You never get what you expect - sometimes you get much more. That's the lesson the Rev. D. Geoffrey Taylor, rector of Church of the Redeemer in Greensboro, Ga., learned recently.

    You never get what you expect - sometimes you get much more.  That's the lesson the Rev. D. Geoffrey Taylor, rector of Church of the Redeemer in Greensboro, Ga., learned when he asked two parishioners if they would "take some two by fours, hammer them together and make 14 crosses for the service of The Way of the Cross (also known as Stations of the Cross).

     "All I really expected were some rough crosses that we could put in the ground at Redeemer Episcopal Academy so that we could do an outdoor service of the Stations of the Cross," Taylor said. "I planned to take them out and store them right after the service.  But when I saw what Bob Newell and Andrew Will had made, I knew immediately that they had to be a permanent fixture at the campus."

     Newell, a retired executive and accomplished woodworker, and Will, a young man who is a skilled carpenter worked together and created fourteen crosses in gabled shelters similar to the type used to house outdoor icons.  Each shelter houses a cross and has the corresponding Roman numeral to its station carved into the frame.  They stand nearly six feet high and line the driveway of the new Episcopal school started by the parish this year.

     "I see this as not only a wonderful gift to the parish for this liturgy, but also as an opportunity for use as a contemplative devotion for faculty, parents and students at the school.  I've prepared a set of service bulletins for individual use for that purpose, and they sit in the foyer of the school," said Taylor.

      "After nearly five years here, I've learned that what Bob and Andrew did is not unusual for this parish.  You ask someone if they'd mind doing something, and the next thing you know they've done what you asked and much more.  These two men put their hearts and souls into the job and created something of great beauty.  I am amazed and grateful."

      The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer is located in historic downtown Greensboro at 303 North Main Street.  For service times and information call 706-453-7171 or e-mail redeemerchurch@earthlink.net.