Airmen focus on heritage during National Prayer luncheon Published Feb. 13, 2015 By Staff Sgt. Erica Picariello 42nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- The Maxwell Chapel hosted a National Prayer luncheon Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, at the combined club here. More than 90 base members and leaders gathered to listen to prayers from different religions and to hear keynote speaker Chap. (Col.) Steven Schaick, command chaplain, Air Education and Training Command. The Islamic scriptures, the Surah Al-Fatiha, read by Airman 1st Class Indira Odlum, 42nd Air Base Wing Legal Office, prayed for guidance, while the Hebrew scriptures, Psalm 100, read by Kathleen Roberts, Officer Training School, reminded people to give grateful praise. Chaplain Schaick spoke on problems in life, relating them to the biblical story of David and Goliath. "A lot of us will face giants," he said. "Some of us are facing giant relationship problems. Some of us have giant health problems, sometimes that giant is called cancer, and sometimes it's not ours, but it's ugly. Some of us face giants at work. Some of us work for a boss who just doesn't get it. And for some of us that giant is our workplace, and we're happy to just have two days away from that craziness. For some of us, that giant is just something we do, maybe an addiction that we can't shake. Whatever it is, that giant is just staring at us every day and won't go away." The chaplain related some of the AETC Airmen that he's met to the story of David and Goliath. "As a chaplain, I meet giant slayers every day. I pray that you rid yourself of whatever giants you are facing," said the chaplain. "When you think about whatever giant you are dealing with, I suggest you do what David did, get on your knees and get some guidance from the Almighty, and get down and take care of your job. The key to slaying giants is to kneel before you stand." Col. Andrea Tullos, 42nd Air Base Wing commander, ended the event by reminding the attendees to remember their heritage and why a National Prayer luncheon is held every year. "I like to use the National Prayer luncheon as a lesson in reminding ourselves why we serve," Tullos said. "So, for our Airmen in uniform -- enlisted and officers -- and civilians, all of us have raised our right hand and sworn an oath, an oath to support and defend the Constitution, which was founded fundamentally on principles of tolerance and specifically on religious freedom. And if you think about the immigrants that formed our nation, many of them came here because they were trying to escape religious persecution, and they had hope in their hearts and minds that they would find a place that was tolerant and would allow them to think freely and share in that fellowship with others who worshiped their God." Tullos also charged Maxwell-Gunter members to keep heritage in the forefront of their minds. "So I would ask, as you develop our young Airmen, to remind everyone that we are not a nation that defends a king, a crown, or a royal family or a set of territorial boundaries, but we are all Airmen who serve a set of principles and guidance that is based on tolerance," the wing commander said. "Whether we view ourselves as spiritual or of a certain religious orientation, all of us should view ourselves as defending the Constitution and sharing in each other's fellowship... . I ask you to be messengers out there, to take a moment to remind yourselves why you serve and to be thankful we live in a nation that is based on a principle of tolerance and freedom of religion."