They, along with just about everyone who met the Lutheran pastor, knew him for his friendly smile and his habit of wrapping up conversations by saying ”Carry on.”

Henderson, 64, who was the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, was killed at the church Wednesday evening. His accused killer, Joshua Pendleton, was quickly arrested by Fort Dodge police and is in the Webster County Jail.

Henderson’s funeral will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the church, 400 S. 13th St.

As area residents and officials reflected on his legacy Thursday, the word selfless was frequently heard.

-Messenger file photo by Hans Madsen
The Rev. Al Henderson, Fort Dodge Fire Department chaplain, blesses two new ambulances in February 2019 when they were put into service, following a pushing-in ceremony for the rigs.

”He was just a selfless person,” Mayor Matt Bemrich said.

Fort Dodge Fire Chief Steve Hergenreter echoed that sentiment, saying ”He was probably one of the most selfless people I’ve known.”

”He had a deep empathy for people who were in times of trouble,” Hergenreter added.

Bemrich said Henderson was ”often the first person to show up in a time of need and often was the last to leave because he wanted to lend a hand.”

But according to the mayor, Henderson wasn’t lending hand, he was lending a shoulder to lean on or cry on.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Ken Henricks, of Fort Dodge, holds a small candle Thursday night during a candlelight vigil at St. Paul Lutheran Church in honor of the Rev. Al Henderson.

”He was that shoulder,” Bemrich said. ”With that shoulder missing today, there’s a void.”

For Fort Dodge Police Chief Roger Porter, Henderson was a calming presence.

The first time Porter met Henderson was about 10 years ago when Porter was a patrol supervisor.

Henderson rode with Porter in his squad car as he patrolled the streets of Fort Dodge.

“He rode with us a lot,” Porter said. “He was always there to help out and ride with the officers and get to know them. The first time I met him he got in the squad car with me and we just talked. He wasn’t there to preach, he just wanted to be a listening ear. When I felt I needed to talk to someone I felt I could go to him. He just had that ability. He was that person you felt comfortable going to. Sometimes he helped without you even realizing it. He saw the good in everything.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Gary Edgerton, of Fort Dodge, was among the several hundred who attended a prayer service and candlelight vigil Thursday night at St. Paul Lutheran Church in honor of the Rev. Al Henderson.

Dan Buenting, of Pomeroy, first met Henderson after his son, Rockwell City Police Officer Jamie Buenting was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 13, 2013.

“He made contact with me after the death of my son,” Buenting said. “He offered support, guidance and resources.”

In 2014, Henderson reached out again, this time to ask for Buenting’s help with the Serving Our Servants program.

“He made it come alive,” Buenting said. “He was a wonderful man. I’m not sure his vocabulary included the words ‘too busy,’ he would always make time.”

Buenting remembers his friend fondly.

-Messenger file photo
The Rev. Al Henderson looks over a hat and jacket used by members of the Serving Our Servants group. The group, made up of volunteers, helps various public safety agencies by providing food and letting them know that they care. Henderson founded the organization.

“I think the world is a better place because of him,” he said.

Webster County Sheriff Jim Stubbs said that Henderson was available whenever the Sheriff’s Department needed him.

“When we needed him, he was there,” Stubbs said. “He had a calm presence about him and could make tough situations tolerable. He was tireless in trying to provide things for individuals.”

Stubbs added, “It will be a big void for the Sheriff’s Department and every department he had contact with. He set the bar pretty high.”

Lt. Mark Miller, commander of Iowa State Patrol District 7, said Henderson and his family sacrificed a lot for the community.

-Messenger file photo by Hans Madsen
The Rev. Al Henderson, the chaplain for the Fort Dodge Police Department, Webster County Sheriffs, Iowa State Patrol District 7 and the Fort Dodge Fire Department helps Ricky Rubio, then 8, of Fort Dodge, approve the scent of a candle while shopping at the Target store during the annual Santa Cops event in 2016.

“When someone like him gives back to his community, it takes a toll on not only him, but his family,” Miller said. “It wasn’t just Pastor Al that gave back, it was his whole family. They were understanding when he was helping everyone else.”

Miller said Henderson had an impact on troopers personally and professionally.

“He was there for us when we needed him as a professional, whether to give bad news to a family or provide moral support,” Miller said. “Or if we were having problems in our personal life, he was there for us. He was there for us in so many ways. We will never be able to replace him.”

Miller added, “He’s just that type of person when you have him in your community, he can be overlooked until he’s gone. He’s going to be sorely missed. He will live on through us and our memories. It’s time now for the Fort Dodge community to come together and give back to his family. Show them support.”

Assistant Police Chief Cory Husske was able to write how he felt about about Henderson. His statement was read by Sheriff’s Deputy Amy Stringer during a vigil for Henderson Thursday night.

Husske wrote, ” It’s always hard when you want to find the right words for moments like this. We’ve suffered the devastating loss of someone that was not just our chaplain. Pastor Al Henderson was our friend, confidant, coffee companion, voice of reason, our brother on the blue line, our greatest cheerleader, and sometimes he was simply the ride-along partner you didn’t know you needed until he got in with you.”

He added, “For 10 years Pastor Al selflessly invested the thousands of hours that it takes to slowly break down the unique and stubborn walls that we unintentionally build around ourselves as first responders. His unwavering dedication to serve those who serve the community allowed us to welcome Pastor Al into our family, for better, or for worse. Over the years, he officiated some of our weddings. He baptized some of our children, and in some cases he did both. He was there during some of our greatest victories and celebrations. But perhaps more importantly, he was there for us during our times of struggle, defeat and mourning. Many know him as the man who spent a few hours in your squad car so that you could get some things off your chest. For others, he was there when you needed help coping with certain things burdening your mind. But for all of us, he was there to guide and replace whatever we laid on him, with faith, prayers, and comfort in our hearts. And now, as Pastor Al would say,

“God Bless””

Effie Hill, of Fort Dodge, worked with Henderson to organize the annual Guns and Hoses softball game, an event she said they both looked forward to.

“There was a moment in every meeting that I can remember Pastor Al pointing his finger and saying to me, ‘you know what would be fun.’ That would usually be followed with an idea that would make us both laugh.”

Henderson’s love and concern for first responders was very real. She saw it during a visit to his home.

“Outside you could hear the sirens of emergency vehicles passing by on the street,” she said. “He stopped talking in mid-sentence, bowed his head and led us in a prayer for the person in need of help and for the emergency responders. He was a selfless person who concerned himself with the well-being of others above himself. Pastor Al was much more than a pastor or someone who helped me coordinate the game, he was a friend.”

She also loved his sense of humor.

“Pastor Al called me kiddo,” she said. “I loved it.”

Henderson came to Fort Dodge in 1999, just months after the St. Paul Lutheran Church was destroyed in an arson fire. Because of that blaze, he almost immediately had a connection with the city’s firefighters.

He became the Fire Department’s first official chaplain in recent memory.

”We were wondering how that was going to work having a man of religion coming into the firehouse,” Hergenreter said. ”We thought he was probably going to hear a few salty words here.”

He said Henderson was able to shrug off any profanities he heard at the firehouse.

”I can think of many times we were glad to have him here,” he said.

The 2014 death of firefighter Tom Peart, who collapsed while exercising at home, was one of those times.

Henderson would also show up at the firehouse when everything was going well. Sometimes, he would have lunch with the on-duty crew.

”He was always eating sardines and crackers,” Hergenreter said. ”A lot of our younger people never heard of such a thing.”

Bemrich, Campbell ask for flags to be lowered

Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich and Mark Campbell, the chairman of the Webster County Board of Supervisors, are asking residents to fly their flags at half staff until Oct. 10 in honor of the Rev. Al Henderson.

In a joint statement, Bemrich and Campbell wrote that Henderson ”was a faithful servant of the Lord and to his community, including his congregation at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and in his capacity as the chaplain for the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Dodge Police Department, the Fort Dodge Fire Department and several other public safety and first responder agencies. Pastor Henderson’s creation of, and dedication to, Serving Our Servants, or SOS, a program providing emotional, spiritual and material support to first responders and law enforcement, has left a lasting legacy in our local law enforcement and first responder communities. Pastor Henderson’s family and all who knew him have our deepest sympathies at this most difficult time. This great man will be forever remembered for his selfless acts of comfort and kindness.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
The parking lot of St. Paul Lutheran Church became a sea of cell phone lights Thursday evening as family and friends gathered for a prayer service and candlelight vigil in honor of the Rev. Al Henderson who was killed Wednesday evening during an assault at the church.

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