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Editor’s note: As we observe the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, Kevin Ritter-Jung, director of media and communications for the Metropolitan New York Synod, and Kathleen Ruen, synod director of development, share this account of a remembrance event on Long Island.
Twenty-five years on, Lower Manhattan still bears the scars of the 9/11 attacks—from the massive architectural memorial to the persistent presence of security. But the impacts from the attacks extend far beyond ground zero itself as people throughout the Metropolitan New York Synod and beyond grieved losses of beloved community members.
On Friday, Sept. 11, 75 synod members gathered for a service in remembrance at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Plainview, Long Island. Bishop Katrina Foster preached, and David Parsons, a retired ELCA pastor, presided. George Guinan, a synod deacon who served with the New York City Fire Department during 9/11, shared reflections on the day, and Pamela Kallimanis, whose book The Zero Elegies about 9/11 was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, read poetry.
Good Shepherd’s community is home to many first responders and other workers who commute daily to Manhattan. Joseph Summerville, who became pastor of Good Shepherd in May 2025, remarked: “A lot of people from this congregation knew someone who had lost someone, or lost someone themselves that day. When I talked to the congregation about this service, many parishioners started sharing their stories with me. There was a need for people to share their story.”
Albert Smith, a member of Good Shepherd attended the service to remember a friend’s son who was lost in the attacks. “He was 28 and a port authority police officer and perished in the towers,” he said. “That’s why I’m here tonight. We can never forget today.”
Continuing losses
The losses of 9/11 extend far beyond that tragic day. In addition to the 2,753 people who died in New York City that day, many others were lost to health conditions that developed because of smoke inhalation and lingering air pollution after the towers fell. This year the 9/11 Memorial & Museum added a seventh moment of silence for the 10,000 and counting lost to 9/11-related health conditions.
“One of our congregants lost their firefighter husband to the effects of the smoke, remarried another firefighter, and was widowed due to medical issues from 9/11,” Summerville said. “She does not leave the house on 9/11.”
“When I talked to the congregation about this service, many parishioners started sharing their stories with me. There was a need for people to share their story.”
But in the aftermath of the attacks, New Yorkers came together to support each other in new ways. Lutherans held prayer services, gave blood and visited NYFD firehouses with flowers. In her sermon, Foster observed that in the days and weeks after 9/11, people came together. “New York City became the kingdom of God,” she said, “where the lion lays down with the lamb, when we are reduced to what we are: people.
“We found Jesus in each other. The number of children born after 9/11 was huge. We all decided on life and hope and dreams reborn. The kingdom of God is here in life beyond the rubble, in life beyond the scar. Jesus the wounded savior is here reminding us that Easter does come.”
In his remarks, Guinan shared a story: “After 9/11, the fire department started receiving thousands of letters from young kindergartners and first graders. The children asked, ‘How are you doing?’ A box came from New Jersey, and the firefighters put it on a windowsill, not even opened. I took the box home and answered every one of those letters—it took me more than a month—then put them back in the box and mailed it to the school. I got a call from the principal, who asked, ‘Can you come talk to the children?’ When I arrived, I found a whole community of people, all reaching out to others in a time of need.”
Remembering these times also serves as a call for the church today. Myrtle Beckels of Levittown and Anita Dantzer of Cambria Heights shared: “Right after 9/11, everyone was in total shock—more people were coming to church. We looked after one another during 9/11; we prayed together. Things have changed. The country today needs repairing and we need to be kind to each other.”
In a video message released Friday morning, Foster said, “I remember. You probably do too. And some of you were born after. New Yorkers share this memory of a beautiful day and clear skies. And we remember what came next. We come together to be re-membered. The opposite of remember is not to forget, it is to be dismembered. We keep the stories alive; we honor the selfless sacrifice of many for more and we tend to the wound of that day by worshiping our wounded savior.”
Watch the video here.
