Richard West spreads gospel with handmade crosses

Richard West is on a mission—to see his handmade crosses spread throughout Olney’s homes and lawns as reminders of the good news of Jesus Christ.

He makes the crosses in his workshop of donated wood, and carries them around with him in hopes of giving them away to people who love the Lord.

“Homemade crosses, made out of imperfect wood by imperfect hands for a perfect savior,” he said.

Mr. West, a cancer survivor who is battling kidney failure, spends his days cruising the streets of Olney with his rescue dog, Zoe, in the red scooter his daughter purchased for him. He is a retired meat cutter who was saved 54 years ago by a co-worker at General Dynamics who helped him stop drinking and “carousing” before his daughter was born in 1970.

“I asked Christ to save me out on the job. It changed my life forever,” he said. “I am a very happy man.”

Mr. West said he took to the streets of Olney to exercise Zoe, and the conversations with Olneyites about Jesus came naturally. “She needs about an hour of exercise a day, so … Zoe trots alongside and then of course my favorite thing to talk about is Christ and the cross. He changed my whole life,” Mr. West said.

His goal, he said, is to help change others’ lives. “People might see me riding around town with my flags and my crosses and think I’m crazy – yeah, I’m crazy about Christ,” he said. “If I can manage to stop any young person, any person from getting in the grip of Satan like I was – 21 years old and already had a drinking problem.”

He began making the crosses about eight years ago, when he moved to Olney, from wood donated by area sawmills and wood that he reclaims from old homes in town. The crosses are part of a larger plan to start a ministry in Olney for people who have stopped going to church or never went, he said.

“I wanted to do something really important with the end of my life and I decided I wanted to get out and [talk to] people like me – I never was raised in church,” he said. “I want to reach out to people that we overlook in society because there are a lot of people who have some mental problems, a lot of people who are downright poor, people who are turned off by traditional churches.”

“I started carrying these crosses and giving them away to anyone who wants one. I have this vision that I want to see everybody in this town that loves Christ to have one of these crosses in front of their homes,” he said.

Mr. West has given away about 100 crosses so far. Anyone who wants a cross should inquire at Richard’s Barber Shop at 221 N. Avenue C in Olney, or at Mr. West’s home workshop at 810 West Main St. “If the door is open, I am out there working,” he said.