Two Crosses, the left cross is that of a lighted bell tower and the one on the right is that of a fireworks display that many people think resembles a Crucifix.  Below are listed the events that took place before and after the picture was taken. It is amazing to me how it all transpired and I just want to share the picture with everyone! 

Fireworks Cross

     Our congregation at St. John's Lutheran Church in Norfolk, NE had decided to have a Block Party / Kick-Off for our Centennial year of 2002.  The committees were looking for activities for the Kick-Off Celebration.  I was picking up a church project that we had a member of the congregation build.  The project was a cross that was made of oak wood that was going to be our information center for the church.  As I was heading over to pick it up, I realized that I was going to need some help transporting the cross to the church.  I decided to ask Eric, a friend of mine that was also a member of the church to help.  Luckily he was home and we used his truck to haul the cross to the church.  Eric is a local fireworks display and retail outlet owner. As we were talking, an idea to have fireworks at our Kick-Off popped into my head.  I asked Eric if he would be interested in shooting a display sometime in August and he said he would.  I arranged for the committees to meet with Eric and his partner.  It was decided that August 18, 2001 would be the date of the Block Party and that we would have fireworks. 

        I asked Eric if he could get some type of fireworks that resembled a star.  Eric came up with a flare with a parachute that we were going to shoot when Shine Jesus Shine played.  Eric and I put some Christian music together that we would play during the fireworks.  A week or so later, I was asked to help put together the Centennial Directory.  I agreed to take pictures of the Kick-Off Celebration.  Time flew by and it was soon the day of the celebration.  It was a busy day.  Our committee was in charge of the dunk tank.  We got that set up in the morning and some other odds and ends by the afternoon.  Since I was taking pictures of some of the events and trying to help run the dunk tank, I had been asking for someone to video or take pictures of the front of the church, thinking that we could use a shot of the fireworks above the church as our cover for the Directory.  I had bad luck finding anyone to do it.  I all but gave up and was on my way to the church to do some last minute things.  I started backing out of my driveway and I thought again of taking pictures of the front of the church.  Well as I started to drive away I saw a neighbor and it came to me to have her husband take pictures for me.  I asked her (knowing that Steve was still at work till 7pm) to have him call me about taking pictures at the church when he got home. 

I was off to the church to get the music ready for the fireworks.  The night was very nice.  The wind was blowing harder than what we wanted it to and there were some concerns, since it was blowing right to where the crowd was.  The dunk tank was a splash with a continuous line that kept us all very busy.  I had my cell phone in my pocket and was waiting for Steve to return my call on taking the pictures.  Later the phone started to ring but I couldn’t answer it before it quit ringing.  In the back of my mind I figured there went my chance for getting Steve to take the pictures of the front of the church.  I scurried around taking last minute pictures of the event.  To my amazement Steve drove down and found me at the church.  He asked me what I wanted him to take pictures of.  I told him what I wanted and he said he would do it.  I was surprised because I knew he had to work early the next morning.  The night went quick, soon it was dark and we were approaching the final outdoor activities, the fireworks.

Eric gave me a radio to communicate with him.  I was to start the music when we were ready to fire the fireworks.  The wind seemed to just quit blowing around dark and didn’t blow till after the fireworks were done.  I started the music and the show began.    I sat down as five Christian songs were highlighted by a beautiful display of fireworks.  As I watched it sent chills though my body.  It was truly a sight to see.  Soon the fireworks were over and the night was concluded with a teen dance.

     Steve gave me the two roles of film that he had taken of the fireworks and church and said, “I hope they turn out”.  I took them to Wal-Mart where they processed them for me.  I got them back, excited that one of the pictures could be the front cover for the Directory.  The first picture that I opened was really not what I thought the pictures would look like.  It was the two crosses, the left one being that of a lighted bell tower.  I started thumbing through the pictures and found the rest of the roll had beautiful pictures of fireworks.  I was drawn back to the first picture that had been the first one I saw.  I looked and looked at it.  It looked like a crucifix.  I put it on my scanner and blew it up from the 4 x 6 inch picture.  I could see a face and arms and even a hand and part of a body.  At that moment that picture took me and gripped me with what it represented.  All I could think about was that I had to show this to as many people as I could.  I started showing it to friends and family.  Each person I showed it to had different reactions.  Most of the reactions were astounding.  I had some people wonder what the crucifix was made of and others that got tears of joy.  The expressions on there face when they saw the picture made me want to show it more.

After showing the picture to over a hundred people locally, I decided to try to show the picture to more people through the Internet.  I have a hobby of making websites and so I decided I would start here.  I built the site and tried to figure out how to get attention to the site.  The site is located at www.fireworkscross.org. I admit that I was pretty taken by the picture and wanting to show it to as many people as I could.  First I sent it to all my email contacts.  Then I called and talked to different TV stations in Iowa and Nebraska.  Wow-t Channel 6 out of Omaha, Nebraska aired the picture on its 10 o’clock news.  It turned out good.  From there the picture was shown on many of the NBC affiliates across the nation.  Some of them put the information about it being aired and the URL of the Website.  I was able to track them to their source from my counter on the website.  A few days before the 9-11 tragedy, the picture was being seen on many stations across the nation.  Some places that I know it aired were in Albany & Troy, NY; Little Rock, AK; Pittsburgh, Boston, San Antonio, and I heard of other places.  

      It's been over 4 years since I wrote the above story on the events of the cross. The cross picture has inspired me to not just say I am a Christian, but to also want to share my faith with those who may not know Christ.  His love for us is shown from the Cross!  The picture still inspires me as I hope it inspires you!

God's Blessings to You and Yours

Brett Simonsen