MVCMA - Tabernacle Renovation: Replacing the Cross

tabrehab1207-7.jpg (78176 bytes)
1969 Cross on top of the Tabernacle

The new cross to be placed on top of the Tabernacle during the restoration of the cupola will be a tall slender cross designed to combine the tradition of the old flagstaff and the crosses that have topped the Tanbernacle for the last 81 years. It will be made of carbon fiber and will incase the top four feet of the old flagpole that remains inside the cupola. This method of mounting will eliminate the unattractive guy wires. It will be lighted from externally mounted lights on the roof of the Tabernacle. This will eliminate the tedious and dangerous task of haing someone scale the cross to replace the blubs.

Cutting the guy-wires that attach the cross to the top of the cupola

Cross starts to fall.

Prior to the erection of the first cross in 1926, the Tabernacle had been topped by a flagstaff and flag which flew over the Tabernacle during the summer campground season.

tabrehabcross6.jpg (55836 bytes) Tabernacle with flagpole before 1926

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Renovating the
Tabernacle - Replacing the Lighted Cross

Next Page: Photos of Progress in February & March 2008

The cross being removed from the Tabernacle was designed by Gordon P. MacGillvray. The money for this cross was raised from insurance (50%) and private donations (50%). It was made by Philip Shea Co. in Malden, Massachusetts and was placed on top of the Tabernacle in 1969. It was the third cross to top the Tabernacle.

Cross falling away

The first electric cross to top the Taberncle was erected in 1926. John Goss, the first layman to become president of the MVCMA proposed the idea and raised the money for the cross. The first cross was destroyed in the hurricane of 1944.
A committee was formed to raise money to replace the cross. Members included miss Elaine Stevens, Miss Lucy Adams and Rev. John Wesley Annes. The new cross was 11 feet 5 iinches high, 7 feet 3 inches wide, weighed 350 pounds, and had 66 electric bulbs. this second cross was destroyed during the winter of 1968.

1969 Cross gone from the tope of the tabernacle

tabrehab1207-7.jpg (78176 bytes) Tabernacle surrounded by scaffolding after the 1969 cross was removed

Next Page:Photos of Progress in February & March 2008

See the New Cross Installed in Late April 2008

Back to the first set of Renovation Photos

Contributions to the restoration fund can be made to MVCMA Tabernacle Restoration Fund, P.O. Box 367, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. The MVCMA Tabernacle Restoration Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.