Like many I remember very clearly where I was when I first learned of the planes flying into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. I was downstairs getting coffee when my husband Skip yelled from upstairs for me to turn on the television immediately. I did just in time to see a plane fly into the second Tower. And while I obviously did not know yet the scope of what would take place that day, I did know down to my bones it was not an accident.
As the day’s events unfolded and we learned of the plane flying into the Pentagon and the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, the stark reality of what had happened was hard to grasp. I was serving at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Chula Vista and like many churches and other places of worship, including the Cathedral, we held a service that evening in which we prayed for those who had died or were otherwise harmed, for our country, peace, and wisdom in how we responded.
In the days, weeks, months and now years since then, stories have emerged of acts of kindness, small and large that look place in the aftermath. I think it is important to tell these stories because we all too often forget the salve kindness can provide and we need to remember, and learn from, our better angels.
One woman I know who was at a conference at Trinity Church Wall Street, basically next to the Twin Towers, tells a harrowing story of people winding their way to the street, covered in ash and soot from the debris and being picked up by a municipal bus. The driver was basically driving throughout Manhattan, picking people up and dropping them off where they needed to go. No charge.
There was Father Mychal Judge, a Roman Catholic priest who served as a chaplain to the New York Fire Department, and upon learning of the attacks rushed to the World Trade Center and prayed for the city and over the bodies of those who had died in the collapse of the first Tower. He died when the second Tower collapsed, becoming the first certified fatality of the day.
People in Gandar, Canada, welcomed 1000s of passengers of airlines rerouted away from New York and Washington, DC, opening their homes and hearts to scared and disoriented strangers. While this served as the inspiration for the musical Come From Away, it also inspired Keven Tueff who was one of those scared and disoriented strangers to start the “Pay It Forward 9/11” campaign which encourages people to perform random acts of kindness.
The stories are not only endless, they serve as inspiration for us living in the aftermath of that terrible day. Without ignoring, or downplaying what happened, they help us see the goodness we are capable of, even in the face of tragedy.
If you are able, I encourage you to attend the noon mass on Friday in which we will mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Father Robert Bryant will preach and preside and Bruce Neswisk will provide musical accompaniment.
Regardless, I encourage each of us to practice at least one act of kindness to mark this anniversary and may it be the start of seeking and serving God and God’s creation with intention, grace, and love for the goodness that is possible.
Blessings,
Allisyn
