December 2016
By Diane Strzelecki
Each October, a procession of fire vehicles and equipment from more than 25 communities travels west from suburban Hinsdale, Illinois, through Westmont and Downers Grove, and ends in Lisle. The procession travels slowly, without sounding their horns or sirens. Only flashing lights draw the attention of onlookers.
The crowds are also quiet. Some people wave flashlights. Others hold American flags. Many salute or hold their hand over their heart. At many main intersections, American flags hang from the community’s extended aerial ladder trucks. The motorcade travels steadily through the towns, until it ends just south of the parade route at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1101 Kimberly Way in Lisle.
This annual event is known as the Silent Parade, a tribute to honor fire department personnel and civilians who have lost their lives in fires. The parade has served as the culminating event for Fire Prevention Week in the Downers Grove area of east DuPage County, Illinois, for the last 22 years. Trinity’s Kimberly Way site has held a post-parade ceremony and reception for the parade participants and community since 2004.
“The ceremony is a meaningful tribute in honor of those who run to the danger for us. We’re proud to serve them in this small way,” notes Rev. Dennis Franzen, Trinity’s Kimberly Way site pastor.
Dianne Weiss and her husband, Westmont Fire Chief David Weiss, have been members of Trinity for more than 35 years. Diane has organized the Silent Parade ceremony and reception at Trinity since 2004. Her biggest challenge: coordinating all the participants (including the speaker, the firefighters playing bagpipes during the ceremony, and the color guard) and ensuring there is enough food and coffee for everyone.
“We coordinate with our congregation—a lot of people bake for this event,” Diane says. “We also work very closely with the fire departments to ensure that everything is on time and ready. Their time is very articulated: when they start, when they arrive—it’s pretty precise.”
Weiss says that fire departments come from all over. “Any department anywhere can get involved with this,” she says. “It’s for all firefighters, all departments, all districts.”
According to Chief Weiss, fire chiefs at Hinsdale, Westmont, Downers Grove, and Clarendon Hills instituted the Silent Parade as a way to recognize the firefighters who had lost their lives in the line of duty. Five or six years later, the Lisle-Woodridge department got on board and the parade route was adjusted to end in Lisle at Trinity Lutheran Church. “Trinity was selected because Pastor Mark [Schulz] of Trinity was also the Fire Chaplain for the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Department,” he says.
Diane Weiss says the post-parade ceremony is important because it lets firefighters know there are people praying for them. “I like being with the firemen and letting them know that we’re behind them,” she says. “I think it’s a big impact as they see the participation.”
The entire Trinity congregation is invited to attend the ceremony and reception afterward. This year, children who visited the Green Trails’ KidStreet playhouse at Trinity’s Grounds for Hope location a few weeks before the parade drew their “thanks” on a huge poster. The poster was later displayed at the Silent Parade reception.
Chief Weiss, who recently began his 44th year as a firefighter, says the Silent Parade is important to him. “It means a lot to me to continue to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect property and save lives,” he says. “Seeing all those citizens coming out and standing on the parade route with their flashlights and their American flags—that really hits home with me even after so many years.”
Historically, Pastor Mark Schulz leads the hour-long post-parade ceremony, with Pastor Franzen stepping in whenever Schulz is unable to attend. “We ask for God’s care, comfort, wisdom and strength in the name of Him who ran to danger for us and in our place,” Franzen notes. “It gives us an opportunity to serve the firefighting community in God’s name.”