Co. provided use of its crane to place the cross in its location. Once the cross was placed in the ground, BT Redi-Mix provided concrete to fill the hole and stabilize the base.
“The donors were fabulous in what they agreed to do for us,” said Nita Mehr, a member of Leadership Union and director for the Master of Social Work programs and associate dean in the School of Social Work. “We have them to thank for this, for donations.”
Union’s Department of Engineering contributed to this project, as well. Don Van, professor of engineering and director of accreditation, and Jay Bernheisel, professor of engineering, worked to create a rendering of the dimensions for the cross. Union’s facilities team dug the hole and prepared the area for installation.
“I’m just overwhelmed at their goodness, because everyone that has made a contribution to putting it in the ground for us has done it out of their love for Christ, as well,” Cherry said.
Oliver had the idea to place a metal tube containing Scripture inside the cross before the concrete was poured. Each member of Leadership Union chose their own significant verse to include, and as a group they also chose to include Luke 10:27, which says, “And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’”
Later, a plaque including this verse and a list of the donors will be installed at the base of the sculpture. New landscaping and lighting will be added in the future, as well.
“The cross makes me pause for a minute to reflect and think of God and all that He does for us,” Mehr said. “I am hopeful that as people come down the bypass or drive through campus, they will look at the cross and have similar thoughts.”