By SUSAN BERG

Managing editor

Sharing the burdens of war and military service was the message the Rev. Brett Heubner of Our Savior Lutheran Church of Marion gave Monday morning at Marion Cemetery at the annual Memorial Day ceremony.

“Carry each other’s burdens,” Heubner said as he read from Scripture. “Bear one another’s burdens.”

Communities do this as do soldiers on battlefields. Everyone is trained to help each other, he said, regardless of the type of work one might do.

“Everyone has their part to play,” Heubner said. “Soldiers who are fighting or preparing to fight abroad are doing so on our behalf and for the welfare of the nation.”

He encouraged everyone to pray for soldiers as part of daily prayers.

“Pray that soldiers will come to the Lord for forgiveness,” Heubner said.

The community should support not only active military personnel but also their families, he said.

“Maybe offer to baby-sit, grocery shop, or make meals,” the pastor said.

Another important way to share the burden of veterans is to help them integrate into everyday living after they have served.

Heubner used the Homes for Our Troops house-building project in Marion for the Ryan Newell family as an example of how a community can help a military family.

Death carries a sting like a bee, Heubner said, citing 1 Corinthians 15:56, “O death, where is your sting?”

“Death is a result of sin,” he said. “War itself is a result of sin — people not being content with what they have.”

The sting of death is sin but not a permanent sting, Heubner said, because Jesus Christ will raise those who have died with him as he was raised from the dead.

“It’s a word of promise from Christ that soldiers who have died (knowing Him) will rise again as will others,” he said.

The purpose of Memorial Day is to remember those who have sacrificed and families remember those who have been lost, Heubner said.

“Each of us can help survivors remember loved ones. It’s a way to bring resurrection and life to families,” he said.

The community should remember the attacks on 9/11 and those who perished on military bases within the U.S., he continued.

“We remember veterans of the Civil War, Revolutionary War, Pearl Harbor, and those who serve overseas,” Heubner said.

Prior to the address and prayer service, Marion High School senior Landon Leiker played the “Star-Spangled Banner” on the trumpet and members of American Legion Auxiliary provided a welcome and prayer.

The service closed with the color guard providing a 21-rifle salute and Leiker playing “Taps.”