Save the Cross: Honor John Evanko Jr.'s Memory

My name is Tracey Evanko and I am asking for help. In the fall of 2018, my husband was asked by our pastor to put a cross at the lake at Lakeview UMC in Pelham. My husband, John Evanko Jr., happily took this project on. One Sunday after church, John walked the property to find the perfect spot to place this cross where it would cast a shadow on the lake and be a good place for people to come and spend time at the foot of the cross with Jesus.

John sketched this out in true engineer form and left it on the coffee table. Later that week, we found out that John had stage 4 stomach cancer, and it had spread to his esophagus, lungs, liver, and all internal areas. John passed away just 2 weeks later.

The cross project was completed the following year, and a 30-foot steel cross was constructed by the steel company that John worked for.

Fast forward to today... our church has disaffiliated from the UMC in the split, and the church disbanded. Many of the members are now a part of a new church plant called Lakeview Free Methodist Church.

We are needing money on this fundraiser to remove the cross and store it until we are ready to build our new church in the next 2 to 3 years.

This cross has been a blessing and a very important place for many people, and we want to continue to offer this peace. The church building has been sold, and the new owners want us to have our cross.

Please help us pay for the crane and the moving fees for the cross. Any overage that we are able to collect will be donated directly into our church building fund.