Sign of the times

The hand-hewn wooden cross will be the focal point of Good Friday services.

By LINDA M. LINONIS

Vindicator Staff Writer

Crosses, A symbol of Christianity, may be simple to ornate, but they all stand as a reminder and remembrance of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion.

The cross is the crux of Good Friday services for Christians. “It’s the symbol of how Christ died on the cross for us and our sins,” said the Rev. Edward Noga, pastor at St. Patrick Church, 1420 Oak Hill Ave. in Youngstown.

A simple wooden cross has served as the focal point during Lenten services in its position on the right side of the altar area. “It will play a prominent part in our Good Friday services,” Father Noga said.

Gary Ferrando, who has been a member of St. Patrick for 30 years, crafted the cross that stands in the sanctuary.

“The wood just looked like a cross,” Ferrando said, describing the tree he came across at his home in Ellsworth.

There actually was another tree that Ferrando transformed into a cross, but it proved to be too heavy to easily move. It’s being stored at the church.

The one being used, though, is heavy enough. “It’s a load for two men,” said Father Noga, who added he didn’t know the weight.

Ferrando said he has had an affinity for wood since he can remember. “My father also worked with wood and taught me how to use the tools,” he said.

Ferrando said he started carving Santa Claus figures, and has given Father Noga various carved figures.

Ferrando said he mentioned the tree and its cross image to Father Noga, who asked him if he could prepare it for use in the sanctuary during Lent and Holy Week.

The tree that Ferrando turned into a hand-hewn cross is one he described as “simple but with character.”

“It has notches in it,” he added, which add another dimension to its appearance.

Ferrando took one of the branches to make the horizontal bar across, notched it out, and attached the two with a rope. He said the wood is somewhat weathered, and it’s hard to tell what kind of wood it is.

No matter what the kind, it works as the cross.

“I like it because it is so simple and humble ... It captures the feeling of the day,” said Ferrando, referring to Good Friday.

At St. Patrick, any display has to make a statement. “The proportions just have to be bigger,” Father Noga said, noting that the ceiling soars to 80 feet in the sanctuary.

The worship committee had a hand in adding to the drama in the display of the 10-foot-cross. Yards of purple cloth are draped from a nearby pole to the cross, then swathed around the cross hair of the cross and down to the foot. It suggests “the way to the cross.”

Behind the wooden cross is an arrangement of pussy willows, which Father Noga said came from a parish member’s yard.

Services at St. Patrick are at

3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. today.

“Good Friday is the only day in the Catholic Church when there is no Mass,” Father Noga said. Both services will feature the reading of the Passion of Christ and veneration of the cross. Participants also are invited to touch the cross during the veneration time.

During Lent, the cross has been a focal point of the church environment and culminates with the Good Friday services. It also has served as the beginning and ending point of Stations of the Cross.

Father Noga added another element to the display after getting the idea from a friend at a church in another state. With a receptacle of small stones nearby, Father Noga said he asked parish members to use the stones to represent positive and negative elements in their lives and then lay them at the foot of the cross.

“It goes along with the irony of Christ ... in his death and humiliation there was hope and new life,” Father Noga said. The pastor said he wanted members to reflect on their lives by using the stones.

For Easter Mass, the cross will shed the purple of Lent and be draped with white and gold accents to celebrate the Resurrection.

linonis@vindy.com