Story by Douglas Mallary, NMNG Public Affairs
Photos by Iain Jaramillo, NMNG Public Affairs
SANTA FE, N.M. – The New Mexico National Guard hosted its seventh annual prayer breakfast at the Regional Training Institute here this morning.
State and local leaders, first responder chiefs, and religious leaders joined Guard personnel for the event.
Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar, the Adjutant General of New Mexico, welcomed attendees.
Aguilar recently attend a health and fitness symposium where spirituality was discussed as a component of fitness.
“On the last morning, the Chief of Chaplains (Maj. Gen. Thomas Solhjem) spoke. He said something that really resonated with me, and that was ‘all humans are spiritual,’” Aguilar said.
Spirituality is important, Aguilar said, to “people finding a sense of purpose.”
Chaplain (Maj.) Thi Truong, the master of ceremonies, then read President Biden’s proclamation of May 4 as the 2003 National Day of Prayer.
Rabbi Neal Amswych, Rabbi Berel Levertov, Dr. William La Rue, Imam Mahmoud Eldenawi, Father Augustine Henderson, Luis Naranjo, and Elmer Torres offered prayers and mediations from the Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Native American faiths.
Before his prayer, Torres said, “We are all one big family. We all come from the same Creator, and that’s how we should look at it.”
The Rev. Father Richard Iannucci provided the guest speech. A former Green Beret and U.S. Marshal, he focused on heroes. He included “everyday heroes” such as the mother who gets her children safely to and from school or the one who cares for aging parents.
“What is a hero?” Iannucci said. “For me, it is an amalgamation or the intersection of character with a critical event. It’s something they’ve been preparing for their whole lives.”
Following Iannucci’s talk, 2nd Lt. Denise Garcia, spoke briefly about her call to serve in uniform and in the chaplaincy. A U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps veteran, Garcia is the New Mexico Army National Guard’s first female chaplain.
Chaplain (Maj.) Arthur Nyanfor blessed the food. Soldiers of the 44th Army Band provided live music throughout the ceremony. NMNG Soldiers and Airmen provided a joint color guard.
