Memorial Day Weekend Service

Dear Friend,
Hello, my name is Ronnie Payne. My wife, Aileen and I want to invite you to our fifteenth annual Memorial Day weekend service at Calvary Baptist Church. Our son Marine Cpl. Ron Payne, Jr. gave the last full measure of devotion on the night of May 7th, 2004 in Afghanistan. Over the past sixteen years we have honored 63 servicemen and women from all over America. We’ve had their families at this service. It is truly a day to watch God’s healing take hold of their broken hearts and show them that their children were more than just a name or a number. They were the absolute best that America had to offer.
Our church family, community, and former military gather on this date every year to honor them. In 2019, we honored the fallen from the Afghanistan and Vietnam Wars. This year, on May 30th at 10:45 AM, we are going to honor a family of the fallen from Afghanistan War. We’ve entitled the program, “The Last Full Measure.” We will be honoring the service and sacrifice of Army Green Beret Master Sgt. Shawn Simmons. The Final Roll Call will be performed. The color guard will be performed by the Mulberry High School Army J.R.O.T.C. Our keynote speaker will be Desert Storm Marine, Kevin Youngblood. Some local area high school J.R.O.T.Cs will be in attendance.
This service is open to the public, but if you are a military veteran, we want you here that morning so we can honor you too. Bring your family members. If you are uncomfortable coming to a physical service, the service will also be livestreamed. Please call Ronnie Payne at (863) 370-1968 or the church office at (863) 683-6781 for more information. Come join Pastor Shane Skelton, Aileen, and myself as we honor this brave fallen warrior of the Afghanistan war who gave his last breath for each and every one of us…people he didn’t even know.