MP Church hosts Annual Veteran’s Dinner

By Curt Swarm

Every year in late October, the postcards go out inviting Henry County Veterans and their spouse or significant other to a free Sunday night dinner at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mt. Pleasant in celebration of Veteran’s Day. The church usually serves its famous beef-and-noodles, and there is also entertainment, usually the well known female singing group, Acapella. It’s a pleasant evening honoring veterans. Everyone introduces themselves, and the branch of military in which they served. Perhaps the highlight of the evening, beside the beef-and-noodles and Acapella, is group singing of the official song for each branch of service. For example: for the Navy, “Anchors Aweigh”; for the Marines, “The Marines’ Hymn”; and for the Army, “The Army Goes Rolling Along.” During each song, veterans of that branch stand. Teary eyes abound.

Most veterans dine in at the church, but takeout is also available. For the housebound veterans, the church will deliver meals.

The veteran’s dinner is the brain child of the church’s ladies’ group. And they do a bang-up job. The annual dinner is one of the main events of the church for the year, next to Old Thresher’s, where they also serve beef-and-noodles. In fact, when they order food for Old Thresher’s they order enough to cover the veteran’s dinner. This year marks the 12th year of hosting the veteran’s dinner.

Pastor Mike Scudder of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church would like to take credit for the success of the veteran’s dinner, but he readily admits that it is all the work and planning of the church’s ladies’ group. Pastor Mike is a veteran himself, having served eight years in the Air Force and six years in the Air National Guard. So he identifies with the veterans. He really enjoys seeing them open up and having a good time.

He tries to start the evening with an invocation, but has trouble quieting the veterans down. They all are talking about when and where they served. He has considered calling the group to attention. But, being an enlisted man, it would not be his place. There are several veteran officers in the group that he could pigeon hole to quiet the group down. For now he uses his Air Force voice that he acquired while working around jet engines. Mike was an automatic flight control and flight instrument systems technician. He has been at Faith Lutheran Church 18 years.

He finds his military service equipped him well to be a pastor. All the people he came in contact with and the travel set him up for seminary and meeting the spiritual needs of his congregation. The Lord put it all together to make him a pastor. He doesn’t know of anything he’d rather do.

He has a pastor friend in Michigan who was a Navy Chaplain in the Marines. Maybe next year Mike can get his friend to come and talk at the veteran’s dinner (and quiet them down). That would make an even more interesting evening.

Pastor Mike finds that Mt. Pleasant is enthusiastically supportive of its veterans. Memorial Day celebrations are well attended and troops are welcomed home with honor. At Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church vets are fed well and treated like royalty. This year the dinner was on Sunday night, November 10, one day before Veteran’s Day. If you are a veteran and have not been invited to Faith Lutheran Church on Maple Leaf Drive in Mt. Pleasant for their veteran’s dinner, contact the church at 319-385-8427. Pastor Mike Scudder may answer the phone.

Contact Curt Swarm at curtswarm@yahoo.com