Freedom to be celebrated Sunday

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The Mount Pleasant community is invited to show its true patriot colors this
weekend.

“The Freedom Celebration” will take place at 10 a.m. Sunday in Warriner
Hall’s Plachta Auditorium, honoring servicemen, servicewomen and their
families.

The annual event is being sponsored by The Potter’s House Family Worship
Center and will include songs, dance, drama and a tribute to all honored men
and women who fought and continue to fight to protect the country.

“We’re really looking forward to it,” said church Pastor Ron
Ives. “It will be a great day. We’ve received a lot of a letters
from different congressman supporting us.”

Rep. Sandy Caul, R-Mount Pleasant, will give an address during the celebration.

“She will be thanking our service people for their commitment to our
nation,” Ives said.

Renee Papelian, Midtier Clinical and Field Experiences coordinator, said this
is the first time the event will take place at Plachta Auditorium.

“Each year we take the opportunity to honor those who have served and
are serving in the military and thank them for their service,” she said.
“Each individual can come up, give the dates they served, and the names
of the branch of the military in which they served, so it is special and we
give them the respect they deserve.”

The Shepherd High School choir and the Potter’s House children’s
choir will sing and flags also will be presented at the beginning of the event.

Following the events at Warriner Hall, the celebration will continue with
a barbecue dinner at The Potter’s House, 5346 E. Deerfield Road.

Church Secretary Sandy Vanhorn said the entire community is welcome to attend.
This is the fourth year the church has sponsored the event, she said.

“We try to do it close to the Fourth of July and this is the last Sunday
before it this year, so it’s as close as we can get,” she said.

A $2 donation will be collected from those who are not veterans. A donation
will be given to the veterans hospital in Grand Rapids in honor of freedom,
Papelian said.

“We have a whole schedule of events out on the church grounds,”
she said.

Festivities include a mini-carnival, petting zoo, craft room, inflatable toys,
three-on-three basketball and volleyball tournaments, relay games and karaoke.

The evening will culminate at 7 p.m. with a bonfire on the church grounds
where author Dennis Kutzner of Gettysbug Campfires will share tales from the
civil war.

“We’re hoping to get a good turnout,” Papelian said. “The
last three years we’ve had it at the church and there should be 300 to
500 people by the end of the day.”