Pastor collects hundreds of crosses from his world travels

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) - Retired pastor Don Carpenter has traveled all over the world and has plenty of memories from his trips to the Holy Land, Rome, Athens and Egypt in the 1960s and 1970s.

But that's not all he brought back to Indiana. He also amassed hundreds of crosses during his adventures, and each has a special meaning to Carpenter, who served at Hillcrest United Methodist Church until 1998.

Carpenter, who lives at Hubbard Hill Retirement Community, estimates he owns about 500 crosses, with one in his collection hanging around his neck. He collected most of the crosses during his travels as part of a church travel group.

"It was my traveling to the Holy Land that really triggered it," said Carpenter, who also was pastor at Southlawn United Methodist Church in South Bend until he retired in 2008.

"I probably brought home 200 crosses to my family. They finally said, 'Enough already!'" he joked.

There are more than 400 forms of the cross, Carpenter said, with about 10 common forms, including the Latin, Greek, Catholic, Egyptian and Jerusalem crosses. He said his favorite forms are the Celtic cross and the Jerusalem cross.

"I love that one because the two little crosses at the top are the wounds in the hands and the two little crosses in the bottom are the wounds in the feet. The Jerusalem cross is loaded with biblical meeting," the South Bend native said.

Carpenter said his interest in crosses grew from his upbringing in a conservative religious environment that didn't believe in any form of ornamentation.

"No matter how you look at it, the cross is ornamentation, especially if you wear it. I got over that because I thought, 'Gee, wearing a cross makes a statement.' I became interested in the many, many artistic forms of the cross," he said.

During his travels, Carpenter noticed that each country had its own unique form of the cross.

"It's just amazing. It lends itself to very, very diverse art," he said.

What the cross symbolizes is particularly important during the Easter season, Carpenter said.

"Holy Week is really all about the cross, and the death and the sacrifice before we all stand up and cheer on Easter Sunday. Again, growing up in South Bend with Catholics everywhere, half of my classmates in high school were Catholics and I thought they acted strange. They had it right," Carpenter said.

"Holy Week is so special to me because I see the deeper dimensions. Pardon me for the theology, but before the Resurrection, there has to be the death. You have the death that precedes the day of victory," he said. "That all works into my collection."

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Source: The Elkhart Truth, http://bit.ly/1WVr2EK

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Information from: The Elkhart Truth, http://www.elkharttruth.com