The eight-story-tall cross may be poised on the grounds of the First Baptist Church, but it’s meant to be a beacon for all visitors to the community, Pastor James Inman said.

“We want it to be a welcome for the town since we’re at the south end,” Inman said. “A symbol of faith and our trust in God’s gift of dying on the cross for us.”

Lifted into place last week, the 80-foot pipe cross is the 10th erected in northwest Oklahoma in what has become a mission for Ringwood electrician Tracy Davidson.

“I met Tracy at a retreat about a couple years ago and he told me about setting up these crosses,” Inman said.

Davidson donates his labor and helps obtain the pipe. Joe Wittrock of Okarche also helped deliver pipe for the project, Inman said.

The cross was constructed on site, welded together and then sandblasted and painted.

Davidson dug the 20-foot hole needed to support the structure and then brought a crane and crew from Ringwood to help set it into place.

The church board set up a special fund to finance the project through donations from church members.

Eventually, a bench and landscaped prayer garden will be placed at the base of the cross.

“We’ve gotten such a positive response about this project,” Inman said. “Not just from our church but from the whole community.

“We want this to be a place where everyone feels welcome to come sit at the foot of the cross.”