‘Beautiful and chilling.’ Hundreds in KY town turn out to pray for ailing mayor

Hundreds of people Wednesday gathered at the home of Stanford Mayor Dalton Miller to pray about his cancer battle in a display one woman described as “beautiful and chilling in all the most amazing ways.”

As the prayer service attended by as many as 300 people turned into a revival, a woman placed a cattle trough full of water in Mller’s front yard and 12 people were baptized, Miller, Stanford’s mayor for six years, told the Herald-Leader Thursday.

“It’s the most awesome thing in the world to see God move like that,” he said, “It’s the most amazing thing that I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

The crowd included people from seven counties, Miller said.

Miller, 57, said he was diagnosed with colon cancer about two years ago, He said. iI has spread to his lungs and peritoneum.

Miller said he’s encouraging everyone to get colon cancer screenings.

“I just want to thank God for friends like y’all, for family. It’s so amazing to feel this much love. Can you imagine as a community what we could do if we all came together and we were all doing God’s work daily,” the Lincoln County Daily News quoted Miller as saying at the prayer service.

Dozens of people remarked about the prayer service and reached out to Miller on Facebook Thursday.

“The love you have shown Stanford was brought back to you last night,” Tessa Stringer Johnson said. “It was beautiful and chilling in all the most amazing ways.”

Johnson told the Herald-Leader, “Dalton would have been standing on any of our lawns leading a prayer, or lending a helping hand. He is not only our mayor, but he is our friend, mentor and family. Last night was just a small showing of what small towns do for each other, when one of us are in need.”

This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 11:52 AM.