By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

Prior to Sept. 11, heroes in America were athletes, movie actors, and rock stars. In the aftermath of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, these former "heroes" now seem shallow and insignificant, hardly worth notice. True heroes were seen in the firefighters and police officers, over 400 of them, who perished trying to save the lives of people they did not know. True heroes were seen in the personages of the young men on the highjacked airplane over Pennsylvania who sacrificed their own lives and prevented another terrible tragedy.

True heroes have been working in the rubble for the last two and a half months recovering unrecognizable bodies and body parts. A true hero was seen in the priest who gave absolution to firefighters as they ran past him into the buildings on their way to eternity and who, himself, died while administering Last Rites. True heroes are, right now during this Thanksgiving season, in the air, on the ground, and in the seas in and near Afghanistan, wearing the uniform of the American military. True heroes are those survivors of Sept. 11 who lost so very, very much and, yet, must continue on.

Recently, our church decided to recognize some of the heroes among us, none of whom consider themselves to be such. In light of the terrible events of Sept. 11, we instituted a Community Service Award that will presented annually on or around Veteran's Day. Those we chose this year were:

Firefighter/Paramedic William J. Shelton. Bill, who works for Douglas County Emergency Services literally saves lives for a living.

A couple of years ago, I was with Bill at a church meeting in Jacksonville, FL. After the meeting, late at night, our van full of people was on the way to the hotel. Suddenly, Bill shouted for me to stop the car, leapt from the vehicle, and ran out into the busy freeway. A man in a wheelchair, attempting to cross the busy street, had turned over and spilled the paralyzed man out into oncoming traffic. Bill Shelton ran into the traffic and dragged the man to safety as cars whizzed by.

Specialist Anthony Thomson. Anthony, a military reservist with a wife and two children, believed strongly enough in what U. S. Peacekeeping Forces were doing to protect innocent civilians in Bosnia, that he voluntarily activated and spent six months making a difference in that war-ravaged land.

A former member of the Nation of Islam, Anthony was instrumental in ministering the Gospel of Christ to many of America's soldiers. He participated in the leadership of chapel services and saw nearly two dozen soldiers baptized. Not only was Anthony a peacekeeper for the United States, he was an ambassador for the Prince of Peace.

Sgt. Odilia Gamboa-Bergh. Odie, as she is known, was a police officer on the mean streets of Wichita, Kansas prior to coming to Peachtree City to wear that department's badge. The daughter of Cuban immigrants who fled from Castro's Communism, Odie has a love for America that is infectious. She served on active duty with the United States Air Force and continues to serve as a reservist.

At the moment, she is serving her country, having been temporarily activated. She could get out of being activated, she has been told. She won't hear of it. She is determined to do her duty and serve her country, whatever that may mean.

Sgt. Jason Epps. A six-year veteran of the Peachtree City Police Department, Jason patrols with and supervises the busy evening watch, that time between 4 p.m. and midnight. A college graduate and a college football player, he could have chosen a more lucrative profession. Instead, he returned to the community where he grew up to make a positive difference.

Not too long ago, he was apprehending an offender and sustained injuries that required four surgeries to correct. He would not seek medical attention until the suspect was in custody.

Patrolman John Epps. John is a police officer in the little town of Senoia and works the morning watch, that lonely time between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. It is a more dangerous job that most people imagine since most officers who are injured are from small town departments. He works mostly alone with back-up several minutes away if things go bad.

A few years ago, in this little town, he was arresting a perpetrator when a member of the offender's family attacked him from behind with a steel flashlight. He spent most of the night in the emergency room.

Yes, two of this year's recipients are my sons and all are members of our church. We have a great many heroes in our church, as do all of our community's churches, and many of ours will be recognized later. This year, we wanted to join with the nation in recognizing police officers, firefighters, and military personnel as among the nation's true heroes. None of them think of themselves as heroes, of course. They are just men and women who are doing their duty, spending their lives in the services of others, making their communities and nation strong.

This year, we wanted the children of our church to understand that the true heroes are not those on the movie screen, or on the ball court, or on a compact disk. The true heroes are right beside them every Sunday in church.

[Father David Epps is rector of Christ the King Church in Peachtree City. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com or at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com.]

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