ustxtxb_obs_2010_03_19_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

MAX GREINER AND HIS CROSS PHOTO BY LANCE ROSENFIELD POLITICAL INTE1.1.113 DEPT. OF SYMBOLISM Kerrville’s Cross to Bear READ MORE about The Coming King Foundation at www. thecomingkingfoundation.org IN 2003, EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN SCULPTOR MAX GREINER had a godly vision of a mammoth cross sitting atop a hill at the gateway to the Guadalupe River town of Kerrville. Now Greiner’s vision appears to be coming true. That’s thanks to the not-so-divine intervention of State District Judge Keith Williams, who on March 1 blessed a settlement, ending a legal dispute between Greiner’s The Coming King Foundation and local residents. The settlement means Kerrville residents and Interstate 10 travelers soon will be greeted by a 77-foot steel cross. The giant cross was delivered surreptitiously in Octoberlitigation kept it from being erected. It now lies atop a 400-foot hill in Lot 11 of the Mesa Vista subdivision, next to a massive concrete pad that will support the 70-ton cross, and a portable toilet, both visible from the highway. The cross will be the crown of a 21-acre, hillside Christian-themed sculpture and prayer garden being developed with private funds by Greiner’s foundation. Subdivision residents originally filed a lawsuit against the foundation on the grounds that erecting the cross would violate deed restrictions for the 37-year-old rural neighborhood \(see “A Sign From “This has been a long, emotional journey for everyone,” Williams said in rendering his judgment. “Many people in this community didn’t understand the true nature of this dispute. This was not a freedom of religion or speech issue, but a disagreement among the parties about the enforceability of Texas real estate issues.” 2 1 THE TEXAS OBSERVER WWW.TEXASOBSERVER.ORG