November 11, 2019 – Jackson, WI – Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School hosted its annual Veterans Day Observance on Thursday, Nov. 7. The theme for the service was the flag folding ceremony.
Additionally, KML’s Traveling and Kantorei Choirs and Wind Symphony performed a special Armed Forces Medley.
Pastor Don Scheuelrein and Michael Riebe of the American Legion led the ceremony. This was an especially beautiful ceremony because it is the last for Chaplain Paul Lober and Organizer Wendy Zimmerman who will be retiring.
Pastor Don Scheuelrein’s speech is posted below.
Psalm 20
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.[b]
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
9 Lord, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call!
It was well over 30 years ago. But I remember it as if it was yesterday. I along with my wife joined over 10,000 other people from around the world to gather at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. The Pope was going to come out and address the crowd. We saw him arrive as his helicopter flew over the crowd and landed somewhere nearby in the Vatican. Prior to his coming out to address the mass of humanity a priest came out, may be the popes secretary or herald to tell everyone what was going to happen.
The languages the pope would use to address the crowd, and how the entire proceeding would progress. And then before it all he welcomed the many tourists and visitors who had come by the busloads to be there. And every time a group or nation would be announced – there would be cheers and flags would be waved. You know what that is like.
Do we have any Packers fans out there? That’s the way it was with the nations. And even though there were thousands there – you could feel quite alone. We were in a foreign land, and while I could get by with my German in Germany, I had no Italian beyond the term Pizza or gelato. But the the speaker said, “And we welcome our visitors from the United States.”
And an entire section began to cheer. And flags were waved high and the roar of the crowd seemed greater than all the others. And we were no longer alone. I didn’t know anybody there. As far as we know, we had never met a one of them. But we knew the flag. We knew the red, white and blue. That was our flag and those were our people. And life was good.
We had a connection with what that flag stood for. We knew freedom. We enjoyed the blessings of that freedom. And we thanked God for those blessings and were brought to full appreciation of all that meant to us on the other side of the world. And today we thank God for the men and women who have sacrificed and endured, lived and fought that we have that freedom.
Think about that for moment. We are gathered here today at Kettle Moraine LUTHERAN high school. No one can tell us what to believe. We have the freedom to gather here without fear of reprisal, because we proclaim as the Scripture clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of the world. No one can tell us to believe only in science and give up on deities and what they want to call myths. Here again the word of King David as he hears the praises of his soldiers as God had awarded them victory.
1 May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
Yes, we lift high the banners of our God – because we have the freedom to do so. Freedom earned and won for us by men and women such as have gathered here. Freedom to pledge our allegiance to the flag, but even better, to pledge our allegiance to Jesus Christ, the Son of God our Savior.
Thank you dear veterans for making that possible. Thank you for your commitment to the flag. The flag that has been shot at, dragged through the mud, maligned by the nations, burned by radicals, abused by the unthankful – but the flag that reminds what God has given to us. The freedoms we are permitted – with which we are blessed – to know God and his goodness. To know of salvation and the free gift of eternal life.
Story of the flag By Christopher Columbus
Raise the banner…
6 Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
Thank God for this freedom. Thank God for the country you live in. Thank God for the men and women who sacrificed that we might have this blessing. And ask God, for all ages to come, to permit us to not only to enjoy this freedom but to raise God’s banner joyfully, powerfully, with commitment and praise to God. He didn’t raise a flag. For us he raised cross and we have the freedom to believe and proclaim that truth.
I will never forget what it meant to see our flag raised above the crowd. May we never forget what it took to keep it flying.
About the author: My name is Amelia Neuwirth. I’m 17 years old and a senior at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School. Some interesting courses I am taking include AP Chemistry, Dual Credit Statistics, Spanish 4, and AP English. I have a part-time job at Cousins Subs. I enjoy writing about KML because I get to focus on things that are important to me or stories that don’t receive much attention in the media. I’m excited to report because it helps me improve my writing abilities, a useful skill that will serve me well in any career I decide to pursue.
My current GPA is 4.000 and I plan to attend Wisconsin Lutheran College and study neuroscience.
If you are a student in Washington County interested in having your school stories published please contact judy@washingtoncountyinsider.com
