“He was a people-person that loved people,” said the Rev. Darlene Bishop, the widow of the late pastor. “Everyone that knew him could testify to that fact.”
“He was also was a man that had a great work ethic that believed in hard work — if you worked hard you could accomplish your goals in life,” Bishop said. “And he certainly did that.”
Her husband was a horseman, an auctioneer, a musician and songwriter, and “I feel one of the best pastors I’ve ever known,” Darlene Bishop said.
And she said her husband would be “very proud” of the new statue, a design he approved before he died.
A dedication and memorial service are set for 7 p.m. Sunday inside the worship center at the church. A fireworks celebration is planned after the ceremony.
“It’s been a long process getting to the finished product, and this is just a way of marking the completion of that process,” Solid Rock administrator Ron Carter said.
The first statue was called “King of Kings” and was a bust of Jesus that was nicknamed “Touchdown Jesus” by local residents because of its upward stretched arms. The statue was destroyed in 2010 by fire from a lightning strike. The following day, the Bishops said they would rebuild. The new statue was completed Sept. 20.
The new statue has the arms of Jesus out stretched as if offering everyone along Interstate 75 a hug. It’s been nicknamed by many as “Hug Me Jesus.”
The statue was designed by Cincinnati artist and sculptor Tom Tsuchiya, who created the statues of former Cincinnati Reds greats in front of Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati and Reds legend Joe Nuxhall at Water Works Park in Fairfield.
Dayton-based Global Manufacturing Solutions shaped and carved the statue in the polystyrene, which is the same type of material used in buildings and is fire retardant. Englewood-based Display Dynamics dry-fitted the pieces, painted the statue to resemble stone and coated it with polyurea.
The previous statue cost about $250,000 and was funded through a church member’s donation. Insurance money from the fire was used to purchase the new statue, but a non-disclosure agreement with the sculptor prevents the church from stating how much it costs.
As with the previous statue, this new statue is a bit controversial, said Carter. He said “a small minority” of people feel Solid Rock is erecting an idol, a claim he disputes.
“We’re not erecting the statue as an object of worship, but something that we hope it would inspire worship of God,” Carter said. “This statue, and the previous statue, were built to remind people of the gift that God gave to the world, which was his son.”
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