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The St. John’s United Church of
Christ Veterans Ministry hosted its annual veterans celebration
dinner at the American Legion Post #263 on Sunday, November 8th
starting at 4:30 p.m. This event is held each year with the express
goal of thanking and celebrating the American Veterans in the Logan
County community.
The evening started with
photographs. Each branch of the military was called forward,
starting with the Air Force, then Marines, Navy, National Guard, and
finally the Army. There were no veterans present to represent the
National Guard. Once each branch had their photo taken, all of the
veterans were called back up for one more “all branch” photo.
After the photos, Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch, who was the emcee of
the night, informed the audience that Boy Scout Troop 1102 and Cub
Scout Pack 101 would begin serving the food. Welch shared that the
food was being catered by Nick Bay of Lincoln Land Catering, and it
included pork, mashed potatoes, green beans, a roll, and a fruit
cup. One of the Boy Scouts marched the flag in and placed it in its
bracket for the duration of the service. This was followed by the
Star Spangled Banner and then an invocation given by Rev. Dr.
Kenneth Kline, who is a pastor at St. John’s.
The Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts did
an excellent job serving dinner, leaving not a single guest unfed.
They formed a line at the food and took one or two plates at a time,
serving all 20+ tables in around 15 minutes. They then went around
and collected trash from each table before serving everyone dessert.
Following dinner, the Mt. Pulaski High School Band was present with
band director Calob Pluhm to perform three songs. The band started
with the Washington Post March, followed by two other melodies. The
band performed very well and received a round of applause at the end
of each song.
A mail call was next. Each year, in
preparation for this event, students from the District 27 schools of
Central, Northwest, and Washington-Monroe color pictures. These
pictures, along with some other items are presented to each of the
veterans. Each veteran’s name is called one at a time. The Boy
Scouts and Cub Scouts delivered the packages to each veteran.
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Once each veteran had their mail, a
special presentation was made, and an award was given to someone who
worked tirelessly to make the lives of others better. Jan Jeffries
presented this award, speaking of the recipient as someone “who’s
life mission was to make other’s lives better.” The award recipient
was the late Marilyn Armbrust, who passed away this past July. In
her stead, Armbrust's daughter Sara Ann Mooneyhan was present to
receive the award. Mooneyhan had also written an acceptance speech
on her mother’s behalf that Jeffries read. Jeffries announced that
memorials were being donated to the Central Illinois Veterans
Commission tiny homes for veterans and Hope on 5th in Armbrust’s
memory.
Kline returned to play some songs on the keyboard before a moment of
silence was taken to remember and honor those veterans who passed
away since last year’s celebration. Austin Garriott then sang On
Eagle’s Wings with accompanist Laura Lee.
Door prizes were next. Several dozen ticket numbers were read off,
with veterans and their guests winning gift cards to local
businesses such as Abe’s Caramelcorn, Guzzardo’s, Spirited Republic,
and more. Once more, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts ran the winners
their prizes. The colors were then retired, and Kline made a final
benediction before the evening came to an end.
St. John's United Church of Christ 2026 Veterans Celebration
slideshow
St. John’s United
Church of Christ 2026 Veterans Celebration Mail Call video
Mt.
Pulaski High School band performs Washington Post March video
[Matt Boutcher]
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