Before June 14, 2010 if you were driving near Monroe, Ohio on I-75 you would see this statue in front of a church. It portrays the top half of Jesus, rising out of a pool, making a "touchdown" gesture with his outstretched arms. Thus, the nickname "Touchdown Jesus". Some people called it "Big Butter Jesus" because of its resemblance to a butter sculpture.
On June 14, 2010, during a thunderstorm, the statue was struck by lightning and burned (photo below). There was much speculation in the area about why lightning happened to strike here.
Leaving a skeleton that stood for two years:
The church promised to replace the statue. The new one was completed in September. Here it is:
They say this one is fireproof and fitted with lightning rods.
I do love a good story Judy and have enjoyed all the twists and turns in this one - great pics here- thanks for posting them!
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to share it, Pam. The "Touchdown Jesus" has been quite a conversation piece around here for years, as it's a heavily traveled route for folks headed north/ south on I-75. The day that it burned was big news on local television.
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