Hugh's News & Commentary

IPhC Experience, our church magazine, is a good place to get pertinent information about special days in the calendar of the church, and our country.

It is my privilege as the director of Chaplains Ministries, IPHC to write articles concerning special events or days when we honor our military heroes. In the May 2010 edition of IPHC Experience, I have an article entitled, "Let's Honor Our Heroes,"  on page 17. I wrote about the story of the "Fighting Sullivans." It is a powerful story about five brothers who gave their lives in battle during World War II.

My question in this article was this: "How does a nation express its undying gratitude for such loss as that experienced by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa?" My answer is, "It can't. We can merely blush with our own inadequacy in the presence of such sacrifice."

There are hosts of American heroes to whom this country owes a debt of gratitude. They are as Sir Winston Churchill so rightly called them, "Our honored dead." And so the story of the Fighting Sullivans lives in our nation's history.

But, you have such heroes in your family and among your friends. These are important stories that need to be told again and again to succeeding generation. We must never forget those who have made the supreme sacrifice. 

This Sunday, May 30, 2010, will be a good time to honor our heroes. I offered one way you and your church can honor your local heroes. I described a table of remembrance, and gave a script which we call "Fallen Comrade Ceremony."

Take this story and you can set the table of remembrance for your congregation.

And don't forget to pray for our men and women in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places where our troops are deployed. Remember our chaplains who serve alongside your sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters. We have all been affected by these wars, as well as previous wars.

Lee Grady, former editor of Charisma magazine, is the new executive editor of IPHC Experience. He plans to move the magazine to a digital format. However, for those who wish to subscribe to a printed magazine, you can do that too. Melvine and I have sent in our subscription for the printed magazine. I like to hold a magazine in my hands, and keep them where I can refer to them at any moment.

Contact LifeSprings Resources and subscribe to IPHC Experience. That telephone number is: 1-800-541-1376.