"Three pews weren't enough. You never know," the Rev. Kevin Fruchtl of Ebenezer United Church of Christ, New Tripoli, said.

Those three pews were reserved for members of American Legion Allen O. Delke Post 16, Slatington, as they came to honor deceased members with a service of remembering for those who died the past year.

"We don't usually honor the preschool and veterans on the same day, Fruchtl continued. "This year, it was a quirk of the calendar."

He said the two events blend.

"These people fought not for the Democrats or Republicans but for the children," he said. "We come together in this place that we embody with what the church means. What you think is right should not be allowed to get in the way of what is truly right."

Choirmaster Brad Lizotte then addressed the veterans.

"I thank each and every one of you who put your lives at risk for God and country," Lizotte said.

He then explained the meaning of the choral anthem, "The Day I Lay My Isaac Down," in which Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son. Although willing to do so, God told him a ram would be sufficient.

The Bible reading from Matthew included the words, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for My (Jesus) sake shall find it."

The children from the preschool then sang three songs for their portion of the service.

Two were chosen by them. The third, an audience participation song, was chosen by the school director Debbie Wanamaker.

The song was "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands."

The second verse ends with "stamp your feet," which caused the entire floor to shake.

The children's message was about words.

"We have some people here who did some special things," Fruchtl told the youngsters.

The children said the word was "veterans" but Fruchtl said it was "thank you" and he asked the children to say it as loud as they could, which they did.

Pictures were shown on a screen at the front of the sanctuary as "Jesus Loves the Little Children" was sung; first by the congregation, then by those under age 18 and again by the congregation.

The pastor said his sermon was nonexistent because there was nothing he could give that was stronger than the smile of a child, nothing stronger than the images of the veterans who were members of the church.

In the pastoral prayer, Fruchtl said words such as dedication, sacrifice and commitment are no longer part of our vocabulary.

"We pray for those who are separated from their families because they are serving," the pastor said. "Help us to find the courage to do what is right even when it is not popular, and God, as the images flash across the screen we offer up the prayer that Jesus taught us."

The veterans' service began with Fruchtl saying he knew the veterans were familiar with the songs played by Jacob Fruchtl on saxophone.

As the military anthems rang out, members and former members of the military – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and anyone else who served – stood to be recognized.

Dennis Ziegler, representing Allen O. Delke Post 16, asked all past commanders to stand for recognition.

Ziegler said he is president of the Memorial and Veterans' Day committee.

"We remember how men and women set aside their civilian pursuits to serve their nation's cause, defending freedom of mankind and preserving our precious American heritage. We believe our strength … lay in the justice of our cause against the forces of evil," Ziegler said. "We recognize service to our country and her cause does not end with the termination of military service.

"We continue our endeavors in behalf of an honorable world peace with a feeling of profound gratitude to God and to the men and woman who gave their lives as their part of the cost of this noblest of causes."

Shawn McKelvey, a member of the Sons of the American Legion and Legion Riders, said the name of Scott McFarland, the only person in those two groups who died in the past year. McFarland was a member of both.

Commander Jim Gourniak Sr. read the names of members of the auxiliary as Susan Queen placed a poppy in the wreath.

Those members were Lorraine Roth, Margaret Rowlands, Irene Selvenis, Mabel Thomas and JoAnn Wehr.

The two reversed places and Queen read the names of deceased Legionaires as Gourniak placed a poppy for each in the wreath: Albert Amann, Alfred Barone, Leo Burke, Wilbur Diehl, Harold Evans, Ira Fine, James Fritz Sr., Willard Gersbach, Milton Greene Jr., Edgar Handwerk, Russel Lamlin, Russel Long, Florence Mayberry, James McCutcheon, Elias Miller, Ernest Peters, Henry Peters, Larry Peters, John Rubright, Dennis Sell, Carl Steinberg, Ronald Wehr, Eugene Weiss, Dr. Milton Young and Rudolph Zuanet.

As each name was read, a bell tolled.

Everyone stood as "Taps" was played by Nathaniel Czarnecki and Marc Beleno.

"My Country 'Tis of Thee" and "America the Beautiful" were then sung.