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Centennial Cross Built by Sacramento Layman

Diocesan Press Service. April 23, 1975 [75154]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The symbol of the Centennial now being celebrated throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California is the simple, 7 by 4 foot redwood cross which has traveled over 2,100 miles around the diocese since its journey began in Sacramento last September.

Now back in the capital city, it will be taken to Trinity Cathedral for services on Sunday, April 27, and then end its journey at Cal Expo on Saturday, May 10, at the Centennial Eucharist being held there that evening.

Designer and builder of the cross is Brian Johnson, an active layman at Trinity Cathedral, and a Britisher by birth.

A native of Lancashire, England, he began his career as a carpenter and wood craftsman by building coffins. After service in the Royal Air Force in 1956-58, he met Norris Bland, an upholsterer for coffins who had visited America and convinced Brian they should come to the United States.

Brian first worked in Corpus Christi, Texas for a home-builder, then came to Sacramento in September 1960, where he soon became active at the Cathedral as an acolyte director, lay reader, and chalice bearer.

He was approached by the Centennial Committee of the diocese in September 1973 to design a cross for the pilgrimage then being planned.

In the initial conversations, a gigantic cross was envisioned, until everyone realized cross-bearers would not be able to get it through the doors of many smaller churches. Even a collapsible cross was considered!

Finally, the simple 7 by 4 foot cross was designed and built in Brian's garage in South Sacramento, and the wood itself has a history behind it, some of it having come from the old Yolo railroad trestle.

The 80-pound cross and its base, also designed and built by Brian, was finished just in time for its debut on Sunday, Sept. 8, when it began its journey at the site of the first Episcopal Church in Old Sacramento.

Now, on Sunday, April 27, at 8 a.m. services, Brian will have the opportunity to carry the cross into his own parish church, Trinity Cathedral.

Brian, aged 40, is married to the former Mary Lou Deaner, whom he met at Trinity through an organization called "Companions of the Cross." They have two sons and live in South Sacramento.