SERVICE OF DEDICATION FOR A FIRE STATION

One of the most rewarding parts of life is being a fire chaplain.  I love the work and my department.  I am a work in progress.  Always learning and always training.  Most of the chaplaincy worship events are funerals-less than cheery but important.  A chaplain in Maryland called for a dedication service for their remodeled station.  There were some services around but I took this as a challenge to stretch my brain. It is much like any church dedication service and I think it will play but there on thing worries me. 

Here is the question.  A fire station is filled with churched, unchurched, Christians, other religions and non-religious alike. So is the community we serve.  How much of Christ can I take out of a service like this and keep my integrity?  How much can I put in and simply cut myself off from the department and the community without adding any God to the situation?  I am blessed to work for a volunteer department that doesn't make me choose!  We pray before meetings and are not offended if I ask us to drop and pray at other times.  I dare say that many if not most departments are not that open minded.

I am unashamed and unafraid to present Christ. I am not going to dance around the fact that I am a Christian disciple and a Christian pastor but even Paul was "Greek to the Greeks etc.". Where is the line for faith in public and secular gatherings in an increasingly secular world?  

My guys pray before going into a burning structures without me telling them too. There are no atheists when the ceiling is dripping fire onto you.  I will not compromise myself or Jesus but fear that using too much faith language could compromise my department.  Today, I will err on GOD's side!   How wonderful it is to give our public buildings and departments to God before anything is on fire.  

Here is a sample of a service that a department might use.

A Service of Dedication

A dedication service must be tailored to the needs of the particular department by including local traditions and "inside jokes".  This outline  is a starting place for a service.  Music, speakers, photographs, slideshows and other things can be added.  Parts that don't suit the needs of the day can be changed or removed too.  This is unashamedly a Christian service and can also be toned down if needed.   This is often appropriate but this service starts with a Christ center which doesn't change even if some of the words do.

Make sure there are seats for the guests, The sound system works-it one is needed, and that everyone has arrived before starting.  Printed bulletins may be passed out as a keepsake or a receiving line might be appropriate to greet guests as they come in.

Gathering (a time to gather everyone, give any directions, and make thanks to the team putting this event together)

Greeting (The chaplain or other assigned leader addresses the group)

Jesus said, "Listen! I am standing at the door knocking, if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in".  Firefighters, friends and family, we are here today to ask God to be present in the new ____________ Fire Station.  This is not just a place to store our gear, this Station House holds our department as a family.  This is a symbol of God's love and care for us and our response to His calling to protect the people of our community. 

Let us stop for a moment and pray.  May God be praised in this new building as we offer our skills, our equipment and yes, our lives to the community of  _____________________. 

Opening Prayer (may be made by the chaplain or another person.  A spontaneous prayer might also be more appropriate and less "Canned" for some crowds)

Almighty and loving God

You are our Calling to the fire service.  Bless this station and all who serve here with protection, strength, and skill as we go in your name to fight for those who are in danger.  Make this a place of strong family ties for all who serve here.  Bind us together with cords of duty, friendship and dedication.  Use us, we pray, to be strength for the weak, freedom for those trapped, and hope for all in danger.  We ask that this new station be a sign to everyone that you are at work through us to our community. (-Name of your community).  You are our shield and strength.  We pray this in the strong and loving name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

-OR-if your crowd is used to a liturgical prayer you can print this in a bulletin

The Lord be with you

AND ALSO WITH YOU

let us pray

You are our strength and protection.  Bless this station and all who serve here with protection, strength, and skill as we go in your name to fight for those who are in danger.  Make this a place of strong family ties for all who serve here.  Bind us together with cords of duty, friendship and dedication.  Use us we pray to be strong for the weak, freedom for those trapped, and hope for all in danger.  We ask that this new station be a sign to everyone that you are at work through us to our community. (-Name of your community).  You are our shield and strength.  We pray this in the strong and loving name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Remembering our History

This would be a time to present pictures, a powerpoint slide show or have a long time member share a few stories of the department's history.  Pictures of the old station, pictures of the process of building or remodeling the new station, and artifacts (old equipment, mentioning members who have passed or critical events in the life of the department could be shown or presented).   Great care must be taken to be respectful of this time without letting things ramble on.

Presenting our New Station

(An officer, project manager or other person who has been a leader in the process can talk everyone through a guided tour of the new facility.  Features, equipment and new operation plans can be talked about.  Large donors can be thanked and those who have given of their time and talents honored.   This would be a time to give any awards or honor the memory of someone who the building is named for etc.  )

Keynote Speaker

 (optional, but a fire official, political dignitary, or other interesting presenter would be appropriate.  Music or a department "best of" fire scene/interviews/etc. video could also be put here)

Consecration of our Facility

(Everyone should stand as they are able, join hands if appropriate, form a circle if the crowd is small, or make any other show of unity as a team.  Fighters might lock arms or simply stand together.  A chaplain, priest or other pastor would wait until everyone settles and then invite them to pray.)

Let us pray together and ask God's Blessings on our department, our firefighters and this wonderful new station

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (or in the name of the holy and triune God)

May your protection and provision rest upon this  the  _____________ Fire Station and all who enter it. 

We consecrate it to your service and all in _____________ who are in need.

Bless this house that it will be that place of preparation which gives a sense of confidence and security to all of our neighbors.

May all who look upon this facility experience your grace as it is shown by our calling to the fire service.

In the loving and living name of Jesus Christ.  Amen

Benediction

 (something less formal might be appropriate, but a dismissal is important.  This ends the service without any awkwardness and sends everyone from this time with a purpose)

Go with God from this place for God goes with you.  Amen

-OR-

You have just witnessed God at work in our community through the building of this station.  Go in the excitement and the sense of accomplishment that we have experienced here.  In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

-OR-

Thanks to all of you for coming.  It takes us all to have a quality Department.  You are a part of making this happen.  Leave here knowing you are a part of a great community.

-OR-

have someone pray a simple prayer of dismissal

By Chaplain Alan Van Hooser 

St. Anthony, A Christian "Maggid"

Story Telling as 
a Means of Grace

The Jewish mystics have a tradition of story telling that dates back many hundreds of generations.  The Maggid (Magid) is basically a wandering street preache/Rabbi that repeats the Torah  with teaching stories. Christians can certainly receive a blessing from hearing them.

 Long before Jesus and His parables, the Maggid would travel around and teach right-eousness through their stories.  Jesus used this style of teaching in His earthly ministry and perfected His parables for us in our scripture today.

Project Shalom, through its "story tour, shares the deeper wisdom of the story.  The site offers a number of stories in print and a podcast from Rabbi Rock. I don't know anything about the group but the stories are rich.   It is operated by donations and is worth pitching in a couple of bucks. for using it.

Christians had a rush of spiritual story telling a few years ago.  The stories of the Desert Fathers (and mothers) along with other stories from other  Christian mystics and monastics were popular for a while but fell back into the shadows. These stories are worth revisiting.

Hear some of the stories that Jesus might have heard at http://projectshalom2.org/Story Tour/

Unsticking the Stuck relationship: "Family Ties that Bind" by Ronald Richardson;

Are your close relationship "stuck".  "Family Ties that Bind", by Dr. Ronald Richardson, is now in its 2011-4th edition and has sold over 135,000 copies.  "Family Ties" is a systematic way to get un-stuck from all of our family of origin's messiness.  He dares us to understand why we are who we are without being powerless to become healthier both within, and with our closest relationships. 

Dr. Richardson forms powerful concepts to visualize how we link our families together.  He uses Family Systems theory from the Bowen Theory approach without using a lot of psycho-jargon.  The paperback is only 140 very readable pages.  He is wonderfully transparent with his own family "mobile" and shares how he has worked through his own relationship.  This gives the book some flesh and blood, far more than a text book or a mere "how-to". 

Everything begins with our own need for closeness and separateness.  As we understand our personal needs and move toward our own healthy balance we are able to identify the dynamic, everchanging forces at work in our families.  You will find that there is all families have messiness and not just yours.  You will see that all families are built on emotional relationship that spiral in and out, closer at times and farther away at others. 

Each chapter contains thought provoking questions and an exercises to find healthier ways to live together.  He teaches us the difference between thinking and feeling; the wonders and dangers of "triangling"; how to escape unhealthy roles and form healthy ones; what we can learn from birth-order; and ends with a step by step process to put these concepts to work.  The goal is not to cure but to improve personal relationships and lead a less anxious life in the process.

My introduction to Ronald Richardson was in seminary through his book, "Creating a Healthier Church". This applies Bowen theory to pastoral leadership and like this book shows that these concepts affect all corners of our lives. The concepts that he uses to create healthier relationship at home also apply to church, work, sports teams and any other situation where two or more are gathered. I strongly recommend this book. A more complete outline will be posted on my blog. Thanks from the "thoughtful pastor" for reading this review.

Redemption and a brand old canoe

Zeno "buddy " King is a man in my life who has a post here.  He is an interesting person who has  introduced me to the joy of wooden boats.  I grew up in canoes and have been looking for one that matched up with the money that I had on hand.



A pastor friend named Richard Gillet had been looking for a canoe for me and got this one for nearly no money, was of good quality at its birth, and provided wood working challenge.   I am drawn to old stuff.  It is a part of my personality to find redemption in a form that I can paddle around.  This canoe has promise.

The boat had been upside down in a back yard for a number of years.  I still haven't found anything about its history.  Anyone know  about Perma Craft of Pleasantville New Jersey? I am guessing it was built in  the 1960's.  I know that Perma Craft moved to Florida in the late '70's and they made these boats for the summer camp trade.  The fiberglass hull is solid, with a few repairs, and the wooden gunnels and decks were trash.  The seats and struts are mahogony and re-usable.

The first job:
draw a detailed chart of the hardware, tear out all of the rotted wood, salvage what I can and  clean up.  I sprayed bleach on the mold and lichen and then used comet and orange degreaser to clean the heavily oxidized gelcoat. The inside had been painted with house paint and was the tough to get out. I scrubbed it with a wire brush for several hours.


The mahogony and all of the brass screws and bolts were re-used!  This saved a lot of money and kept the integrity of the boat's original design. .

 Next, I bought two 1x4 cedar boards to mill out the 2 piece gunnels.  I had to look hard to find anything clear enough to take the bending and molding that this would require.  I am still pretty new to the table saw but Richard got me started and it all came together after some experimentation.

I started fitting the gunnells in the middle of the boat and worked toward the end. The wood for the last 2 feet or so is added to the gunnels and planed even with the hull for the decks.  The inner piece was screwed to the outer strip with brass #8 wood screws.


I made a "Depth Gauge' on my cordless drill with a piece of duct tape.  My old electric drill has a counter sink bit and each screw went in with a little Tite-Bond II glue.  I still didn't get the screws lined up perfectly but they are solid and catch both pieces of wood and the fiberglass hull between.

I couldn't figure out how to get the vertical holes drilled without messing up the gunnels.  The holes had to be perfect and straight up.  I took a piece of scrap and drilled the hole in the proper place, then used the piece as a jig to hold the drill straight.  This put the bolts for the seats and strut in the right place.  I made the wood pieces a little thicker too.  They still bent well and added a little stiffness.  The original wood was probably ash or oak.  The cedar could use a little more heft.

 

The gelcoat on the outside was scarred but in better shape that I would have thought.  I sanded the gel to the cloth, added 6 oz cloth and resin in the worst spots and filled in the smaller spots with resin and covered with poly-wrap to help it cure smoothly.  Only one spot had broken the original cloth.  After paint, you won't be able to find my patches. I am going to mask the old stickers and paint around them.  They add a little character.

 The decks on either end were chiseled in like they were in the original design.  This part of the boat was on the ground the everything was rotten which made it hard to figure.  The cross piece actually had termites in it.  This one is made with a piece of decking scrap left over from a wheelchair ramp.  The boat is not symetrical and cutting the decks was a bear.  I got them close and then trimmed them until they looked ok.  I am still not happy with them but could not find anything 4mm that was water proof.

Check out the little brass plaque on the cross piece.  This is original and reads: "Perma Craft, Pleasantville New Jersey, official Boy Scout, Girl Scout, & YMCA Canoe".

Yours truly driving the last screw 

 The Final Analysis:    All that is left is to paint the hull and put two coats of spar varnish on the wood.  I still don't like the decks.  I want to re-do them in some hardwood marine plywood or something that matches the mahogony.  I am going to leave  the wood bright-no stain or paint.

I did some things right.  drawing a details pictures of where the wood pieces fit together, screw placement and other details.  Without this crude drawing I would have been lost after removing the rot.

The End Result-Ready for a shake-down trip

Everything has three generous coats of deck sealer-before installation and another coat afterword.  I used Gorilla wood glue on one of my "oops" and was very pleased with its strength.  The store was out of Titebond II or I wouldn't have bought it! This is the wood glue and not the foamy stuff.  It set quickly and took a bend in an awkward spot.  I used Zinser brand oil based white primer for the inside with good results.  I will probably paint over it but the stuff is tough and covered a  weird surface well.  The deck sealer needs to dry for a week before I varnish.

There are lots of little mistakes, usually because of impatience.  I work at odd hours and usually until I am interrupted. This is not the kind of project to rush.  Nothing is measured, it is fitted in place.  I am blessed to have a Buddy King's boat builder's strong-back with a center string.  This helped but it is not perfectly centered.  I did not leave much undone BUT, I did not pull off the keel.  It is pandora's box and might have created more of a problem and solution.  I sealed the edges with Dap and saturated it with deck sealer.  Time will tell whether that was the right decision.

I have two 2x8' portable benches that create work spaces

I spent about $75 total and probably 40-45 hours over 6 week's time and feel that this will be a first class paddle. I used my son-in-law's table saw and a box full of normal hand tools. My Stanley "Sure Form" shaper and 1/4 sheet sander got quite a work out too.  Having two drills saved many hours.  Last year I build two benches that match the saw which allow me to rip long pieces of lumber-they were a God-send. They are a part of my boat building in the future too.  My plan is to use Krylon for plastic for the outside but I haven't decided yet.  It needs a name too.




I finally got it into the water on a cool Friday in November 2012.  Lots of creaking until the pieces all settled in, one loose bolt-it needs a larger washer- but it paddled beautifully.  Paddling single,  it was much better sitting on the floor instead of the seats.  It wasn't as stiff as my old ABS plastic one but half the weight and elegent in its way.  Even in the wind it was quick and tracked perfectly straight.













 I am glad to have refitted this old soldier rather than buy a new one.  It was an excellent design to start with and It is mine-heart and soul. I turned every screw by hand and learned a lot for my next boat.  I did not make this a better boat but the boat made me a better person.  That is redemption after all, isn't it.

 .