Community Corner
Sept. 11 Discussed at Patchogue Church
Rev. Dwight Wolter held a discussion to commemorate the approaching tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks
Members of the community sat in the reception room of around a small table covered with a red, white, and blue tablecloth. Small candles in foil wrapping surrounded two taller candles in the center of the table, and silence overtook the room as Rev. Dwight Wolter approached the display.
“The North Tower and the South Tower,” Wolter said as he lit both of the tall candles.
Wolter was joined by eleven others for “The Tenth Anniversary of Hope,” a discussion on the events of Sept. 11, 2001 on Wednesday.
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With the event approaching its decade mark, Wolter was inspired to put together a group that allowed people to share their stories.
“I saw the beginnings of a lot of people remembering and memorializing 9/11, but I wondered: where are the people having conversations about this stuff?” he said. “What people really need to get unstuck is someone to listen to their story.”
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The theme was based on a set of questions Wolter had put together- ‘where were you on 9/11/01? Where was God on 9/11? What can you do to help?’ and more. The discussion brought different thoughts and opinions to light, and group members appreciated the conversational atmosphere.
“I’m always interested by the special programs that Dwight sees fit to have here at the church,” President of the Church Council Pamela Barr said. “I wanted to come and learn about this because I think it’s important and I want to teach my grandson about it someday.”
Other topics included racism and religion, how America’s perception has changed over the years, and safety in everyday life. Carolyn Savastano, who recognized the memory of three people lost in the event, admitted to her fear of traveling.
“I’m fearful wherever I go now, and I hate that feeling,” Savastano said. “Every single place I go, that’s what I think about, and that’s the part I resent about 9/11.”
The group also talked about how to share their memories for generations to come and how to progress.
“This is a commemoration of hope, not death,” Wolter said. “We’ll never forget the World Trade Center, but hopefully it will become a symbol of hope for the things that we can do in those little ways- one sentence, one meal, one conversation- to break down the differences that have separated us.”
The church has a fence where people can leave from now through 9/11.
