Members of the Elon community gathered in Whitley Auditorium Thursday morning, Sept. 11, to pause and reflect upon the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington two years ago today. Details and photos...
The special service, titled “The Practice of Hope-Even in the Face of Disaster,” offered a powerful reminder of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Participants in the service viewed part of the PBS Frontline documentary, “Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero,” and also saw numerous still photographs of firefighters, paramedics and police officers who aided in the rescue effort.
President Leo M. Lambert recalled how the events of Sept. 11 changed the mood of the Elon community, which had gathered at College Coffee that morning to celebrate the scheduled opening of Rhodes Stadium later that week.
“At Elon, a week that was to be one of the most joyous in our history became an emotional roller coaster,” Lambert said. “September 11 altered our sense of security and our sense of inviolability within our borders. It also showed us how fragile life can be.”
Chaplain Richard McBride asked the group to use the events of 9/11 as a way to think about hope and “what it means to be a people of hope.” Small pieces of twine were provided to each person and at the end of the service, McBride asked everyone to pair up and braid their pieces of twine together. “Hope is being bound together…hope is a rope,” McBride said.
Three student readers and Kate Colussy-Estes, assistant chaplain, represented the thoughts of “Families for Peaceful Tomorrows,” a group founded by the families of four people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.
McBride said the attacks should prompt people of hope to think deeply. “…If we wish to live with hope, we cannot obscure the deep questions presented by 9/11.”
Lambert recalled that John Sullivan, professor of philosophy, reminded the Elon community at a gathering the day after the attacks that only love overcomes hate. “Even in the face of disaster, hope leads us to a way forward,” Lambert said.