STANFORD, Ky - The place is a bit rundown. The man whose dream led to its founding recently died. But the dream will be kept alive through renovation and
expansion. A new dream will be born.

The place is Hanging Fork Chapel, also known as Hanging Fork House of Prayer.
The dreamer was the late George McCowan of Danville. The chapel will be revamped
and expanded by its new owner, the Rev. Larry Nichols of the Somerset-based
AriseMinistries.Org.

Nichols wants to keep McCowan's dream alive and give birth to his own dream for
the rustic 20-year-old rock building, wooden shelter and partially-finished
amphitheater that hugs the Hanging Fork Creek off U.S. 150 in Lincoln County,
about three miles west of Stanford and six miles east of Danville.

"Mr. McCowan poured his heart and soul into the place, doing most of the labor
in this rock building with its unique worship hall with 13 pews and small piano
and organ, nine prayer closets and tons of books and rock formations he created,
and the 50 stone slabs with Biblical verses etched on them, and the nearby
beautiful shelter, and that amphitheater," said Nichols.

"He offered this place as a house of meditation for travelers, local people and
small groups, and also a place for retreats, Bible study, weekly worship
services and weddings," he said. "He even made sure there was a handicapped ramp
and wheelchairs, and he also showed his concern for people in need. He had a jar
where people who had money could leave a small offering for people who didn't."
 

Built on foundation laid by McCowan

Some of those uses will be continued. Others will be added. But both new and old
uses, as well as facilities, will be built on the "firm foundation laid by Mr.
McCowan back in the mid 1980s, a man in his 60s at the time who had a vision and
a dream and used that vision to make that dream come true, working hundreds of
hours turning piles of creek rock into a beautiful house of worship and
meditation," Nichols said.

"We have a lot of plans - our own dreams - for this wonderful facility, and some
of them involve repairing and renovating existing structures and adding new
ones, plus developing programs," he said. "But all we will do will be just
adding to what Mr. McCowan started here, and it will all be done in honor of his
memory as well as in dedication to the Lord."

The protector of McCowan's dream and the purveyor of his own is a 57-year-old
Somerset native who has been "preaching and teaching" for the last 35 years. He
began his service in the United Methodist Church as a pastor in 1970, and the
last four years he has been serving as one of the church's 40 full-time general
evangelists, going to revivals throughout the country. Each year he leads more
than 40 revivals in eight states.

Nichols has been heavily involved in ministries aimed at county jail and state
prison inmates for the last five years. He's the leader of a team of 15
ministers who organize revivals, prayer groups, Bible study groups and other
programs for federal, state and county inmates in this part of the country,
including ones at Northpoint Training Center near Burgin. The team and its
inmate outreach are associated with Nichols' own AriseMinistries.Org of Somerset, a
nonprofit organization that has a 12-member board representing four different
denominations.

In addition, he has taught history and other courses at public schools and at
colleges.
 

Bought property to house ministry

Nichols, his wife, Wanda, and one of his brothers bought the McCowan property -
2.1 acres and the rock meeting house, wooden shelter, amphitheater and other
structures - for $70,000 a few weeks ago from the founder's son, Randall McCowan
of Danville.

Nichols' AriseMinistries.Org will lease the property from Nichols, his wife and
brother for $1 a year and manage it.

"The price we paid was considerably less than the family originally had been
asking, but I believe they were drawn to our plans for the property and our
assurances that we would use it essentially the same way as Mr. McCowan had used
it and dedicate our facilities and programs to his memory."

The long-range plan - Nichols would like to see it in operation in two years -
is to develop a summer camp for the children of federal, state and county jail
inmates. His involvement with prison ministries is behind the plan.

"One of the things we have done at prisons is to hold a Christmas party for the
children of inmates," he said. "Donations of presents are made and we wrap them
and give them to the inmates to give to their children. We also provide a lot of
food - 2,400 hot dogs at one of them - and put on games.

"The people who were robbed or hurt or killed are not the only victims of the
crimes their dads committed. Their families - especially the children - are also
victims," he said.

Plans still being developed

Nichols said plans for the camp are still being developed, but they likely will
include converting part of the rock building, perhaps the basement, into small
dormitories or building cabins for the kids, and transforming the unfinished
amphitheater into a combination tennis court and basketball court that
eventually will be covered. In addition, horseshoe pits and other places and
facilities for games will be developed, he said.

Other than that, Nichols said uses will be the same or similar as those offered
by McCowan, including offering people a nondenominational place for prayer and
meditation, worship services, weddings and retreats. The 13 pews in the worship
hall, plus other seating that could be added, provide room for about 75 people.

"We're even thinking about renovating the three-room apartment in the back of
the first floor of the rock building and offering retreats for pastors or maybe
as quarters for young couples we might employ to manage the grounds or run the
summer camps," he said.

"The Lord just gave us the property. We have a lot of ideas, and I'm sure he has
his own. The Lord, and Mr. McCowan's memory, are inspiring us."

While there are plenty of ideas to sort through and plenty of work to do to
restore McCowan's dream and add Nichols' own vision, the worship hall in rock
building was to be the site of a special Thanksgiving service on Nov. 27.

"We will be giving thanks to the Lord for the past, present and future of this
place, and for the vision, dream and work of George McCowan and ask him to guide
us in such a way as to keep his dream alive in the work we will be doing," he
said before the service. "We're not sure on what we will name the place but we
will keeping Hanging Fork Chapel and Mr. McCowan's name somewhere in the title."

Copyright The Advocate-Messenger 2005