It seems like each generation has a defining moment, an event
which it can never forget because of the emotional impact made on
its consciousness.
It seems like each generation has a defining moment, an event which it can never forget because of the emotional impact made on its consciousness.
For my parents it was the attack on Pearl Harbor; whenever World War II was brought up, even decades later, they could tell what they were doing and where they were when they first heard that news.
For my generation it was John F. Kennedy’s assassination. For the present generation it may well be the 9-11 attack on New York’s World Trade Center.
Tomorrow marks the third anniversary of this great national tragedy. Congress has approved a join resolution designating September 11 of each year as “Patriot Day,” a day to remember the more than 3,000 innocent lives lost on that September morning.
In commemoration, an extraordinary exhibit will be on display through the end of October at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.
“Out of the Dust” tells the inspiring story of St. Paul’s Chapel, an Episcopal church in New York City that was destined to play an important role in the events following the the collapse of the World Trade Center.
In 1766 Trinity Church on Wall Street built St. Paul’s as a “chapel of ease” for its parishioners living on the northern border of the city. It was designed to resemble the famous London church St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields and is Manhattan’s oldest church.
St. Paul’s has a long public history. In 1789, when New York City was the capital of the United States, a special thanksgiving service was held by the new government in the church following George Washington’s inauguration as our first president. Washington attended the church regularly for the two years the city served as capital, and his pew is preserved as a tourist attraction.
St. Paul’s was located directly across from the World Trade Center; it seems ironic that this old stone building with its 18th century wooden steeple was able to survive the tremendous force unleashed when the modern skyscrapers collapsed. (It has been suggested that a stand
of trees on the parish’s
western property line buffered the blow.)
From Sept. 12 through the following eight months the chapel became a 24-hour-a-day sanctuary where recovery workers came for rest and refuge. Volunteers provided relief in food, massage, music and worship. The pews of the chapel served as beds for the thousands of workers who searched and cleared away the rubble at Ground Zero.
“Out of the Dust” is a series of photos and artifacts documenting the struggle: people coming together in mutual support, healing and consolation. Here are a few of the memories preserved:
• A photo of the boots of rescue-workers being hung to dry on the spikes of the church’s wrought iron fence. It soon became a spontaneous memorial with banners, posters, t-shirts, flags, religious articles, paper cranes and other items. More than 230 boxes were filled with things taken down from this fence.
• A photo of an iron cross made by two Virginia blacksmiths formed from steel beams salvaged from the ruins
• A New York Times story and photo recounting how, on September 24, because of the lack of electricity, two workers climbed into the church’s tower and rang its bell by hitting it with a pipe.
On June 1, 2002, a festive BBQ was held on the church grounds celebrating the closing of this ministry as the destruction site began a new phase. More than 3,000 people each day had been ministered to from September through December; there were still 1200 visitors daily by June. In August the chapel reopened to the public for worship after a $300,000 cleanup.
Grace Cathedral is located at the corner of California and Taylor streets on Nob Hill. For more information call (415) 749-6300
