HOULTON, Maine — Students and parents gathered together on Tuesday at the First Baptist Church in Houlton to honor three new inductees into the National Honor Society for Greater Houlton Christian Academy.
The students are Parker Brewer, 18, the son of Carla and Roger Brewer; Olivia Nadeau, 17, daughter of Rebecca and Paul Nadeau; and Silas Graham, 16, son of Sarah and Montie Graham.
The students were introduced by Headmaster Tom Zimmerman, followed by a guest speaker, the Rev. Randall Burns, the senior pastor at the Military Street Baptist Church in Houlton.
Rev. Burns, who holds a Master’s of Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (today known as Palmer Theological Seminary), began by leading a prayer for the recent victims of the tornadoes that struck central Tennessee. He then told the students to honor their families and to be humble while on the path to God. He quoted several passages from the Bible, such as Chronicles 29:12 and Proverbs 15:33, which praise those who show honor and humility.
“I know that you’re going to encounter people in your lives from this day forth who are going to be smarter than you, who are going to be serving more than you, they are going to be accomplishing more than you,” said Rev. Burns. “But all I can ask of you is to continue to live your life before almighty God and with Him in a way, in Christ, that you will be giving your best to. And you can’t do any better than that.”
Rev. Burns also bemoaned what he saw as modern society’s lack of honor. He said people today did not respect the honor of the office of the presidency, nor to other leaders such as teachers, police officers and our parents.
He noted that while sometimes those leaders may not act as if they deserve honor, but that “when we honor our parents, there is a commandment that says ‘it will go well with you,’” a reference to Ephesians 6:3.
Following the speech, students were asked to come to light a set of candles at the altar representing the values of the honor society such as scholarship, leadership, integrity and service. They were joined by two other students who have already been inducted into the society — Kathryn Nightingale and Teagan Ewing.
Founded in 1921, the National Honors Society is the oldest nationwide honor society in the United States. According to its website, the society serves not just to recognize students’ academic achievements, but also challenges them to become more actively involved in community engagement.
