MONROE, Ohio, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Two Ohio artists were chosen to design a 51-foot statue of Jesus Christ to replace a church monument destroyed by lightning, church officials said.
The "King of Kings" monument that stood in front of Solid Rock Church in Monroe was struck by lightning June 14 and will be replaced by the statue titled "Come Unto Me," the Dayton Daily News reported Tuesday.
Cincinnati artists Steve Brauch of Glasshand LLC and Tom Tsuchiya were selected from a pool of six artist to design and sculpt the statue of Jesus standing in an outstretched pose, said Ron Carter, the church's administrator.
The church presented an 18-inch replica of the statue on an audiovisual screen to its congregants during Sunday's services, the Daily News reported.
"They responded very favorably," said Carter, expressing hope the general public will like it as well.
The work is expected to be done by the end of next year, the newspaper said.
"I never worked on a sculpture of this scale before, so from a sculptor's perspective this is a really exciting piece," Tsuchiya said.
