Pecos residents upset over design of a cross in new Reeves Regional Health Hospital

PECOS, Texas (KOSA) - Pecos residents are upset about the design of the cross in the new Reeves Regional Hospital’s chapel.

Residents voiced their concerns at last night’s hospital board meeting and their frustration stems from the cross being laid on its side.

“It’s not really a cross but it’s a representation of something but as a follower of Jesus you don’t mess with the cross you either put it as a cross or don’t put it at all,” said Pecos Resident Robert Redden.

It’s a non-traditional design the hospital says was meant to make people of all religions or with no religion at all, feel welcome.

The hospital worked with an architect firm outside of Dallas to design the new building.

“It is a beautiful building, a state of the art facility and so we are small rural West Texas and so we were thinking okay maybe this is what they’re doing in a lot fo the bigger cities and our world has changed, society we have all types of people in our society and we never want to offend everybody, we never intended to offend anybody,” said CEO of Reeves Regional Health Brenda Mckinney.

Concerned citizens like Redden feel the cross shouldn’t have been laid on its side or messed with at all.

Especially in a hospital where Redden says Jesus brings healing and blessings.

“If you’re here to represent some kind of cross and you put it like that your really not understanding what Jesus did for us and died for  our sins on a cross not a sideways cross, died for us on a cross therefore healing and miracles happen because of the blood of Jesus and we as his children have to stand up for what’s righteous,” said Redden.

Mckinney says the design was meant to be inclusive.

“We are a hospital, we turn no one away, we don’t stop and ask a person’s religion, we are here to serve anybody and everybody that walks through our doors,” said Mckinney.

After receiving an abundance of feedback, Mckinney says they will put something else in place to make the community and visitors feel more comfortable.

The hospital has asked the architects to come up with different designs for the chapel to showcase the community.

Redden already has an idea in mind…

“Hands praying hands, and so that’s something that people can look at and it’s coming together in hands and it represents something different than a jacked up cross,” said Redden.

Mckinney says the design was not intended to hurt anyone as they are all Christians and realize the meaning of the cross, so the goal is to do what’s best for everyone going forward.

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