Graniteville Cemetery drew hundreds of visitors Thursday evening for the dedication of Megiddo Dream Station's 92-foot cross, marking the first time for the steel symbol to have its lights activated overnight.
Representatives of several Aiken County congregations addressed the crowd, while others set it to music, with Easter lilies at the cross' base, to mark the season.
The steel cross, listed at 33,000 pounds, is now to be alight nightly, from sunset to sunrise. It will serve as one of Aiken County's biggest landmarks and symbolize "the hope of Graniteville," in the words of Dumpster Depot founder Norman Dunagan, one of Megiddo's boosters.
"We hope that this puts us on the map in Aiken, because we've been doing this for over two years, and we still get people who don't know who Megiddo Station is," he said, "but hopefully with this cross in Graniteville, it will give us the publicity we need, to where more people know our mission, so that we can get more support."
Megiddo, based on Canal Street, in Graniteville, offers "Christ-centered services, education, job training and life skill classes," aiming "to create self-sustaining families," as noted on its website.