This article was featured in today's San Diego Union Tribune and was penned by the Senior Pastor at my Church, Miles McPherson. I've decided to put it on the LeaseOldTown.net not because it has anything to do with energy efficiency or commercial office buildings in San Diego, but because it has everything to do with being a grateful American Citizen who honors those who give all to defend God's greatest nation.
JBL
Jeremy Henwood was the kind of guy who showed up early for work and maintained a positive attitude in the face of challenging circumstances and long hours.
He had an ideal disposition for a police officer, a “glass is half full” outlook on life, and he possessed a talent for diffusing potentially volatile situations.
His boss recalls one day when Officer Henwood was called to the home of a teenager suffering from mental illness who had refused to take his medication. The parents feared for their safety because of the boy’s violent behavior and had called the San Diego police for help.
The first two officers on the scene evaluated the situation and agreed with the parents’ assessment that the boy should be taken to a mental health facility.
Jeremy had other plans. He talked with the boy and convinced him to take his medication. Next, he waited patiently at the home, talking and joking with the teenager until the calming effects of the medication kicked in.
That story encapsulates the heart of Jeremy Henwood: happy in his work and dedicated to serving others.
On Saturday, 36-year-old Henwood was gunned down in his police cruiser, shot in the head by an apparent stranger in what seems to be a random act of violence.
Many people say the sacrifice of Jeremy’s life was senseless – and there is no arguing that the manner of his death is utterly inexplicable.
But senseless means meaningless. And it is up to us to bring meaning to the horrible events of last weekend by honoring Jeremy’s legacy of service.
The service that Jeremy provided to his community as a San Diego police officer and to our country as a Marine is full of significance and value. Jeremy’s death is only as senseless as we make it. His death will be senseless if we neglect to take action to commemorate his life.
While the manner of his death was cruel, each of us can honor the memory of Jeremy Henwood by emulating his spirit of sacrifice and service. Think how much safer our community would be if every person cared enough to serve.
Seek out someone in uniform today and say a simple, “Thank you.” Mentor a child, start a neighborhood watch, care for troubled neighbors or volunteer with a church or community organization. Each of us can play an active role in honoring the memory and the legacy of Jeremy Henwood.
In death, as in life, Jeremy has given us a valuable gift. He’s provided us with the opportunity to reflect and examine how each of us will shape and define our own individual legacy. His death should prompt each of us to ask, “When I die, what will be remembered and told as the story of my life?”
Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson in 1950 created the term “generativity” to describe a basic human desire or “concern for establishing and guiding the next generation.” Most of us have a yearning to leave a legacy that extends beyond the span of our fleeting lives.
Often, we see this desire reflected in the actions of people who generously contribute large sums of money to install their names or that of a loved one on schools, hospitals and museums.
Even though these much-needed financial gifts are one way to establish a legacy, Jeremy’s gift teaches us that there is another way – a way that is available to all of us: taking personal action.
The power of our legacy is inherently dependent upon the depth of our sacrifice. The bigger the sacrifice in life, the greater our legacy becomes in death.
Jeremy paid the ultimate sacrifice.
The uniforms worn by Jeremy Henwood symbolize his legacy of sacrifice. He is a man who found purpose and value in sacrificing his own safety for the residents of San Diego and protecting the freedom of all Americans through military service.
A captain in the Marine Reserves, Henwood had just returned from deployment in Afghanistan and he served four years on the San Diego police force.
Jeremy Henwood should be remembered as a man of the few, proud, loyal, fearless members of our community who suit up every day to keep us safe.
Was Jeremy’s death senseless? We have the power to shape the answer to that question through our own acts of service to others.
McPherson is the senior pastor of the Rock Church, where a memorial service for Officer Henwood will be held today. McPherson will deliver the opening prayer.
JBL
Jeremy Henwood was the kind of guy who showed up early for work and maintained a positive attitude in the face of challenging circumstances and long hours.
He had an ideal disposition for a police officer, a “glass is half full” outlook on life, and he possessed a talent for diffusing potentially volatile situations.
His boss recalls one day when Officer Henwood was called to the home of a teenager suffering from mental illness who had refused to take his medication. The parents feared for their safety because of the boy’s violent behavior and had called the San Diego police for help.
The first two officers on the scene evaluated the situation and agreed with the parents’ assessment that the boy should be taken to a mental health facility.
Jeremy had other plans. He talked with the boy and convinced him to take his medication. Next, he waited patiently at the home, talking and joking with the teenager until the calming effects of the medication kicked in.
That story encapsulates the heart of Jeremy Henwood: happy in his work and dedicated to serving others.
On Saturday, 36-year-old Henwood was gunned down in his police cruiser, shot in the head by an apparent stranger in what seems to be a random act of violence.
Many people say the sacrifice of Jeremy’s life was senseless – and there is no arguing that the manner of his death is utterly inexplicable.
But senseless means meaningless. And it is up to us to bring meaning to the horrible events of last weekend by honoring Jeremy’s legacy of service.
The service that Jeremy provided to his community as a San Diego police officer and to our country as a Marine is full of significance and value. Jeremy’s death is only as senseless as we make it. His death will be senseless if we neglect to take action to commemorate his life.
While the manner of his death was cruel, each of us can honor the memory of Jeremy Henwood by emulating his spirit of sacrifice and service. Think how much safer our community would be if every person cared enough to serve.
Seek out someone in uniform today and say a simple, “Thank you.” Mentor a child, start a neighborhood watch, care for troubled neighbors or volunteer with a church or community organization. Each of us can play an active role in honoring the memory and the legacy of Jeremy Henwood.
In death, as in life, Jeremy has given us a valuable gift. He’s provided us with the opportunity to reflect and examine how each of us will shape and define our own individual legacy. His death should prompt each of us to ask, “When I die, what will be remembered and told as the story of my life?”
Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson in 1950 created the term “generativity” to describe a basic human desire or “concern for establishing and guiding the next generation.” Most of us have a yearning to leave a legacy that extends beyond the span of our fleeting lives.
Often, we see this desire reflected in the actions of people who generously contribute large sums of money to install their names or that of a loved one on schools, hospitals and museums.
Even though these much-needed financial gifts are one way to establish a legacy, Jeremy’s gift teaches us that there is another way – a way that is available to all of us: taking personal action.
The power of our legacy is inherently dependent upon the depth of our sacrifice. The bigger the sacrifice in life, the greater our legacy becomes in death.
Jeremy paid the ultimate sacrifice.
The uniforms worn by Jeremy Henwood symbolize his legacy of sacrifice. He is a man who found purpose and value in sacrificing his own safety for the residents of San Diego and protecting the freedom of all Americans through military service.
A captain in the Marine Reserves, Henwood had just returned from deployment in Afghanistan and he served four years on the San Diego police force.
Jeremy Henwood should be remembered as a man of the few, proud, loyal, fearless members of our community who suit up every day to keep us safe.
Was Jeremy’s death senseless? We have the power to shape the answer to that question through our own acts of service to others.
McPherson is the senior pastor of the Rock Church, where a memorial service for Officer Henwood will be held today. McPherson will deliver the opening prayer.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/aug/12/officers-death-senseless-you-decide/
