Local radio station will broadcast Dole Institute's interfaith worship service

LAWRENCE -- An interfaith worship service planned in conjunction with the dedication of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will be broadcast live locally on radio station KLWN 1320-AM.

The event, which will feature the only living chaplain to survive D-Day, is scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Sunday, July 20, at the Lied Center of Kansas. Although seating inside the Lied Center is limited, a small number of seats will be available to the general public at 9:40 a.m. on a first come-first served basis.

The service will be simulcast on a 30-foot jumbo screen outside the institute for those who would like to bring their own blankets or lawn chairs. Audio and video feed for media will be available.

Ten Lawrence churches are working together to plan the "Service Above Self" ceremony, which will commemorate the "Greatest Generation," including those who served during World War II.

The service will be led by George Russell Barber, who was one of four chaplains to make the landing at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. He also served during the Battle of the Bulge and comforted hundreds of injured and dying soldiers on many European battlegrounds. Barber served two years in Japan during the Korean War and later counseled air crews leaving for battle in Vietnam.

The interfaith worship service will include performances by the Lawrence Community Bell Choir; a combined choir from participating congregations; Kansas Brass; and Becky Bliss, Katie Falk and Matt Rice.

In addition to Barber, speakers during the service will be the Rev. Peter Luckey; the Rev. Sherry Schultz; the Rev. Sharon Howell; Chaplain Bob Owen; the Rev. Jay Gideon; state Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence; the Rev. Randy Beeman; the Rev. Jim Dunkin; and the Rev. Rick Burwick.

Churches participating in the service are Plymouth Congregational Church, First Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), St. John the Evangelist Church, Unity Church of Lawrence, Westside Presbyterian Church, St. Margaret's Episcopal Church and the Clinton Parkway Assembly of God.

An offering collected during the service will be given to the Welfare Fund for Veterans at the Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center in Topeka. The fund is administered by the center's social workers to help veteran-patients meet significant needs.

The four-day Dole Institute dedication program will include the ConocoPhillips military air parade and a fashion show; a re-created USO-style performance; an evening of dancing to the Glenn Miller Orchestra; and an outdoor concert by the 312th Army Band as well as the formal dedication. Among the dignitaries attending the events are former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, author of "The Greatest Generation." Events begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 19, with the kickoff of the Memory Tent, with "Heroes of Lawrence, Part 1."