MEMORIAL DAY

This is Memorial Day weekend. While most of our citizenry see it only as the weekend that officially marks the summer vacation period, it is much more than that.

The practice began in 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan, commander in chief of Army of the Republic, designated May 30, as a day for decorating with flowers the graves of men who had fallen in the Civil War. Since World War I the date has been used to commemorate the dead of all wars.

Many of our churches are familiar with the impact of the Memorial Day weekend. Attendance will be down until school starts; offerings will suffer as the heat index rises. In some areas of our country, churches alter their summer Sunday schedules because of the vacation habits of their members that begin on Memorial Day.

If your family is planning to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend in some way, I want to suggest an activity that will enrich your sense of family. Some time during the weekend, recount the members of your family who died in our country’s wars. Tell their story again to younger family members being grateful for their sacrifice. If their grave is near by, a flag and flowers could be taken as a memorial.

I don’t know whether or not my great-great-uncle, William Atkinson, thought the South's cause was a just one, and my great-uncle Clyde Meece may or may not have thought boys from the United States should be trying to liberate France, but they did what their country asked of them and they set in motion a patriotic tradition for all of us who have followed. For this Janell and I are grateful. We have a goodly heritage.

This weekend I will be celebrating the second anniversary of the birth of the newest of the Atkinson clan. At some point in the weekend we will pause and remember our family members who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Memorial Day - It is a time of remembering - remembering those who have died in our country's wars. Use some portion of the weekend to pay tribute to family members who have died in the service of their country.