Pre-recorded Chester 9/11 ceremony for 2020 will be available online for viewing

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and out of concern for the community’s safety, the Kiwanis 9/11 Committee has decided to pre-record this year’s ceremony.

It will be available for viewing on St. Columba’s website (https://stcolumbachester.com) and Chester’s First Presbyterian Church Facebook site (www.facebook.com/chespresny/); additional sites are still being discussed and will be listed on The Chronicle’s website once the information is available.

Speakers

Ed Stoddard, past president of the Chester Fire Department, will give the opening remarks, followed by the father of Lynne Morris, Chick Morris, who will recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Jonathon Walters-Suber will give a pre-recorded performance of the Star-Spangled Banner.

The Rev. Erin Moore of the First Presbyterian Church in Chester will give the opening prayer. Stoddard and firefighter Joe McCourt will toll the bell in memory of the Chester residents who died in the World Trade Center attack:

Lynne Morris, 22, who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald;

Thomas Dowd, 37, who also worked at Cantor Fitzgerald;

Thomas Holohan Jr., 36, and Paul Ruback, 50, both firefighters; and

Donald Tuzio, who worked at Bear Sterns.

Remembered, too, are those killed in the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., and those who died in the attack on The Pentagon.

Those killed in the Oklahoma City bombing will also be remembered, as will those who were sickened and died afterwards from exposure to toxins while working at the World Trade Center site.

Dr. Ira Kanis of Monroe, the chairman of Chabad of Orange County, will give a scriptural reading, followed by Mother Victoria Duncan of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, who will also give a reading. At the end of the ceremony, the Rev. John Bonnici, of St. Columba’s Church will deliver a reflection.

The beauty of the site

The 9/11 site in Chester is beautifully designed, with depictions of the twin towers, engraved with the names of those lost. There is a large rock nearby, with the top shaped like the state of Pennsylvania to remember those who died heroically in Shanksville, Pa.

Enclosing the area is a wall whose inner space recalls the shape of the Pentagon, where still others died. There is a tree growing nearby from Oklahoma City, to remember those killed in the domestic terrorist bombing there.

All are remembered at the ceremony.

Preparations are ongoing and additional information will be posted to The Chronicle website as soon as received.