Pastor's Corner

The following is the text and a talk given by Sheriff’s Chaplain McMurray at the Sept. 11 memorial program presented by the Colfax Fire Department:

It is an honor and a privilege to be with you today in memory of those who died on September 11, 2001. We take a moment to remember the heroes who helped each other in a crisis event. We remember the innocent fallen citizens, police and fire personnel at the Twin Towers. We also bring to memory the military troops who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to stem the tide of terrorists and tyrants since 9/11.

The heritage of the police and fire personnel in the USA is both sacrificial and honorable. Men and women, both paid and volunteer, work each day to rescue someone who is a victim of crime, disease, an unexpected medical incident, or a traffic incident.

When our dispatch sends out a tone or page of an incident, immediately emergency personnel spring into action, often without consideration of their own safety, to assist someone in trouble.

Whether the victim is a child or an elderly person makes no difference because the called ones, the chosen ones, are on their way to help. This brings great comfort to the victim and to the community. In their timely response the emergency personnel fulfill their Duty, gain Honor, and often at their own Sacrifice.

If we believe in and apply Duty, Honor, and Sacrifice to our lives we learn to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but to be humble and gentle in success. We learn to stand up in the storm, but to have compassion for those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a clean heart, high goals, to learn to laugh, but never forget to weep.

Duty, Honor, and Sacrifice dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points that will build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, and to create hope when things seem hopeless.

The general public does not understand the mindset of emergency personnel. The average citizen seeks his own safety first, wants to be comfortable, and not bothered by the problems of others. This cannot be true for the helpers, the rescuers, the ones who save lives.

The general public does not understand the hyper-vigilance all of you must have each day to do your jobs. Some may complain when the sirens blare and upset the calm of their world but you have chosen to take the high road of honor and sacrifice so you respond and perform your duty.

I want to encourage you to never allow the negative element of society dictate how you feel about yourself. Take your lead from our Lord who says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). With this promise you will always be able to stand up against the worst that anyone can throw at you and you will be a winner.

Duty, Honor and Sacrifice forge the building blocks of character. Fire and Police work together, often in the midst of chaotic scenes, to gather evidence, attend to the injured, and restore order. Motorists may only see orange paint on the roadway as they pass by the following day and wonder what happened. But you know, because you have character and responded to the call to help those in need. You were called to do this. It is in your nature. It is your character!

Duty, Honor, and Sacrifice teach us to face the stress of challenges head on, to reach for the future, to be serious but don’t take yourself too seriously, to be modest, to remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength.

We must learn to control our will, keep a quality of imagination, a vigor of the emotions, the predominance of courage over timidity, and of an appetite for adventure. Our faith teaches us about the joy and inspiration of life and as a result, to be a person who upholds the laws of God and our land.

American history is well documented concerning the bravery, reliability, and courage of emergency personnel who have gone before you. It is the story of the American police officer who carries a badge and a weapon who protects the liberties and properties of the citizens. It is the story of the Firemen and EMTs who daily rescue thousands of injured, sick, and fallen people often risking their own lives as they fight raging fires and crumbling buildings. The falling Twin Towers are forever etched in our memories; the screams, the falling debris, the loss of lives, and the great character of the rescuers.

Duty, Honor and Sacrifice is our mission and determines our success. I have personally witnessed them in many incidents over the past fourteen years. I have witnessed you being patient under adversity, courageous when the media criticizes, modest in handling the public, answering call after call often when you are weary at the end of your shift, but still you respond because someone needs you. I am full of admiration for all of you. Remember these greatest words, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

As a chaplain I want you to know that no physical courage, no brute instinct can take the place of God’s help. I can testify to this when I was rescued by fire and EMTs, put on MedStar, and sent to the hospital on September 20, 2003. I lost all my strength, I was unconscious, and I relied upon people like you to help me. Thank you, Thank you!

I relied upon my faith to help me recover from the dark days of physical therapy. For months I fought depression, faced new fears, dealt with physical pain and wondered if I could ever be of use to anyone again. God reminded me of Isaiah 26:3 which says, “What time I am afraid I will trust in Him.” I did trust in Him, and with the help of many others I was able to carry on.

In your line of work, people may not thank you for your service to them but the Lord knows full well what you go through. He is there and watching over you. He went through the same thing that you do. He knows what it is like to be rejected of men, mocked, and ignored. He will provide you strength to face the stressors and pressures of your job if you let Him.

Remember that it is your mission in life to remain fixed, determined, to have integrity, and to win over the bad guys. Everything else in your career is secondary to this calling. You are trained to help others. The obsession of your public service must be: Duty, Honor, and Sacrifice.

In closing please remember the long line of emergency personnel who have gone before you bear the scars of honorable service. You must earn your place among them. When you become discouraged at the lack of funding, lack of personnel, interdepartmental disputes, or doing more with less, remember the echoes of fallen officers and firefighters as they whisper to you from the past; Duty, Honor, and Sacrifice.

Ron McMurray,

Sheriff’s Chaplain