Cross Used in Hate Crime Returned to A.G. Church

More than 20 months after a cross stolen from an Arroyo Grande church was burned in a hate crime — and months after the convicted perpetrators were sentenced — the congregation received the charred remains of its 11-foot-tall cross.

Members of the Arroyo Grande Police Department formally returned the cross to St. John’s Lutheran Church in a ceremony Sunday. Church members will work with a local artist on a display utilizing the remains, according to a news release from police.

Police hope returning the cross is another step in the healing process for a community shocked by the county’s first hate crime since 2002, according to FBI data.