Chapel Service commemorates 9-11

Junior Vanessa Gammons opened the service, recalling the morning of the attacks. “I can remember standing in a French class watching the planes hit the towers,” Gammons said. “I was overwhelmed with shock and I realized that our nation would never be the same.”

Greensboro artist Jim Gallucci created the 23-foot sculpture, which incorporates steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York. He discussed the emotional attachment he has to the project and what he hopes the sculpture represents.

“The sculpture is probably going to become a lifelong project for me. This is only a small part of it,” said Gallucci, noting that other parts of the sculpture are still being made.

“Some of greatest giving, contributions and oupouring of generosity came out of (9-11),” Gallucci said. “There was a selflessness that needs to be remembered. This is a sculpture about that one day when everyone was gelled together as one unit. Sad to say, we’ve lost that moment. But that’s what this sculpture is about, is that moment when we were together as one.”

Assistant Chaplain Kate Colussy-Estes said 9-11 is a day that everyone remembers where they were, similar to the space shuttle disasters or John F. Kennedy’s assassination. “This is a day we remember where we were when we heard the news,” Colussy-Estes said. She asked the community to remember the victims of the Hurricane Katrina disaster as well.

“Some people on the Gulf Coast may not even realize that September 11 is this Sunday because for them, all of that has been washed away,” Colussy-Estes said. “So I’d like you to remember where you were when you heard that news as well.”

Chaplain Richard McBride closed the service by encouraging everyone to read the 9-11 remembrances scattered at the base of the sculpture. “We can’t move forward without hope,” McBride said. “That is the power that drives us through tragedy or sorrow to build a better future.”