ICC Note: In Jackson, Michigan, the Grass Lake Ministerial Association has displayed a cross on state property with the proper permits for years. Recently, following a complaint from a local resident, the cross was taken down. As the cross has been a local landmark since 1950, many locals are upset with the decision and have chosen to initiate a petition to save the cross.

05/17/2018 United States (Christian News Network) – A cross that has stood on a Michigan hillside since 1950 has been removed following a complaint from a local resident who asserted that crosses shouldn’t be displayed on state property.

While the cross is displayed atop Sackrider Hill in the Waterloo Recreation Area, it belongs to the Grass Lake Ministerial Association, which holds a permit to erect the display on state property. Residents who hike up the hill will find it at the top overlooking I-94.

According to a YouTube video by Brian Kruger, who hosts a local “Guess What I Found Series” to highlight landmarks in the area, local congregations have held a sunrise service every year atop the hill since the 1930’s. Evangelist George Bennard, who penned the hymn “The Old Rugged Cross,” was a participant of one of the services.

“The cross was brought up by the congregations. Every year they’d bring [it] up and set it here, and then they’d take it down and do it again next year,” he explained.

In 1950, they decided to make the cross permanent, and in 1968, after the cross was stolen on Halloween, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) helped to replace the structure.

In the 1990’s, after a local newspaper published a photograph of the cross, some residents complained that the symbol violated the “separation of Church and State,” resulting in pushback from those who supported the display. As it was concluded that no constitutional malady existed, the cross was allowed to stay.

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