Carrying The Cross
Stories
Object:
Contents
Sharing Visions: "Carrying the Cross" by Kenneth Lyerly
Good Stories: "Laying Down the Law" by John Sumwalt
John's Scrap Pile: "The Stories Behind 'The Old Rugged Cross'"
Jesus invites us to take up our crosses and follow him. What is your experience of carrying the cross? I remember a Sunday several years ago when I was pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We were doing our annual Easter cantata, and I asked Ken Lyerly, who was the lay leader and the narrator for the cantata, if he would carry the cross out during the postlude after the benediction. Ken had the strangest expression on his face after the service, and he told me his story about "Carrying the Cross," which appears below. This week's StoryShare also includes a scrap pile piece by Eunice Bonow Bardell about her visit with Mrs. George Bennard, the wife of the composer of "The Old Rugged Cross," and various stories regarding the genesis of this beloved hymn.
Sharing Visions
Carrying the Cross
by Kenneth Lyerly
"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
Mark 8:34b
One year, on Palm Sunday, I was the narrator in our church's Easter cantata. As we were about to go into the sanctuary to sing, the pastor came up to me and asked if I would be willing to carry the cross out at the end of the service. I said yes without giving it a second thought, but as the cantata went on I had a lot of time between narrations to think about what I had been asked to do. From where I was standing I could look back and see the cross. As I thought about carrying it out, I had a strong feeling of not being worthy... that someone else should do it. I wondered why the pastor had asked me. Why hadn't he asked someone else? I was very much distracted from what I was supposed to be reading in the cantata. My eyes kept going back to the cross.
At the end of the service, when the pastor brought the cross over and handed it to me, I was struck by its size and weight. It wasn't a very big cross, but at that moment it seemed very large and very heavy. The walk from the front of the church to the back seemed a long way. A part of me wanted to get it over with ... to get out of there and put it down, because I felt very uncomfortable with it.
When I got out into the narthex, I turned and watched as the children started to come out of the sanctuary. A little boy came over to me, looked up, touched the cross, and said, "Did Jesus really die on a cross like this?" It was all that I could do to say yes, but I did manage to get it out. I'll never forget what happened next. His face lit up as he began to comprehend, probably for the first time in his life, what Jesus had done for him.
As I lay the cross down, I felt very pleased that I had been given the opportunity to carry it.
Kenneth Lyerly is now a local pastor serving United Methodist churches in Genoa City and Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. You may e-mail him at klyerly@wi.rr.com or write to him at 7937 30th Avenue, Kenosha, Wisconsin 53142.
Good Stories
Laying Down the Law
by John Sumwalt
"For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it."
Mark 8:35
For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
Romans 4:15
Awards Sunday was the biggest annual event at Calvary Church. Every year the best and the brightest and the most persistent of the Sunday school children lined up in the front of the sanctuary to receive their pins for memorizing Bible verses and books of the Bible, writing essays on selected scriptural passages, perfect attendance, and community service. The community service award was given to the student who was most Christ-like in his or her service to the community. It was usually given to one of the high school kids and was the most coveted award.
There were 11 recipients of perfect attendance awards this year, and Tammy Lee Hartley, the superintendent's daughter, was to receive her six-year pin. Tammy had been asked to give a brief speech in hopes that she might inspire some of the other children to increase their efforts. The speech went well enough, though it was a bit too long. Tammy's parents and grandparents beamed with pride and the church elders looked on approvingly. The first graders had lined up in front and were midway through the first verse of "Jesus Loves Me" when suddenly there was a big boom that echoed throughout the sanctuary. The base of one of the candles on the altar had exploded and the candle had taken off toward the ceiling like a rocket. It bounced off a beam and then, as it fell back toward the floor, came to rest on one of the crossbars of the cross which hung directly over the altar. Three seventh grade boys in the fourth row burst out laughing. Everyone else sat in stunned silence.
The superintendent and the pastor made a beeline for the seventh grade boys, who had been troublemakers all year long. Billy Packer was the ringleader. He was continually pulling pranks on his teachers and classmates. The superintendent and the pastor herded Billy into the Sunday school office and prepared to give him the third degree. Billy readily admitted that he was responsible for the candle explosion, but he was clearly unrepentant. The pastor and the superintendent were about to lay down the law when they were interrupted by a firm knock on the door. It was the seventh grade Sunday school teacher, Steve Dexter. Steve asked if they would be willing to turn the job of disciplining Billy over to him. He said, "I think I know just what is needed." The pastor and the superintendent were a little reluctant because they both believed that Steve was too lenient with his class. But they agreed to give him a chance since he was Billy's teacher. Steve said he would meet with Billy and his parents after the awards ceremony. He whispered something in Billy's ear as they walked back toward the sanctuary. Billy's face turned pale. He looked like he might run away any minute. Steve draped his arm around Billy's shoulder and kept him going in the right direction.
As they entered the sanctuary, the fifth graders were just finishing a new rap version of the 23rd Psalm. Then came the highlight of the awards ceremony, the presentation of the community service award. The superintendent announced that the presentation would be made by the teacher of the student who was to receive the award. Steve Dexter got up and walked up to the front. Before he spoke he motioned to someone in the back to come forward and join him at the microphone. A tired-looking middle-aged man in a wheelchair began to make his way slowly up the aisle. Billy Packer slid down as low as he could get in the pew and covered his face with his hands. Then came the announcement everyone was waiting for. "This year's winner of the community service award," Steve said, "is Billy Packer." There was a communal gasp of surprise from the congregation, and then a spattering of polite applause. Everyone was stunned, almost as much as they had been when the candle exploded. They began to murmur among themselves. How could a troublemaker like Billy Packer win the community service award?
Steve Dexter leaned over toward the man in the wheelchair and handed him the microphone. Everyone became very quiet as the man began to speak. "Most of you don't know me," he intoned in a raspy voice. "I haven't been able to come to church for a long, long time. But a few of you might recall that I won the community service award in 1969 when I was a senior." There were a few slow nods of recognition. "I am very proud," the man went on, "to be given the honor of presenting this year's award to my nephew, Billy Packer. Billy gave me one of his kidneys. He was the only person in our family whose DNA was the right match for mine. It is because of Billy's gift that I am still alive today. I want to thank him for saving my life, and thank all of you in this church for helping Billy learn to give of himself like Christ did." Then Billy's uncle handed the microphone back to Steve. This time the applause was loud and sustained.
Steve said, "Now, I would like to ask Billy to come up and say a few words." Billy, with his head still hanging low, made his way slowly to the microphone. In a weak, halting voice he began, "I don't think I deserve to get any award, especially after what I did with the candle. I just want to say that I'm sorry and I will never do anything like that again." Then he looked at his uncle and said, "I don't think what I did was such a big deal. I just love Uncle Jim and I want him to be well."
Steve hugged Billy and pushed him toward his Uncle Jim for another embarrassing hug. The pianist launched into "Amazing Grace" and the awards ceremony was over for another year. Several months passed before anyone bothered to remove the candle which had landed on the crossbar of the cross.
John's Scrap Pile
The Stories Behind "The Old Rugged Cross"
by Dr. Eunice Bonow Bardell
As you sing "The Old Rugged Cross," one of the most loved and popular hymns, have you ever glanced at the top of the page to find out who wrote the words and music?
May I introduce the Rev. George Bennard?
George Bennard was born February 4, 1873 in Youngstown, Ohio. During his childhood, the family moved to Albia, Iowa, where his father worked in the coal mines. George was sixteen years old when his father was killed in a mining accident. He then went to work in the coal mines to support his mother and four sisters. In 1895, in Canton, Ohio, George enlisted in the Salvation Army, and three years later began conducting revival meetings. Later he moved to Michigan and affiliated with the Methodist Church. During his lifetime he wrote about 350 hymns. He sang these hymns and preached in every state in the union except Louisiana, Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii.
When Rev. Bennard was about 40 years old he wrote "The Old Rugged Cross." The idea came in a time of great anxiety and frustration. "I was praying," he recalled, "for a full understanding of the cross when the theme of the song came to me, and with it the melody."
Where the hymn was written is a question. Several cities claim the honor.
One of the cities is Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. On December 29, 1912, Rev. Bennard and his song leader, Rev. Mieras, began a series of evangelistic meetings in the Friends Church. The meetings were well advertised in the local press and drew capacity crowds. Other churches in the community supported the services and supplemented the choir. The music at the services was thrilling. Rev. Bennard came to Sturgeon Bay with the first stanza and the chorus of "The Old Rugged Cross," and completed the hymn during his stay. At the closing meeting, on January 12, 1913, Rev. Bennard and Rev. Mieras sang the hymn accompanied by organist Pearl Berg. The meeting closed at about midnight "in a blaze of glory. Over one hundred and forty were turned to the Lord and many others were helped and established in the faith."
According to "The Old Rugged Cross" Association in Pokagon, Michigan, the hymn was completed in the Methodist parsonage there in 1913 while Rev. Bennard was in town to lead a series of revival meetings. One evening, as the pastor's wife was completing the evening meal, Rev. Bennard announced that he had a new song. "And in the little kitchen, he sang his song accompanied by the strumming of his guitar. An awed silence hung over the place when he finished and was broken at last when the pastor's wife expressed the opinion that the song was destined to stir many, many people."
In this little hamlet in southern Michigan, a memorial has been erected, a large rugged cross standing behind a large boulder in which is carved the statement that the hymn was first sung in this church, naming the members of the choir, the organist, and the date.
Two old rugged cross monuments have been erected in Reed City, Michigan, one in the yard of the Bennard home and the second one in a small wayside off US Highway 131.
In the summer of 1967, I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Bennard in her home. Our visit lasted for two hours. After chatting, Mrs. Bennard sat down at the piano and suggested that we should sing, and we sang "The Old Rugged Cross." Afterwards she told of a time when they were away from home. During their absence, the Reed City commission decided to illuminate the cross in their yard. This was not communicated to the Bennards. One evening at dusk, as they were looking through the east window (and Mrs. Bennard rose from the piano bench to demonstrate it for me), the light suddenly went on. She said she sat down at the piano, and together she and her husband composed another favorite Bennard hymn, "There's a Light on the Cross."
(From a presentation to the Wesleyan Service Guild at Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on September 21, 1967.)
Eunice Bonow Bardell is professor emeritus of Health Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has written many articles and books about pharmacy. Dr. Bardell is a longtime member of Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church.
StoryShare, March 16, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
Sharing Visions: "Carrying the Cross" by Kenneth Lyerly
Good Stories: "Laying Down the Law" by John Sumwalt
John's Scrap Pile: "The Stories Behind 'The Old Rugged Cross'"
Jesus invites us to take up our crosses and follow him. What is your experience of carrying the cross? I remember a Sunday several years ago when I was pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We were doing our annual Easter cantata, and I asked Ken Lyerly, who was the lay leader and the narrator for the cantata, if he would carry the cross out during the postlude after the benediction. Ken had the strangest expression on his face after the service, and he told me his story about "Carrying the Cross," which appears below. This week's StoryShare also includes a scrap pile piece by Eunice Bonow Bardell about her visit with Mrs. George Bennard, the wife of the composer of "The Old Rugged Cross," and various stories regarding the genesis of this beloved hymn.
Sharing Visions
Carrying the Cross
by Kenneth Lyerly
"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
Mark 8:34b
One year, on Palm Sunday, I was the narrator in our church's Easter cantata. As we were about to go into the sanctuary to sing, the pastor came up to me and asked if I would be willing to carry the cross out at the end of the service. I said yes without giving it a second thought, but as the cantata went on I had a lot of time between narrations to think about what I had been asked to do. From where I was standing I could look back and see the cross. As I thought about carrying it out, I had a strong feeling of not being worthy... that someone else should do it. I wondered why the pastor had asked me. Why hadn't he asked someone else? I was very much distracted from what I was supposed to be reading in the cantata. My eyes kept going back to the cross.
At the end of the service, when the pastor brought the cross over and handed it to me, I was struck by its size and weight. It wasn't a very big cross, but at that moment it seemed very large and very heavy. The walk from the front of the church to the back seemed a long way. A part of me wanted to get it over with ... to get out of there and put it down, because I felt very uncomfortable with it.
When I got out into the narthex, I turned and watched as the children started to come out of the sanctuary. A little boy came over to me, looked up, touched the cross, and said, "Did Jesus really die on a cross like this?" It was all that I could do to say yes, but I did manage to get it out. I'll never forget what happened next. His face lit up as he began to comprehend, probably for the first time in his life, what Jesus had done for him.
As I lay the cross down, I felt very pleased that I had been given the opportunity to carry it.
Kenneth Lyerly is now a local pastor serving United Methodist churches in Genoa City and Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. You may e-mail him at klyerly@wi.rr.com or write to him at 7937 30th Avenue, Kenosha, Wisconsin 53142.
Good Stories
Laying Down the Law
by John Sumwalt
"For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it."
Mark 8:35
For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
Romans 4:15
Awards Sunday was the biggest annual event at Calvary Church. Every year the best and the brightest and the most persistent of the Sunday school children lined up in the front of the sanctuary to receive their pins for memorizing Bible verses and books of the Bible, writing essays on selected scriptural passages, perfect attendance, and community service. The community service award was given to the student who was most Christ-like in his or her service to the community. It was usually given to one of the high school kids and was the most coveted award.
There were 11 recipients of perfect attendance awards this year, and Tammy Lee Hartley, the superintendent's daughter, was to receive her six-year pin. Tammy had been asked to give a brief speech in hopes that she might inspire some of the other children to increase their efforts. The speech went well enough, though it was a bit too long. Tammy's parents and grandparents beamed with pride and the church elders looked on approvingly. The first graders had lined up in front and were midway through the first verse of "Jesus Loves Me" when suddenly there was a big boom that echoed throughout the sanctuary. The base of one of the candles on the altar had exploded and the candle had taken off toward the ceiling like a rocket. It bounced off a beam and then, as it fell back toward the floor, came to rest on one of the crossbars of the cross which hung directly over the altar. Three seventh grade boys in the fourth row burst out laughing. Everyone else sat in stunned silence.
The superintendent and the pastor made a beeline for the seventh grade boys, who had been troublemakers all year long. Billy Packer was the ringleader. He was continually pulling pranks on his teachers and classmates. The superintendent and the pastor herded Billy into the Sunday school office and prepared to give him the third degree. Billy readily admitted that he was responsible for the candle explosion, but he was clearly unrepentant. The pastor and the superintendent were about to lay down the law when they were interrupted by a firm knock on the door. It was the seventh grade Sunday school teacher, Steve Dexter. Steve asked if they would be willing to turn the job of disciplining Billy over to him. He said, "I think I know just what is needed." The pastor and the superintendent were a little reluctant because they both believed that Steve was too lenient with his class. But they agreed to give him a chance since he was Billy's teacher. Steve said he would meet with Billy and his parents after the awards ceremony. He whispered something in Billy's ear as they walked back toward the sanctuary. Billy's face turned pale. He looked like he might run away any minute. Steve draped his arm around Billy's shoulder and kept him going in the right direction.
As they entered the sanctuary, the fifth graders were just finishing a new rap version of the 23rd Psalm. Then came the highlight of the awards ceremony, the presentation of the community service award. The superintendent announced that the presentation would be made by the teacher of the student who was to receive the award. Steve Dexter got up and walked up to the front. Before he spoke he motioned to someone in the back to come forward and join him at the microphone. A tired-looking middle-aged man in a wheelchair began to make his way slowly up the aisle. Billy Packer slid down as low as he could get in the pew and covered his face with his hands. Then came the announcement everyone was waiting for. "This year's winner of the community service award," Steve said, "is Billy Packer." There was a communal gasp of surprise from the congregation, and then a spattering of polite applause. Everyone was stunned, almost as much as they had been when the candle exploded. They began to murmur among themselves. How could a troublemaker like Billy Packer win the community service award?
Steve Dexter leaned over toward the man in the wheelchair and handed him the microphone. Everyone became very quiet as the man began to speak. "Most of you don't know me," he intoned in a raspy voice. "I haven't been able to come to church for a long, long time. But a few of you might recall that I won the community service award in 1969 when I was a senior." There were a few slow nods of recognition. "I am very proud," the man went on, "to be given the honor of presenting this year's award to my nephew, Billy Packer. Billy gave me one of his kidneys. He was the only person in our family whose DNA was the right match for mine. It is because of Billy's gift that I am still alive today. I want to thank him for saving my life, and thank all of you in this church for helping Billy learn to give of himself like Christ did." Then Billy's uncle handed the microphone back to Steve. This time the applause was loud and sustained.
Steve said, "Now, I would like to ask Billy to come up and say a few words." Billy, with his head still hanging low, made his way slowly to the microphone. In a weak, halting voice he began, "I don't think I deserve to get any award, especially after what I did with the candle. I just want to say that I'm sorry and I will never do anything like that again." Then he looked at his uncle and said, "I don't think what I did was such a big deal. I just love Uncle Jim and I want him to be well."
Steve hugged Billy and pushed him toward his Uncle Jim for another embarrassing hug. The pianist launched into "Amazing Grace" and the awards ceremony was over for another year. Several months passed before anyone bothered to remove the candle which had landed on the crossbar of the cross.
John's Scrap Pile
The Stories Behind "The Old Rugged Cross"
by Dr. Eunice Bonow Bardell
As you sing "The Old Rugged Cross," one of the most loved and popular hymns, have you ever glanced at the top of the page to find out who wrote the words and music?
May I introduce the Rev. George Bennard?
George Bennard was born February 4, 1873 in Youngstown, Ohio. During his childhood, the family moved to Albia, Iowa, where his father worked in the coal mines. George was sixteen years old when his father was killed in a mining accident. He then went to work in the coal mines to support his mother and four sisters. In 1895, in Canton, Ohio, George enlisted in the Salvation Army, and three years later began conducting revival meetings. Later he moved to Michigan and affiliated with the Methodist Church. During his lifetime he wrote about 350 hymns. He sang these hymns and preached in every state in the union except Louisiana, Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii.
When Rev. Bennard was about 40 years old he wrote "The Old Rugged Cross." The idea came in a time of great anxiety and frustration. "I was praying," he recalled, "for a full understanding of the cross when the theme of the song came to me, and with it the melody."
Where the hymn was written is a question. Several cities claim the honor.
One of the cities is Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. On December 29, 1912, Rev. Bennard and his song leader, Rev. Mieras, began a series of evangelistic meetings in the Friends Church. The meetings were well advertised in the local press and drew capacity crowds. Other churches in the community supported the services and supplemented the choir. The music at the services was thrilling. Rev. Bennard came to Sturgeon Bay with the first stanza and the chorus of "The Old Rugged Cross," and completed the hymn during his stay. At the closing meeting, on January 12, 1913, Rev. Bennard and Rev. Mieras sang the hymn accompanied by organist Pearl Berg. The meeting closed at about midnight "in a blaze of glory. Over one hundred and forty were turned to the Lord and many others were helped and established in the faith."
According to "The Old Rugged Cross" Association in Pokagon, Michigan, the hymn was completed in the Methodist parsonage there in 1913 while Rev. Bennard was in town to lead a series of revival meetings. One evening, as the pastor's wife was completing the evening meal, Rev. Bennard announced that he had a new song. "And in the little kitchen, he sang his song accompanied by the strumming of his guitar. An awed silence hung over the place when he finished and was broken at last when the pastor's wife expressed the opinion that the song was destined to stir many, many people."
In this little hamlet in southern Michigan, a memorial has been erected, a large rugged cross standing behind a large boulder in which is carved the statement that the hymn was first sung in this church, naming the members of the choir, the organist, and the date.
Two old rugged cross monuments have been erected in Reed City, Michigan, one in the yard of the Bennard home and the second one in a small wayside off US Highway 131.
In the summer of 1967, I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Bennard in her home. Our visit lasted for two hours. After chatting, Mrs. Bennard sat down at the piano and suggested that we should sing, and we sang "The Old Rugged Cross." Afterwards she told of a time when they were away from home. During their absence, the Reed City commission decided to illuminate the cross in their yard. This was not communicated to the Bennards. One evening at dusk, as they were looking through the east window (and Mrs. Bennard rose from the piano bench to demonstrate it for me), the light suddenly went on. She said she sat down at the piano, and together she and her husband composed another favorite Bennard hymn, "There's a Light on the Cross."
(From a presentation to the Wesleyan Service Guild at Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on September 21, 1967.)
Eunice Bonow Bardell is professor emeritus of Health Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has written many articles and books about pharmacy. Dr. Bardell is a longtime member of Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church.
StoryShare, March 16, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
