Military Appreciation Sunday at Church
This morning's worship service was ordered on the theme of Military Appreciation. This was actually suggested and scheduled nearly a year ago when we realized that most of our deployed church members would have returned from their 12-month tours of Iran and Afghanistan by this Memorial Day weekend.
All active military were invited to wear their uniforms (which they rarely if ever wear to church events). Army, Air Force and Navy personnel were present as well as a mix of officers and enlisted.
During the service Worship Team Elder Wagnus invited all in active military service to stand and introduce themselves by name, by rank and by unit. Then the same was done with those who were no longer in active service.
Special cards with star stickers on them were available for folks to write down the names of family members or friends who had died while in in active service or following retirement. These were placed in the offering and later solemnly read by two uniformed church members. I included my late uncle, Jonathan "Jack" Tweedie, who passed away four or five years ago. Jack had served 3 tours of duty as a bomber pilot based in England during WWII. His survival, never having been shot down, is nothing short of miraculous. Towards the end of his service he flew General Eisenhower into France following the Normandy invasion and was subsequently asked by the General to serve as his personal pilot. My uncle, by that time, had seen enough. He turned down the offer and returned home.
Many of those whose names were read this morning undoubtedly had their own amazing stories to tell. Veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom were all present today. But no stories were told. Not even that of my Uncle Jack. Soldiers introduced themselves and the names of those who have died were read.
From my experience with these men and women, this is how they like it. I have never met a soldier, either officer or enlisted, who wanted the spotlight to be on them, personally. Their stories are always inseperable from the stories of the rest of the men and women in their unit. In private conversation, perhaps especially with me as a friend and pastor, they will share personal and intimate stories.....some of which they have not even told their spouses or families.
Military service promotes an ironic mixture of personal confidence and personal humility that I wish could be easily transferred into the civilian population where far too many people exhibit arrogance and pride in order to hide their inherent lack of confidence in themselves or with the substance of their lives.
Sgt. Ron Wyatt, an Elder on our church Session, member of our Worship Ministry Team and recently returned from 12 months in Mosul, Iraq, gave a personal faith testimony. For Ron, his deployment was dreary, frightening and less than inspiring. He shared how he dealt with strong emotions of anger and hate towards both those murdering and killing and, at times, towards the Iraqi people themselves as a whole. Prayer, the reading of Christian books and the love and support of his church family here in Mililani helped him keep his Christian faith intact. His faith challenged his strong negative emotions and he became, over time, more at peace with turning things like his wife and children to the care of the Lord. Ron is the only member of my congregation to return from deployment with the opinion that things there are worse than that depicted in our American news coverage! He knows he is in a minority but he also feels comfortable speaking for himself and what he experienced. It says a lot for this church that people like Ron are able to be genuine and open without worrying what others will think or how they might respond.
This is part of what the Body of Christ is all about. Accepting, forgiving and loving one another for what we are.....with the common goal of following Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior together as family and friends.
Elder Laura also spoke, sharing her experience of coordinating our "care package" ministry during the past 1 1/2 years. She shared scripture from Proverbs and Psalms that she had included in each mailing; words of encouragement and trust in God.
The service was so full and complete with good things that the time was up before the scripture lessons were read and the sermon message preached. So I simply wrapped things up and said that I would deliver my sermon next Sunday and gave the Benediction.
Nobody complained!
All active military were invited to wear their uniforms (which they rarely if ever wear to church events). Army, Air Force and Navy personnel were present as well as a mix of officers and enlisted.
During the service Worship Team Elder Wagnus invited all in active military service to stand and introduce themselves by name, by rank and by unit. Then the same was done with those who were no longer in active service.
Special cards with star stickers on them were available for folks to write down the names of family members or friends who had died while in in active service or following retirement. These were placed in the offering and later solemnly read by two uniformed church members. I included my late uncle, Jonathan "Jack" Tweedie, who passed away four or five years ago. Jack had served 3 tours of duty as a bomber pilot based in England during WWII. His survival, never having been shot down, is nothing short of miraculous. Towards the end of his service he flew General Eisenhower into France following the Normandy invasion and was subsequently asked by the General to serve as his personal pilot. My uncle, by that time, had seen enough. He turned down the offer and returned home.
Many of those whose names were read this morning undoubtedly had their own amazing stories to tell. Veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom were all present today. But no stories were told. Not even that of my Uncle Jack. Soldiers introduced themselves and the names of those who have died were read.
From my experience with these men and women, this is how they like it. I have never met a soldier, either officer or enlisted, who wanted the spotlight to be on them, personally. Their stories are always inseperable from the stories of the rest of the men and women in their unit. In private conversation, perhaps especially with me as a friend and pastor, they will share personal and intimate stories.....some of which they have not even told their spouses or families.
Military service promotes an ironic mixture of personal confidence and personal humility that I wish could be easily transferred into the civilian population where far too many people exhibit arrogance and pride in order to hide their inherent lack of confidence in themselves or with the substance of their lives.
Sgt. Ron Wyatt, an Elder on our church Session, member of our Worship Ministry Team and recently returned from 12 months in Mosul, Iraq, gave a personal faith testimony. For Ron, his deployment was dreary, frightening and less than inspiring. He shared how he dealt with strong emotions of anger and hate towards both those murdering and killing and, at times, towards the Iraqi people themselves as a whole. Prayer, the reading of Christian books and the love and support of his church family here in Mililani helped him keep his Christian faith intact. His faith challenged his strong negative emotions and he became, over time, more at peace with turning things like his wife and children to the care of the Lord. Ron is the only member of my congregation to return from deployment with the opinion that things there are worse than that depicted in our American news coverage! He knows he is in a minority but he also feels comfortable speaking for himself and what he experienced. It says a lot for this church that people like Ron are able to be genuine and open without worrying what others will think or how they might respond.
This is part of what the Body of Christ is all about. Accepting, forgiving and loving one another for what we are.....with the common goal of following Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior together as family and friends.
Elder Laura also spoke, sharing her experience of coordinating our "care package" ministry during the past 1 1/2 years. She shared scripture from Proverbs and Psalms that she had included in each mailing; words of encouragement and trust in God.
The service was so full and complete with good things that the time was up before the scripture lessons were read and the sermon message preached. So I simply wrapped things up and said that I would deliver my sermon next Sunday and gave the Benediction.
Nobody complained!
posted by Bird of Paradise at 4:31 PM
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