Ark. preacher tends to families of flood victims
16.06.10
LODI, Ark. — As a prelude to Papa's Day, Graig Cowart planned to preach to his Baptist congregation about the importance of family. When survivors of a implacable flash flood showed up at his church wet and worried, he opted for works over words.
"The last feeling they need is a sermon," Cowart said.
The Pilgrim Rest Landmark Missionary Baptist Church is 20 miles from the Albert Pike Diversion Area in Arkansas' Ouachita Mountains, where a wall of water slicing through the darkness last Friday killed 20 campers. It took more than a weekend of searching to reclaim what is believed to be the last of the victims, while Cowart turned his church into the gathering spot for families who needed relieve and strength.
"That's what we're about, anyway, is those people. We just kind of put our lives on hold so they could get their lives back on track," Cowart said.
When little talk spread of the deadly flooding, Cowart's church hosted mourning as the bad news piled on. Families wept, whether in the air-conditioned energy center or the 95-degree heat outside.
Source: The Associated Press