“I believe
there are angels among us,
Sent down to us from somewhere up above.
They come to you and me, in our darkest hours,
To show us how to live, to teach us how to give,
to guide us with a light of love.”
—Alabama
The congregation
and guests at Grace United Methodist Church
rejoiced with those words at a special “Heroes
Sunday” service Sunday.
Performed by Justin
Brines, a Cabarrus County Emergency Medical
Services (EMS)worker, the song let all of the
heroes at the service, from the firefighters to
the nurses, know that they are appreciated.
New York City
Firefighter Thomas Gavitt and his wife, Kathryn,
were among the firefighters at the service.
They were honored
guests in Salisbury this weekend as part of a
program sponsored by the U.S. Conference of
Mayors. The program honored New York firefighters
by giving them a much-needed vacation in their
host city as well as promoting travel and tourism
in the United States.
About 200
firefighters signed up for the program, and
Salisbury hosted the Gavitts.
They sat in the
audience on Sunday as Brines sang.
“Sept. 11 made us
stop and look at a number of things,”Brines said
before he sang in his beautiful deep voice.
“It proved that
there are angels and heroes among us,” he added.
As he sang with the
youth of the Faith Road church, many people in the
audience were touched by his poignant words.
Especially those
heroes and angels that were in the congregation.
There were plenty of tears.
But they were happy
tears.
“That was
wonderful,”Thomas Gavitt said about the song.
During the service,
the Rev. Randy Powell told the congregation: “An
angel is someone who does the work of the Lord.
The only reward is love given back.”
Serving as a
firefighter or any other public servant is more
than just a job to the people that they help,
Powell said.
Speaking to the
heroes in the audience, he said: “You guys, you
gals, at least let us for this moment in time say
‘Yes, you are heroes. You are our guardian
angels.’ Let us have that.”
Salisbury Mayor Pro
Tem Paul Woodson and Mayor Susan Kluttz spoke
about the honor of being there.
“We’re here to
honor our uniformed and un-uniformed,”Woodson
said.
He said that Tom
and Katie — the Gavitts — didn’t sound like
Brooklyn names.
“They sound like
North Carolina names,” he said.
“You’re
welcomed in Salisbury. In fact, the mayor gave you
a key to the city so you can come in anytime.”
Kluttz thanked
Grace United Methodist for having the service,
which members planned before they knew that the
Gavitts were coming. She added city officials were
grateful for the opportunity to join with the
church in honoring the heroes, local and
elsewhere.
Gavitt thanked the
city, too. “You’ve made me feel so comfortable
and welcomed,”he said. “Thank you to the
people of North Carolina for making me feel so
welcomed.”
And he joked:
“I’m still trying to find the door that key
fits.”
The couple flew
back to New York Sunday afternoon.
But, not empty
handed. On Saturday, they got to go shopping with
gift certificates provided by downtown merchants.
They also got
Cheerwine hats from Richard’s Barbeque and
plenty of good southern cooking.
They even got the
defining cookbook in the south — a church
cookbook provided by a member of Grace United
Methodist.
Contact Joanie
Morris at 704-797-4264 or jmorris@salisburypost.com
