Set of praying hands made from tree at university

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An 8-foot set of praying hands that will be displayed at Campbellsville University is the work of an artist who carved the hands from a 100-year-old oak tree that stood on the campus of the central Kentucky Christian school.

The university says the state Forestry Division had examined the tree and determined it should come down due to safety issues. The school says the tree was more than 70 percent dead. It was cut down this summer.

University Grounds Director Rob Roberts hired Louisville chainsaw artist Rob Peterson to carve the praying hands. The piece weighs 2,000 to 3,000 pounds.

Roberts would also like to have a tiger, in honor of the school’s mascot, for the next project, but as with the praying hands, it is waiting on a donor.

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