Marking the 9/11 Anniversary

I can't believe it has been ten years.  That morning, I was awakened by a parishioner calling me to ask if I'd seen what was happening on the television. (She knew I slept in on my day off...).  I turned on the television just as the plane flew into the second tower. I watched with horror, and I knew that something was seriously, seriously wrong.  By lunch, it was all over, and America was never going to be the same. Over 3000 of our fellow Americans were dead, and there were gaping, smoking holes in Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington DC where perhaps the last of our national innocence lay in ruins.  

In the years since,  we've learned more about ourselves, more about the world.  In many ways, we have become less trusting of the world, and perhaps, less trusting of ourselves.  We've seen the longest war in our history, the deaths of brave young men and women in uniform, and countless civilians.  

This anniversary will bring up many memories and many differing opinions regarding the years since 9/11, and the way forward.  There will be celebrations all over Meriden, and indeed the nation that day.  We will remember those who died in the attacks; the innocent in the towers and in the planes and at the Pentagon, and those who served in uniform who ran into the raging fires when everyone else was running for safety.  

Center Congregational Church, First Congregational Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Meriden will join together for a simple Candlelight Service of Remembrance and Hope at 7:00 p.m. Sunday, September 11, at Center Congregational Church on the corner of Broad and East Main St.  The public is invited to join us for this quiet evening of prayer and readings from the Pastors of the four congregations.  There will be an opportunity to light a candle, and speak a remembrance, a name, a hope for the future.  

Let us gather quietly to remember, to hope, and to look for the future.