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A bumper crowd attended Monday's 2019 Remembrance Day service in Port Macquarie, with Greg Laird reserving special mention to the Rural Fire Service volunteers.
The Port Macquarie RSL sub-Branch president and OAM elevated their efforts over the past few weeks in his opening address.
"Those firies are up there with the Anzacs," he said.
"We have a wonderful crowd here today and as I said earlier, it meant a little bit more (with the bushfire situation).
"Those firies are doing what every serviceman and woman did: they are working for their fellow man."
Mr Laird also reserved some special praise for retiring Chaplain Carl Moses.
"And what can you really say about Carl? He will be a hard man to replace," he said.
"Carl is a wonderful man and he has missed just one service - and one service only - in all those years.
"We are very, very proud that he even came along.
"We will miss him terribly but in Ged (Oldfield) we have a wonderful replacement.
"I've gotten to know him over the last few years and he will do a good job."
Padre Moses said he was looking forward to retirement with wife Faye.
The couple plan to doing some travelling and to visit the extended family.
"I guess after 10 years there is a bit of relief to be able to step back and relax a bit," he said.
"We are living in Ocean Club Resort and they have plenty of things for us to do.
I guess after 10 years there is a bit of relief to be able to step back and relax a bit.
- Padre Carl Moses
"I worked for 20 years with Sydney Water, working as an industrial chemist, but Faye and I were involved in some ministry work already."
Alongside his professional career, Padre Moses was in the Nashos where he was a professional photographer. He is also a trained barista and "makes a mean cup of coffee", according to Faye.
Padre Moses said he saw a need and necessity in 1998 for more involvement in ministry work.
"I just wanted to take it to the next step. And I am very pleased we made that move," he said.
The couple were working in the Hawkesbury area as community pastors, helping the police with victim support work. They also formulated a grief package.
During a holiday to Port Macquarie, and a visit with friends to the Coastside Church in 2003, the couple made the decision to move permanently to the area.
"We were having a conversation with our friends and there was a bit of a joke that we should move up here and bring our work (ministry) with us," Mrs Moses said.
"Two years later we sold our house and moved up here.
"Once we got here we fine-tuned our grief package, which we re-wrote and sourced some funding.
"We started offering a portable chaplaincy and that eventually grew into work with the sub-Branch."
Padre Moses said the highlight of his life was working with Faye. "But it's really been a continually highlight," he said.
"We will enjoy each other's company and do some travel and enjoy having a bit more flexibility with (visiting) the family.
"In the past we would organise our holidays or visits around those dates (Remembrance Day and Anzac Day).
We will enjoy each other's company and do some travel and enjoy having a bit more flexibility with (visiting) the family.
- Padre Carl Moses
"This has been a really wonderful situation for us. We have enjoyed working with so many people.
"We have got to know a lot of people that we would otherwise not have met."
Mrs Moses said the benefit of the portable ministry was that you were at the front line meeting people at their point of need.
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