wfn.org | PCUSA - 'Deadheads? turn into 2nd-chance crosses

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?Deadheads? turn into 2nd-chance crosses

New Moderator?s gavel crafted from same wood
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Photo of several wooden crosses

2nd Chance Crosses. ?Photo courtesy of the Rev. William Evans

> Posted at
> July 4, 2010 1:11 a.m.

> by Duane Sweep

> Synod of Lakes and Prairies

Wood thought to be too brittle to be used for anything has been transformed 
into significant  faith symbols at the 219th General Assembly (2010) of the 
Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) here, thanks  to a partnership between a commissioned lay pastor (CLP) 
from Tower, Minn., and a couple in North Carolina.

William (Bill) Evans, CLP at St. James Presbyterian Church in Tower, has 
supplied 30,000 small wooden crosses made from ?deadheads? ? long-sunken logs 
that have floated back to the surface of some of Minnesota?s fabled 10,000 
lakes ? as gifts from the three sponsoring presbyteries to those attending the 
Assembly.

Cynthia Bolbach, newly elected moderator of the 219th General Assembly, will 
receive a gavel and strike plate made from the ?deadhead? lumber. The gavel and 
strike plate will be mounted on a walnut plaque.

Outgoing Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow and Vice-moderator Byron Wade will receive 
6- to 8-inch table crosses made from ?deadhead? lumber.

Rod McPeak, an elder at St. James Church, crafted the gavel and strike plate, 
and Ron Muster, an elder at the same church, created the mounting plaque. 
Muster also made the cross and base for the table crosses.

Donetta Wickstrom, a member of the Committee on Local Arrangements for the 
Assembly, supplied agate for both the table crosses and gavel plaque. The St. 
James congregation donated the engraved brass name plates.

Evans described the history of the

?deadheads?:  ?In the late 1800s and early 1900s northeastern Minnesota?s main 
industry was lumber. Many of the local lakes were used as a way to transport 
logs to the mills. Some of the logs became water logged and sank to the bottom 
of the lakes.?

Now, after about 100 years or more, some of the logs are floating to the 
surface. Evans continued, ?These logs are known as ?deadheads? because only one 
end of the log is visible and they are a great hazard to watercraft.?

Evans, who was born and raised in Davenport, Iowa, worked for Deere & Co. for 
29 years, took early retirement and ran his own consulting business for six years, 
concentrating on team building, trust and conflict resolution. He and his wife, 
Sherry, moved to Ely, Minn., where they had owned a vacation home for 10 years.

In 2004, after two years of training, the Presbytery of Northern Waters, one of 
the hosts of this year?s General Assembly, commissioned Evans to serve St. 
James.

While liiving on Garden Lake, near Ely, Evans pulled nine of the ?deadheads? 
from the lake but he was told ?the wood was useless because all its strength 
was gone. The wood was brittle and could not be used.?

One day Evans received an email from Dennis Adams in North Carolina. Adams and 
his wife, Joan, make small wooden crosses and offer them to churches for 
vacation Bible school, Sunday school and other church events. Evans told Adams 
about the
?deadheads.? Adams was ?excited, to say the least,? Evans said.

The connection sparked the creation of Second Chance Crosses  ? the 
?deadheads,? just like Christians, get a second  chance.

Evans has sent Adams almost 1,000 pounds of wood in return for the 30,000 
Second Chance Crosses. They range in height from a little more than 1 inch to 
about 2 inches.

Second Chance Crosses are available in a variety of forms, including a key 
chain, a key ring, a zipper pull, a penny cross, a ?cross in my pocket,? a 
youth necklace, a small adult necklace and a large adult necklace with leather 
lanyard. There?s also a ?travel mercy? cross that can be hung from the rear 
view mirror of a vehicle.

There is no charge for the crosses, Evans noted, but donations are accepted to 
help the ministry.

Second Chance Crosses is online at http://www.2ndchancecrosses.com and can also 
be contacted through the mail at Box 432, Tower, MN 55790.