PITTSTON – St. John the Evangelist Church observed National First Responders Day on Oct. 28 by celebrating a 7 p.m. Mass with firefighters and police officers from surrounding towns present.
Fr. Joseph Elston, Sister Kieran Williams and Pittston Fire Chief James Rooney spearheaded the event and refreshments were served following the Mass sponsored by the Altar and Rosary Society of St. John’s.
In 2017, Congress designed Oct. 28 at National Responders Day, according to NationalDay.com. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Cotton, along with House of Representatives Michael Capuano, Mark Meadows and the late Elijah Cummings introduced the resolution.
National Responders Day is a day set aside to salute policemen, firefighters, paramedics, dispatchers and all others who work in emergency management.
Prior to the 2017 resolution, many states had designated days to honor First Responders, such as Pennsylvania, which passed a resolution in 2007 celebrating First Responders Day on Sept. 11, but there was no national observance.
“Jimmy Rooney, Fr. Elston, and Sister (Kieran) were talking about it one day in the office and Sister called me and my husband Kerry and she asked if we could plan a Mass honoring the First Responders,” said Inez Kugler, St. John parishioner. “Sister was instrumental in planning it, along with Jimmy Rooney.”
Invitations were sent to local municipalities by Sister Kieran and the church, inviting first responders to participate in the Mass.
“First Responders are at our community’s beck and call for chancing, for risking, helping and for saving,” Fr. Elston said during his homily. “You are the one who’s called, you’re the one that has to get up and go, you’re the one that God has asked you to do the job. Make no mistake about how deep that calling is, how real it is and how grateful we are as a community of faith that you said yes and that you continue to say yes, every day.”
Fr. Elston went on to say, “First Responders deserve more than a day, but certainly today is your day and this is our day to say thank you.”
Pittston City Mayor Michael Lombardo offered comments during Mass.
“I’m always very proud to serve as mayor in the city but one of the reasons that I’m most proud of is our team,” Lombardo said. “We have a fantastic department here in the city that I’d stack up against any other departments.
“There’s no time-out in this game; there’s no time to take a break,” Lombardo added. “Let’s hold these men and women in our hearts; let’s ask each day they go out and put their uniforms on and respond to these very challenging times that they can do it with the support, be it from our God or any God that we acknowledge, and from our citizens.”
Retired Pittston City Assistant Fire Chief Bill Williama, a firefighter for 47 years said, even though he has stepped down as chief, he could never step down as a fireman.
“When that phone rings or when the pager goes off, the first thing is, you can get a little bit of an adrenaline rush,” Williams said. “You’re not sure what you’re going to see from a simple fender bender or a tragic fatality. You want to make sure the public is safe; houses can be replaced, people can’t.”
“It’s nice to come out and see the public appreciates your service and recognizes you’re out there 24/7 getting out of a nice warm bed to go to an emergency; we appreciate it all the way around,” Williams added.
“It was a great ceremony and a great appreciation of the priest and the city mayor,” said Chief Mike Turner of the West Pittston Police Department. “We can’t guess what’s going to happen when we leave here or what the next call will be, so it’s nice to be appreciated.”
