The Old Rugged Cross by olivetreeann

The Old Rugged Cross

The final shot for the Me March Challenge (Something Sacred to Me) and the Mull Over March word list (Easter). Easter is really not about the cross- it's about the empty tomb! But still, the precious and often misunderstood symbol certainly embodies one of the greatest "mysteries" of the Christian faith.

The altar at the Alexander United Methodist Church in Alexander, NY on Easter Sunday. The beautiful flowers at the foot of the cross brought to mind this beloved hymn:

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

Words and music by George Bennard, 1913

Please do not feel obligated to comment on every picture of this massive upload! Choose one or two of your favorites and tell me why you chose them.
Great processing!
April 4th, 2013  
@httpgeffed Thanks Colleen! It took 5 tries until I found one that I was 100% happy with, but I finally got it!
April 4th, 2013  
Beautiful
April 4th, 2013  
This is so striking! It looks like a painting! WOW!
April 4th, 2013  
Beautiful processing Ann and so meaningful to me. Thanks for posting the words to the hymn, gave me chills and made my eyes well up. Jesus is alive!
April 4th, 2013  
This does look like a painting! Beautiful image!
April 4th, 2013  
Fantastic processing - gives it a real painted feel :)
April 4th, 2013  
Really great processing Ann.
April 4th, 2013  
Stunning!
April 4th, 2013  
Beautiful
April 4th, 2013  
a favorite hymn for me :) very painterly and precious
April 4th, 2013  
@kerristephens @deniseinindy @tara11 @pflaume @alia_801 @cocolil @sangwann @digitalrn @moreyoulessme

Thank you Kerri, Denise, Tara, Lisa, Alia, Tracy, Dione, Rick, and Jerri!
Such an interesting process with this shot- I took it in the church which was very well lit and set on manual at 400 ISO, but when I uploaded it in the computer you would have thought I took it at midnight! The lighting still made for a lovely shot- but it really looked like I'd taken it at the evening service rather than the morning! When I tried to adjust the exposure, it would wash out the colors of the flowers. Eventually I decided to see what would happen with some of the artistic effects in BeFunky and landed on the application called "oil painting". So for those of you who thought it looked like a painting- you got it! The shot still looks like an evening shot to me, but I like the way the colors feature the cross, so I'm satisfied. Thanks again for all the great comments!
April 4th, 2013  
Amazing color! This is beautiful!
April 4th, 2013  
Beautiful.
April 4th, 2013  
@mrssmith203 @henrir
Thank you Carla!
Thank you Henri!
April 5th, 2013  
Pretty shot.
April 5th, 2013  
@daisy Thanks Kathryn!
April 5th, 2013  
how did i miss this breathtaking shot?
April 5th, 2013  
@eniaral I don't know! hehe- but it wasn't posted until I came back from Batavia, and then it was included in a mass upload; so it is completely understandable that you missed it the first time around. Thanks Laraine!
April 6th, 2013  
Bev
Lovely shot. Great processing. Good job, Ann! :)
April 7th, 2013  
@prttblues Thank you Bev!
April 7th, 2013  
It's worked out beautifully.... wonderful result!
(I have ten minutes peace so am trying to catch up with you... sorry for flooding your inbox!)
April 7th, 2013  
Beautiful! I love that song my oldest sung that in church when she was little. I always think of her when I hear it. :-)
April 7th, 2013  
It looks like a painting!
April 9th, 2013  
@filsie65 thank you Phil- I am once again behind as my computer was taken over by hubby for a few days!
@vposey thank you Vickie- those would be very special memories!
@vesna0210 thank you Vesna!
April 10th, 2013  
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