Pay It Forward Friday was a collaboration between Serving Our Servants and St. Paul Lutheran Church — with the idea of spreading kindness in the community to honor the late Rev. Al Henderson. Henderson was killed Oct. 2, 2019.

Cindy Jones, of Fort Dodge, was one of the recipients of the gift cards from the Fort Dodge Police Association. Sgt. Zach Stanley, of the Fort Dodge Police Department, surprised her with the gift.

“It was shocking,” Jones said after getting the card. “I was actually hoping to donate to them.”

Jones looked forward to continuing the trend.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Cory Husske, Fort Dodge assistant police chief and member of the Fort Dodge Police Association, holds a sign in memory of the late Rev. Al Henderson Friday morning outside Dunkin Donuts. Members of the Fort Dodge Police Association handed out gift cards to customers for Pay It Forward Friday. It was a demonstration of kindness to honor Henderson. The idea was made a reality by Serving Our Servants and St. Paul Lutheran Church.

“I will definitely be paying it forward today,” she said.

Stanley received a hug from another woman who he gave a card to.

“That just made my day,” she said. “It was a stressful morning.”

About 10 minutes after receiving his gift card, Kevin Roberts, of Fort Dodge, could be seen helping a woman he didn’t even know, carry her coffee order to her car.

A few minutes later, another woman pulled her car around the drive-thru, rolled down her window and held out a wad of cash.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Miranda Parrish, 5, a kindergarten student at St. Paul Lutheran School, admires the stem on a pumpkin she picked up at the Henderson’s house on Friday. The Henderson family provided free hot apple cider, doughnuts and pumpkins to the community to pay it forward in honor of the Rev. Al Henderson, a beloved Fort Dodge pastor who was killed Oct. 2, 2019.

“This is all the cash I have,” she said to Capt. Ryan Gruenberg, of the Fort Dodge Police Department. “Take it and do some good with it.”

While some officers were greeting customers as they walked up to the shop, other officers were waiting at the drive-thru to hand out the cards.

Meanwhile, at Central Perk and Dessert, the owners of the Dariette purchased all the coffee for customers. Nicole Trost reported on Facebook that another customer paid for scones for the car behind her.

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In the afternoon, the Henderson family provided the community with apple cider, doughnuts and pumpkins from the Henderson house on the east side of Fort Dodge.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Cindy Jones, of Fort Dodge, reacts as Sgt. Zach Stanley, of the Fort Dodge Police Department, explains that she’s the recipient of a gift card to Dunkin Donuts. Fort Dodge police officers with the Fort Dodge Police Association handed the cards out on Pay It Forward Friday as a way to honor the late Rev. Al Henderson.

The temperatures were cool, but pleasant.

“A perfect fall day,” said Henderson’s daughter, Kandi Lovin.

Lovin said providing the snacks and pumpkins was the family’s way of paying it forward.

“The community has been beautiful,” she said. “We wanted to pay it forward for Fort Dodge. I am not from here, but it feels like home.”

She described the support the family has received as “overwhelming.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Harper Lovin, 14, left, and Kaylin Willingham, 14, granddaughters of the late Rev. Al Henderson, hold a sign together inviting the community to stop by for pumpkins, apple cider and doughnuts on Friday. It was the family’s way of paying it forward for the overwhelming report they say they received following the death of Al Henderson in October 2019.

“To us he was just or dad or papa,” she said. “But we hope his faith that he gave us will carry us on. Faith has been what has carried our family this last year. We feel loved and we feel grateful.”

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Fort Dodge Fire Chief Steve Hergenreter thanked Henderson’s family during a candlelight vigil Friday night for sharing Henderson with the first responders of Webster County.

“He was a man who gave so much,” Hergenreter said, realizing that while Henderson was answering the call for others, he couldn’t always be around his own family.

Over 100 people gathered at City Square Park to honor the beloved Fort Dodge pastor.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Lt. Dennis Quinn, of the Fort Dodge Police Department, informs a customer at Dunkin Donuts that she is the recipient of a gift card as part of Pay It Forward Friday. Members of the Fort Dodge Police Association handed out dozens of gift cards at the donut shop Friday morning as a way to honor the late Rev. Al Henderson.

Hergenreter said Henderson officiated weddings for both police officers and firefighters and would sometimes travel a long ways to do it.

“His passion and love for this role (Serving Our Servants) was evident to all of us,” Hergenreter said. “He never said no when I would call to ask him to bless a new ambulance or fire engine. He always chose Bible verses that were so applicable in the moment. I don’t know how he found the right Bible verse for a fire engine, but he did it.”

Henderson was there for the tough moments, too.

“He was always there to listen and tell you it’s OK to feel the way you are feeling,” Hergenreter said. “You might feel that way for a while and that was OK. He was quiet and he listened.”

It was what Henderson said at the end of most of his conversations that Hergenreter remembers most.

“He always ended conversations after he would get up out of the chair, he’d say, “Carry on.”

Hergenreter said he found new meaning in that phrase the day after Henderson passed away.

“In life we will have ups and downs,” Hergenreter said. “But we all must carry on.”

Hergenreter cited one of Henderson’s favorite Bible verses, Matthew 20:28 “And Jesus said, “The Son of man came not be served, but to serve.”

“That sums up my thoughts,” Hergenreter said. “Our life is not to be served but to serve.”

TJ Pingel, president of Serving Our Servants, thanked the community for coming through in a big way.

“This day has been amazing beyond belief,” Pingel said. “We have shown we can come together for good. Fort Dodge you definitely paid it forward.”

Pingel said we may not know how the acts of kindness may have changed someone for the better.

“It may have changed that person’s outlook on the day or life,” he said.

But Pingel said paying it forward doesn’t have to be one day.

“The thing about today, it shouldn’t just be one day,” he said. “Instead of complaining about something wrong with the town, go out and spread kindness. We can do a lot by just kicking the negativity out.”

He added, “It doesn’t have to stop today. Pastor Al spread kindness everywhere he went and he just happened to be there when you needed him.”

Jennie Williamson, a Christian music artist, traveled from Nashville to attend the ceremony Friday night. She performed multiple songs for the event.

“I’ve known this incredible family for years,” Williamson said “Music was always something Pastor Henderson loved. When I sang to kids at St. Paul Lutheran, I can remember him tapping those cowboy boots in the front row.”

State Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, said he and state Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, will work to write a bill calling for a public-private partnership to help set up other Serving Our Servants groups throughout the state.

Henderson’s daughter, Lovin, read the proclamation signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds which declares Oct. 2 as Serve Our Servants Day in Iowa.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Kevin Roberts, of Fort Dodge, is all smiles as he viists with Sgt. Zach Stanley, of the Fort Dodge Police Department, on Friday. Stanley gave Roberts a gift card to Dunkin Donuts on behalf of the Fort Dodge Police Association. The gift cards were handed out on Pay It Forward Friday as a way to honor the late Rev. Al Henderson.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
A pumpkin with the words “Carry on!” written on it is displayed in a wagon at the Henderson’s home on Friday. Carry on is a phrase Henderson would often say at the end of a conversation.

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