188 LIVING HOLY WEEK IN STREATOR, IL

Streator group posts crosses commemmorating Resurrection

04/19/2011, 12:02 am

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Jerrilyn Zavada, jzavada@mywebtimes.com, 815-673-6371

Photo: Tom Sistak The Streator Freedom Association, for the fifth consecutive year, has placed three crosses in the northwest corner of City Park commemorating Easter Sunday. "The three crosses represent Jesus and the criminals executed on either side of him on Calvary," said SFA Vice President Daniel Lanning. "We've had 100 percent support." For the fifth consecutive year, a Streator Christian fraternal organization has placed three crosses in the northwest corner of City Park commemorating Easter Sunday. Daniel Lanning, vice president of the Streator Freedom Association, said members placed the crosses, which light at night, on Saturday. The group erected a manger scene in City Park in 2007 after 9-year-old Helena Shroyer wrote a letter to The Times that was published Dec. 1, 2006. Helena wrote that she liked Light Up Streator, but missed a manger with Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus because Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. Light Up Streator has also added a manger scene, usually placed at the corner of Main and Bloomington streets, where the Eagle's Club is located. "(The crosses) were our next step,"Lanning said. "The three crosses represent Jesus and the criminals executed on either side of him on Calvary. We've had 100 percent support." The SFA has about 40 members whose goal is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and encourage evangelization and the freedom of religious expression. The group's mission also upholds and supports the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Sovereignty of the United States.