By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
July 28, 2005

WALL LAKE - When St. Joseph Church in Wall Lake decided that they wanted a new crucifix, one parishioner knew exactly who should make it.

It just so happens that Paul Alesch and his wife, Jane, have been long-time friends of a German woodcarver. The Aleschs became acquainted with Sebastian Demmel, master carver; and his wife, Christiane, a professional painter; through Jane's sister and brother-in-law (Tom and Mary Kelly) who had been stationed with the military in Bavaria.

"Sebastian did a lot of carvings for people in the Army. They had little children and my sister-in-law had a little child, too. She would go there and they became good friends," noted Paul.

When the Aleschs' relatives moved back to the United States in the late 1970s, the Demmels visited the family in Iowa City. To help pay for this trip Sebatian worked at the woodworking shop for Schanz Furniture in the Amana Colonies for six months.

"It was summertime and they liked to boat, so they would come to our place. We became good friends," said Paul. "Over the years he has come four or five times to visit with us." The Aleschs have also visited the Demmels and have traveled in Europe with Christiane.

Knowing that their friend had won many contests in Europe including world competitions with his wood carving, Sebastian came to Paul's mind when the need for a new crucifix was presented at a parish council meeting.

"They were talking about spending $3,000 to $5,000 for a new crucifix and I mentioned that if we paid for a couple of plane tickets, I could probably get Sebastian to come to my house to do it," he said. "I called him up and he said sure, he would love it."

According to Father John McGuirk, the German woodcarver e-mailed photos of a few models and the parish council then picked out the style of crucifix they liked best.

When the Demmels came to Iowa in late May, their first stop was at the Amana Colonies.

"He got a piece of walnut from Schanz's woodworking shop and he carved the cross right in the Amana Colonies. That took Sebastian about a day-and-a-half. Then he came to our house and between he and his wife, they spent about a week on the carving of Christ," explained Paul, who noted that the cross is about seven feet.

When Sebastian had told Schanz that he wanted wood for a crucifix, Schanz told him that he had been saving a piece of wood that his father had cut in the 1940s. The Iowa woodworker said he never knew why he saved that wood all these years, but he knew there would be a special occasion. Sebastian had mentioned that walnut is usually hard to carve, but because it had sat there so long in the shop it was pliable.

The cruciform (image of Christ) was carved out of a block of basswood that also came from the shop in the Amana Colonies.After he was set up in Paul's shop at Wall Lake, the form took shape quickly.

"We invited the parishioners over to come and watch him carve," noted Paul. The woodworker carved about eight to 10 hours a day for a week to complete the image of Christ, which measures about three feet.

Father McGuirk was one of about 100 people to take advantage of the opportunity to watch Sebastian carve.

"It was something to see," said the pastor. "To be able to make such a beautiful form out of wood it just amazes me."

Everyone, they agreed, was impressed at Sebastian's talent and the detail that came through in his work.

"It was really moving. There was an aura of holiness there while he was carving," said Paul. "They were honored that they were able to see it and the people who didn't stop in - after they saw the completed crucifix - wished they had made the effort to come over."

One parishioner, who had not been a strong churchgoer in the last several years, came to see the woodcarver about five times.

"Once you saw it, you wanted to come back and see how it was coming along," noted Father McGuirk. "I couldn't believe how much was done in the very first day."

After Sebastian had completed it, his wife painted the carving as she does with his other creations.

"It is nice to see a team - a husband and wife working together," said Father McGuirk.

The wooden statue of the crucified Christ has been placed near the baptismal font at the front, west side of the church. The church's primary image is of a resurrection cross.

"We have a resurrectional cross, but Bishop DiNardo felt that each church should have a cross with the body of Christ, too," noted Father McGuirk. "That is part of the reason we considered doing this."

Sebastian also made two 18-inch versions of the crucifix - one for the Aleschs and the other for Father McGuirk.

Paul pointed out that the woodcarver estimated that the Wall Lake piece was about the thousandth crucifix he had made. Sebastian, 62, began carving as an apprentice at the age of 13 and began working professionally at 15.

While many have the same style, the Wall Lake parishioner stressed the fact that each one is unique.The German artsman made Wall Lake's crucifix with a different perspective - Christ is crucified but still alive.

"His (Christ's) eyes are open," noted Paul.

And the pastor added, "And the wound is not in the side yet."

One parishioner, Theresa Bedel, said she loved the expression on Christ's face.

"It is sorrowful. Just looking at it, you can tell that we really hurt him (Christ). Even though you don't see the physical scars on his body, to see the expression on his face, it makes you want to cry," she said.

Another parishioner, Peggy Yohnke, pointed out that in the statue, it captures Christ's final stage before his death. She added, "In the statue, you can see the pain he is going through."

Various parishioners from the Wall Lake parish gave a donation to offset costs of the plane tickets for the Demmels.

"My feeling is that this is a cross that will bring people to experience deeply God's love," noted Father McGuirk.