Sunday, November 11, was the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of World War I. Our very moving Sunday service commemorated this event. The flowers by Kelly Skaggs made an immediate visual reference to World War I, with "poppies," the flower that's come to be an emblem of the day.
We hosted a representative of the Hudson Valley Honor Flight, Bill Sestrom, who presented a review of the program, which flies veterans (free of charge) from the area to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials and be honored and thanked for their service.
A highlight of the service was the reading of a letter written by a parishioner's father who was present in Paris when the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. Cole Kaiser did a wonderful job reading the touching letter describing the jubilation in the French capital, as Ralph Bradley of the U.S. Army 14th Engineers Battalion "saw the soul of France that day."
Nancy Woodyard brought a German helmet found by her grandfather in the trenches during his service in World War I. It sat on the altar during the service, a symbol of all who fought in that terrible war.
Here are more pictures of the service.
We collected the histories of parishioners’ relatives who served, and made a booklet of their stories and photos. Download the booklet here, or contact the church office if you’d like a hard copy!