Ring the Bells

The bell of hope, St. Paul’s Chapel

The images of 9/11 are seared into our memories.

Last week, Zach (now in 8th grade), brought home an assignment: to interview his parents about 9/11. “Where were you?  What did you feel?  Who did you call?”

Although I remember very vividly, I didn’t know exactly how to answer.  Because there are times when we just don’t have the words.

And it reminded me that telling stories is a non-negotiable part of healing and reconciliation.

My good friend The Rev. Dan Matthews (former Rector at Trinity Church Wall Street and St. Paul’s Chapel) told me the story about Mike and Jim, the parish property managers.

Opened in 1766, Manhattan’s oldest public building in continuous use, St. Paul’s Chapel not only survived the blast and fallout (astonishing in that it sits across the street from Ground Zero), it eventually become the rest station, where volunteers took shifts as cooks, masseurs, podiatrists, and counselors for first responders.  Cots were provided for exhausted rescuers.  Many slept on the wooden pews (still marked and scarred from boots and equipment to this day).

On the Friday after the attack, the nation was asked to observe a moment of silence.  Mike and Jim asked Rev. Matthews if they could ring the bells at St. Paul’s just before the noon hour, as a call to remembrance.  Although a noble gesture, it wouldn’t be possible given the debris in the vicinity, the fact that part of the chapel had been quarantined and the reality that the bells were disabled.  Undeterred, they decided to go ahead with their plan, making their way to the top of the bell tower.  On the way, amidst the debris they found an old steel pipe.  When they reached the top, Mike told Rev. Matthews that he used that piece of steel “to beat the hell out of that bell.” Looking out at the scene below, they could see that every worker at ground zero had removed their hard hat, and turned to face the bells.  Mike said, “It hit me, that even when things get their worst I know that there is still hope.”

(NOTE: This story is an excerpt from my Monday Sabbath Moment.  If you would enjoy receiving Sabbath Moment, please sign up in the box in the left column, or go to THIS LINK.)

It is hope that helps us keep the faith, despite the evidence, knowing that only in doing so has the evidence any chance of changing.  William Sloane Coffin