On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks, our communications team spoke with the Rev’d Stephen Harding, Rector of Grace Episcopal Church on Martha’s Vineyard, who served with the American Red Cross as a volunteer chaplain at Ground Zero in the days and weeks after 9/11, including in the temporary morgue. We share his reflection below, followed by a prayer from his Book of Hours for the World Trade Center.
The whole thing is enormous. As we get further and further away from it, it is important to remember – especially for those who weren’t born yet – that the people who were killed that day were real people. They had families; they had children. Their families and coworkers are still feeling the effect. We need to remember that hundreds of first responders and others at the site are still suffering and dying from 9/11-related diseases.
This is very much an ongoing wound. This is not something to look at just as an historic event in the past. It’s still happening, and we are still living with it, and still living with the causes – hate, terrorism, violence, ideology. This anniversary prompts us to remember why it happened and to understand what hateful ideology can drive human beings to do.
At the same time, it reminds us of our common humanity and the wideness of God’s mercy.
When tragedy on this scale happens, it speaks to the need for human connection in the midst of devastation and affirms our common humanity. In the aftermath of the attacks, everyone at Ground Zero was determined to do their best for the victims whose bodies lay beneath us and to care for the survivors. Working to provide the families with something, anything of their loved ones was a driving force.
When things get down to the really essential, basic level; when you are thinking “Am I going to live or not?”; when you are searching for bodies and then body parts, all the other stuff falls away. At that moment, one is living in a very intense, encapsulated moment that is all about now. In those moments, one’s faith becomes tangible – and real.
The concern for our common humanity that was present that day is something we have lost in our world. In response, as church we can move forward in faith to honor and restore our common humanity. At the end of the day, in the face of calamity, all that matters is living in a way that is worthy of the love of God and the promises of Christ.
I believe that we as The Episcopal Church need to understand, remember, and teach why and how ideology drives people to commit acts of terror. If we can understand the why, then the Church has an obligation to work toward a resolution or a solution, so that hate cannot happen. Knowing the why requires that we respond from our strength.
The anniversary of 9/11 reminds me of the worst and best that human beings can do. The worst is the ideology of hate, which uses murder and devastation as its tactics. The best of human beings, for September 11 and its aftermath, is the response of people throughout the world to seek the welfare of another, and to overcome evil by doing good. I find God’s presence in the midst of calamity in the response of those who come to help, and I am reminded that God’s mercy and love mean that evil and hatred will never win.
Compline by the Rev’d Stephen Harding
Up in the ramp walking
feeling my shoes in the dirt
in procession.
The open back of the ambulance
Litters inside, reverently, carefully placed.
Doors open for prayer.
Uncover again.
Feeling the men in a circle at my back
I pray
again for their souls
for their rest
and give thanks
for their finding
for the men.
Touching each bag,
I bless.
Firefighters cover their heads
and walk down the ramp.
To gather in more.