Today I had the great honor of participating in two 9-11 memorial services, as a chaplain & speaker. I was invited by the Red Knights motorcycle club, made up of fire fighters, to ride along with them in their annual "Ride to Remember 9-11" motorcycle event, and speak at ceremonies in Lawrenceville's Gwinnett Justice bldg & the GPSTC in Forsyth.
Several of the Spirit Riders rode with me, and the Gwinnett event featured color guards from the police & fire depts, and short speeches by the Gwinnett fire marshall & myself. It was very humbling for me to speak and participate in this, made more meaningful by the presence of the mother of Lcpl Stephen Johnston, USMC, killed in Iraq in Oct. 2006. The Johnston family are Hebron members, and I spent much time with them when they got word of Stephen's death 2 years ago. Mrs. Johnston came up to me before the ceremony, and handed me a camo bandana with Psalm 91 printed on it, saying, "This was one of his bandanas, that he would wear under his helmet. We would like you to carry it with you today in the ceremonies and on the ride. You can wear it under your helmet too, if you like." It deeply moved me, and I told the audience about Stephen in my message. And I wore the bandana under my helmet.
35 bikes saddled up and rode in the HOV lane down I-85 to Clayton Harley Davidson for a break, then on to Forsyth. *Funny aside- at about 11:55am, I and two of our guys went back inside the H-D building for a quick sip of coffee, only to come back out to an empty lot- they'd left without us! We took off on I-75 south, blasting down the interstate to catch up. We caught them all 20 min. down the road, and fell back in formation. Imagine that- they left behind one of their keynote speakers!!
The ceremony at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth was similar, with a fire dept. color guard, a fire service speaker, and myself. At both ceremonies, I related how, in the same way our public servants put themselves in harms way to rescue, liberate, and protect our people, Jesus Christ entered a world in turmol & chaos to save us from sin & evil, self-sacrificially.
A very solumn and reverent event, both places.
We rode back up country roads, through Monticello, Mansfield, Social Circle, and Monroe. The weather was cool & partly sunny, the surrounding countyside both calming & breathtaking. The perfect way to conclude a wonderful, tiring, humbling, day of remembrance & reflection.
May we never forget- the sacrifices of our public servants, and ultimately, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Rob