UUFSMA: “Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11”

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Online Service

“Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11”

Speakers: William Dalsimer, Karen Woolhouse,
and Cliff DuRand

Sunday, September 12, 2021
10:30 am

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/414604040 

Password: 294513

By Joseph Plummer

UUFSMA Board Secretary

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center stood visible across New York City under blue skies when al-Qaeda terrorists flew American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower at 8:46 and United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower at 9:03 a.m.

Nearly an hour after the second attack, the South Tower collapsed. Almost a half hour later the North Tower followed its twin to the ground as thousands of New Yorkers and millions of television viewers watched in horror. Meanwhile, 22 minutes before the South Tower’s collapse, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the west wall of the Pentagon, collapsing the five stories of that building. At 10:03 a.m. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed southeast of Pittsburgh as a mutiny of passengers foiled its trajectory toward either the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

Approximately within 85 minutes, 2,996 people died and more than 6,000 others were injured by these Al-Qaeda attacks, while also forcing closure of Canadian and U.S. commercial airspace for two days, inflicting serious harm to the economy of New York City, and accelerating a global economic recession.

This weekend’s online Sunday Service will commemorate the 20th Anniversary of these horrific events through music, poetry, and he reflections of three UUFSMA members.

Having worked for 15 years near the towers, UUFSMA Vice President Bill Dalsimer recalls, “That day I was on eastern Long Island after my 88-year-old mother’s death two days earlier.” The 2,600 innocent victims of terrorism compounded his family’s mourning.

Canadian Karen Woolhouse recollects her “shock and incredulity that the World Trade Centre was burning with people trapped inside, the horror of weaponizing airplanes and innocent passengers as missiles, and the innocents’ final phone calls.”

Retired Professor Cliff DuRand recalls his “nagging sense of deja vu…and memory of General Norman Schwarzkopf and Pentagon briefers during the Persian Gulf War” and their gleeful remarks about smart bombs obliterating targets and portending the cheers of Al Qaeda nearly a decade later.

To participate online, visit www.uufsma.org and click on homepage’s Zoom Service button. If requested, enter password: 294513. Sign-in Sunday between 10:15-10:25 am CST.

Through grants and awards, UUFSMA donates at least fifty percent of its income to support nonprofit organizations that provide health, educational, and environmental services for underserved communities in the San Miguel region. Please support this work by clicking on the website home page Donate button. Now more than ever, your support is essential.

Due to the coronavirus, UUFSMA has suspended in-person Sunday services and other gatherings. A growing collection of previous online services can be found on the UUFSMA’s YouTube channel. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ and enter UUFSMA in the search. The UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.