Bound By Love

Above: Teresa Waters leads the closing prayer.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. COLOSSIANS 3:14 (NIV)

It feels like a family reunion. Hands clap on backs and laughter rings out above the pleasant rumble of familiar conversation that fills the gathering space of the Louis T. Foley Mission Center. Each person present has made the choice to “put on love,” as Colossians 3:14 urges. On days like this, it is evident that they have been bound together by this love for God, their communities, and Appalachia.

Since 1996, the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) family has come together to observe the National Day of Prayer on the first Thursday of May. This year, CAP staff and volunteers made a temporary retreat from their daily service to meet in Floyd County on a perfect spring day.

“Prayer changes things,” said Aaron Thoms of CAP’s Operation Sharing Program as he welcomed the crowd gathered there. Heads throughout the packed space nodded, and murmurs of agreement could be heard.

We at CAP see and live that reality every day – on home repair sites, in child development centers and summer camps, in the homes of the elderly, in the Grateful Bread Food Pantry and Grateful Threadz Thrift Store, in our interactions with each other, and in countless other ways.

Throughout the day, talents and wisdom were shared by a variety of individuals – a long-term volunteer, a program director, a community volunteer, a philanthropy officer, and Dr. Terry Swan, professor of religion and dean of the chapel at Lindsey Wilson College. Each song, reflection, and message was a gift of the Holy Spirit. When they were joined with the prayers of the entire CAP family, the day truly became a celebration of God’s presence in human service programs, in Eastern Kentucky, and in Appalachia. “Terry Swan is a Lindsey Wilson icon,” said Randy Burns, CAP’s director of major gifts. Burns is also a Lindsey Wilson alum and former director of alumni relations. “For him to have been so instrumental in the history of a place I love so much puts him in a special place in my heart. Now to have him share his heart and love for God’s people with my new CAP family is very special.”

“Gathering together in unity, in worship propels an organization toward right things,” Swan concluded. “You find out where God is working and moving, and you just join God there. It is the Holy Spirit that catapults an organization toward great things. The impetus that pulls everyone together is in the person of Christ who lives here among us and guides us.”

Jim Wallace lights a prayer candle for Appalachia.

Employees write prayers for CAP to celebrate CAP Day of Prayer.

CAP President/CEO Guy Adams, guest speaker Dr. Terry Swan, and Randy Buns have shared bonds at Lindsey Wilson College.

Mike Loiacono leads employees and volunteers in singing “No Longer Strangers.”