On the first Thursday in May of every year, the National Day of Prayer is celebrated in many diverse venues all across the country. The Signature Home Office in Louisville, KY celebrated it in 2012 with by hosting a Prayer event with 11 different faiths all praying together on one stage for compassion.

In the words of Chaplain Gina Bowden – “It was awesome!”

“Over 50 invitations were sent out to local churches, as well as to the mayor and city officials and county commissioners. All those who came really enjoyed it, especially the staff and residents. Since we have been fund-raising for weeks now for our local “Relay for Life”, we decided to turn the facility into a race track for the NDOP, remembering the apostle Paul relates our challenges in this life to running a race? (Hebrews 12:1)
Well, I had this burning desire to set this place on fire with a “passion” for Life, through love, hope and joy. I wanted to inspire us all to light a torch of faithfulness and pass it on to our neighbor and on to our co-worker and on to our patients and on to our residents through the vehicle of prayer, unending prayer and devotion to our God, our country, our families and our neighbors.
So, ………

We built our very own “Prayer Baton”!
We made it out of pvc pipe and decorated it with all 50 stars and red and white stripes. It journeyed through the facility the days before, inviting residents and stakeholders to sign it, and add a prayer if they wanted to. Then on Thursday, we formed a track, in the shape of a figure “8″, throughout the building. We lined the halls with patients, residents, stakeholders and visitors.

We got on our mark, and we sounded off the start over the intercom.. As we were praying, we passed our “torch” from one to the next, until it went throughout the whole building and everyone had a chance to pass it on. We passed it with a passion and a determination that we can all be a part of something bigger than we are!

We passed the inspiration of those who have gone before us, in hopes to leave to those behind us a heritage of faithfulness to our calling, whatever it may be.

We all truly felt like we could change the world in that moment, and we believe that we did make a difference  in the hearts and lives of all of those that participated here on that day, May 3rd, 2012.”

CRNC would like to say a special “thank you” to all the lovely students who visited our home on last week from First Christian Academy of DeFuniak Springs.  The students toured the facility to learn all the different aspects of providing care in a nursing home and rehabilitation facility.  They sang songs to the residents and painted a beautiful picture which now is proudly displayed for the residents to enjoy.  We couldn’t think of a better way to begin our celebration of Nursing Home week than to have the kids bring their smiles, songs, and energy to share with our residents.