More than 50 years ago, a metal sculpture of a cross and a flame was erected on the side of Clinton United Methodist Church. The sculpture, put up as a memorial to church members and friends who had joined the church eternal, was lit by neon tubes.
But after the neon tubes failed, no-one wanted to tackle the job of replacing them, and the flame no longer lit up. In fact, most people who attend the church now have never seen it lighted, office manager Kathy Garnett said.
So last fall, Clinton UMC, which had undergone a $1.9 million addition and remodel, decided the church should do something about fixing the flame.
The trustees provided the funds, and the week before Christmas, David Garnett, Kathy’s spouse and head of the building project, and Greg Hard, the church maintenance person, replaced the neon tubes with LED lights.
A symbol of the United Methodist Church all over the world, the cross and two-pronged flame was adopted after the Methodist and the Evangelical United Brethren churches merged in 1968, creating the United Methodist Church. The two parts of the flame represent the two denominations.
The flame is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit, a reminder of the tongues, as of fire, that appeared at Pentecost over the heads of the apostles, who were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
