Hope was the word of the day Friday evening for a group of well-wishers who gathered at the home of Cinda and Earl Croley.
The group met for what became part backyard prayer vigil and part musical revival in honor of Cinda Croley, who is battling pancreatic cancer and has begun receiving hospice care. Croley worked for years as the human resources director at the Russell Stover Candies plant in Iola.
The event was organized by Cheryl Lakin, a niece of the Croleys.
“We started this thinking we’d have a card shower,” Lakin said, “but what we’ve found was that it seemed like a lot of people were uncomfortable, not knowing what to say to a woman who has touched so many lives.”
Lakin decided to shift gears and instead set up a prayer box and then a “hope” sign.
“We figured we’d put a ribbon on the sign for every prayer we received,” Lakin said.
The response was so overwhelming the family quickly lost count of all of the cards and prayers they received.
“So we just set up a sign we thought would look nice.”
The sign was posted in the Croleys’ yard at 318 S. Jefferson Ave. The prayer box also remains there for folks to add to the collection. The ribbons for the sign were donated by Price Fabric of Iola.
“Part of what Aunt Cinda has taught us is that no matter how dire things seem, there is somebody who probably has it worse off than you do,” Lakin said. “She always wants to portray that to everybody. And maybe somebody who’s having a bad day will drive by and see the sign and that will help them feel a bit better.”
The evening featured a pair of songs by the Rev. Lloyd Houk, and a prayer circle led by the Rev. Robert Wachter.
Cinda Croley, who stayed indoors for the event, spoke via a loud speaker to the group in attendance to cap the evening.
“I hope you know how special you are in our lives,” Croley said. “We all have that hope, which is a good word. It’s what we all need to hold onto.”
Hope, prayers fill evening for well-wishers
