Forged Folded

Flooring Zero – A Surprise Memorial

The photos go through the altar: fliers, letters, mass cards and snapshots. They may be pinned to your skirts of the altar and hang above it, reminders of many frantic efforts to look for missing family members along with the sorrowful good-bys that dragged on by the weeks after 9/11. This is often but considered one of about a dozen separate exhibits inside St. Paul’s Chapel at 209 Broadway in New York City (212 233-4164).

A Year of Ministry at Ground Zero

Exhibits with it historic chapel capture the chaos faced by rescue workers now that the Twin Towers fell and also the compassion of your volunteers and well wishers worldwide who responded to the tragedy. The stone building, located just across that come from the chain link fence that now surrounds the earth Zero reconstruction site, miraculously survived. The explosions that blew out every window facing the Trade Centers and damaged many surrounding buildings left every stone of the chapel intact.

Clergy and laymen at St. Paul’s daily welcome New Yorkers and visitors from worldwide with worship services, coffee, and friendly people willing to answer queries about the exhibits. A red chasuble vestment, worn during Eucharist services after 9-11, is one of the attractions because after one firefighter pinned a patch to the red material, it began attracting similar offerings. Rescue workers from Honolulu, Utah, Maine, Kansas, Canada, England, Spain, Australia, Mexico, Canada and several other places would eventually deposit hundreds of patches on or nearby the chasuble.

Once inside, the Chapel’s sky-blue ceiling and chandeliers invite an upward gaze toward the banner designs that hangs below the organpipes behind people: “To Nyc and all the rescuers: Keep a spirits up—Oklahoma loves you!!”

Small details evoke images of times from September 2001 through May 2002 when in excess of 14,000 volunteers came down to assist the recovery workers sifting through the wreckage: each calendar showing 4 to 6-hour shifts for cooks, masseurs, podiatrists, and counselors; the kind of cots provided for exhausted rescuers; and quotes that come from the people who were there.

One firefighter said, “When I can be found in that door I’m covered with blood, sometimes, and that they hug me. They love me, they manage me, they treat me as an amazing soul. And after that they feed me, they massage me, after which give me adjustments. Those are my people. This is certainly my place. At this point I visit be with God.”

International Solidarity by the Wake of 9-11 Terrorist Attacks

On September 11, 2002—one year following the attacks—the City of London presented a bronze bell to New Yorkers. “Forged in adversity,” previously it was cast from the same foundry when the Liberty Bell and conveys the empathy and solidarity of many people of London with all the people of recent York following the World Trade Center attacks.

One display showcases teddy bears and origami sent by school children from the U.S. and Japan. Many strands of 1000 folded paper cranes from Japan—a practice believed to grant one’s dearest wish—were sent to your chapel, some because of the survivors of WWII bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In New York City, a Visitor’s Center showing models and sketches of those planned memorial to victims, which is currently under construction, opened in August 2009. The memorial itself will open in approximately two years. But it is likely the humble yet authentic display inside St. Paul’s Chapel will remain jointly of the very most moving testaments into the human spirit within the aftermath of unimaginable death and destruction. The land Zero Ministry Exhibit is open Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m.- 6p.m. The churchyard closes at 5 p.m. daily.

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