Veteran's Day Observance at Church

Today, being the Sunday after Veterans' Day, we had a bit of a special recognition before services for those who have served. We had very simple American Flag lapel pins to give as a token of appreciation as well.
What sort of surprised me (to my shame) was that we nearly ran out of pins!

It shouldn't have been such an eye-opening moment, but it turned out to be... I only hope that the congregation saw what I was priveleged to observe from a really good vantage point in front of church.

I asked that, despite their usual humility about public recognition, all those who have served or do currently serve in any branch of the armed forces please rise. Naturally, a few stood right away. And a few more then rose in a careful reluctance. Then some more. Then the really shy. And then a couple of gentlemen who leaned very heavily on the pew in front of them in order to stand under their own power...

Suddenly I was standing before our own division of soldiers, sailors, marines and guards. None of them in uniform of any kind, but the pride and determination of honorable service shining brightly once more in their eyes, if only for those moments.

I shouldn't have been surprised by the numbers. In many cases I'd known of (or at least suspected) their service. But seeing these men stand before me, someone who certainly did not qualify to be giving them orders... well, I think it made me feel just like you're supposed to feel on Veterans' Day.

What a joy it was to then announce to them that the Elders and Church Council had decided to set aside a wall in the cafeteria and devote it to those serving and our veterans. And even though the wall only had six pictures on it as of this Sunday, I hope to see it fill up very soon.

...there's certainly enough honorable faces to place on it.

D-Day on the road, with scooters and jam

A day to remember, for sure.

Today was "D-Day" - the Normandy invasion in WWII. A BIG deal that most of us have mainly forgotten about. So in honor of that, and the fact that it was going to be a beautiful Saturday, the scooters went for a ride.

This was my first ride in a group, and it was really enjoyable. We put about 125 miles (scooter miles aren't always 'exactly' true to actual miles... but they're close) and it took the better part of the day. The two destinations were the closest Veterans Cemetary as well as the Smucker's headquarters and store in Orrville, Ohio.

Its hard to imagine spending a similar amount of time on a seemingly insurmountable battlefield, amidst the bodies of your friends...

But boy oh boy, I sure appreciate the fact that; because of these guys (and gals) we can do things like go on scooter rides and buy jam and/or jelly whenever we'd like. (Maybe that seems trivial, but its part of the whole "freedom" package.)

Here's my favorite pictures from the day...

I went to vote and all I got was this lousy sticker

Not being much of a coffee drinker, and not being certain where the nearest Ben & Jerry's is, my morning reminded me of one of those traditionally lame tourist T-shirts:

"My Parents/Friend/Acquaintance went to ____(insert city name)____

and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt!"

So I went to vote this morning - a pleasant experience at our location; no line at all, happy people, no scary-ness outside, etc. And all I got was this sticker:




I knew I was going to get a sticker. And honestly, I wasn't expecting a band to play some heroic march as a result of my doing my civic duty, but I guess I was disappointed because this was my first sticker... (I've always had to vote absentee before) and I wanted it to simply say: "I Voted" In big, proud, patriotic letters. Like this...

Of course, in my eagerness to share what I see as a somewhat sub-par sticker, I placed it onto my scanner without anything backing it... and after scraping it off the lid of the device, now my only proof of American pride looks like "I Voted" last week and subsequently left the sticker on my shirt as I put it through the wash...


Oh well, it doesn't take away from that fact that I did vote.

And we should vote...


We're not separatists, we're not disloyal to God when we're loyal to our country.

In fact, the countries of our world (note I do not simply say our country) are set up by God to help create order in our fallen creation. Theocracy could be an option, but that's pretty severe when we've got a world full of sin... I know I'd look out for gaping sinkholes.


So lets vote.

Get your sticker...


...but don't try to scan it until later tonight.