Rev. Rodney Steele was guest speaker at the recent Hope Civitan Club annual Clergy Appreciation Banquet,  in recognition of Clergy Appreciation Week, January 28-February 4.  Hope Civitans invited their personal clergy, along with spouses, to the banquet.  Rev. Steele, a military veteran as well as clergy, referred to the story of four military chaplains, which is the inspiration for Civitan International’s yearly observance of clergy appreciation.  The four — a Methodist minister, a Catholic priest, a Reformed Minister, and a Jewish rabbi — on board the USS Dorchester when it was torpedoed February 3, 1943, sacrificed their lives by giving their life jackets and their lifeboat seats to servicemen on board the sinking ship.  Clergy Appreciation Week honors leaders of all faiths for their dedicated service to their local communities.  Rev. Steele recommended that appreciation not be reserved for only one week, but be expanded to year-round acknowledgment of the dedication of clergy.