South Mississippi Remembers 9/11
Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and other South Mississippians will gather in Gulfport Saturday morning for an interfaith remembrance focused on healing. Also that morning, police and firemen will gather at the Biloxi fire station museum, to ring a bell of remembrance for the nearly 3,000 people who died in the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001.
At the Biloxi Seafood Festival that afternoon, there will be a moment of silence and a half hour of patriotic music. And in the evening at a Presbyterian church in Gulfport, storytelling, song and poetry will attempt to allay "When Despair For the World Grows in Me."
Across South Mississippi, publicly and quietly people will remember the day Americans lost their innocence about the personal effects of world terrorism.
The 9/11 remembrances actually begin today at Veteran's Health Care Centers in Biloxi, Gulfport and nationwide when, at noon, VA employees and the public gather for a moment of silence and a commemoration.
After three years, emotions remain strong about all that followed and continues to follow the terrorist hijacking of three airplanes.
"Listening and sharing our experiences is important to the healing of individuals, faith communities and our nation as a whole," said the Rev. Margaret Ennis, president of The Interfaith Alliance of Mississippi.
The Alliance has spent months planning an interfaith memorial service and a panel discussion on 9/11, followed by a lunch and roundtable discussion open to all faiths. The morning's events at First United Methodist in downtown Gulfport are titled "Reflections on 9/11: Healing Resources of our Faith Communities."
TIA-Mississippi formed in 1998 as part of a national nonpartisan, clergy-led grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the positive, healing role of faith in civic life and challenging intolerance and extremism.
"We realize that in the years since 9/11 we have seen a nation come together in tremendous expressions of interfaith understanding, and we had also seen it torn apart by senseless acts of violence, especially toward Arabs, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus as well as other groups at risk for harassment."
Many of these and other faiths will be represented in the morning panel, followed by an 11 a.m. memorial service also open to the public. Says Ennis, a retired Methodist minister from Long Beach, "We encourage others to join us for an interfaith dialogue on 9/11."
Earlier in the morning, at 8:55 to symbolize the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center in New York, a moment of silence will be followed by an opening prayer at West End Hose Co. .3 Museum and Fire Education Center in Biloxi. The 20-minute ceremony will be followed by a small reception.
"We've done this every year since the first anniversary to honor those who lost their lives - everyone, not just the emergency service personnel," said Nancy Boney, who is on the museum board. "We feel the need to remember and to honor them."
Many fraternal and military organizations will mark 9/11 in big and small ways. The D'Iberville Moose Lodge, for example, is sponsoring a blood drive and memorial service in honor of the 9/11 victims and heroes. About the same time, 3,500 National Guardsmen from six states will gather on the Camp Shelby parade ground for a memorial.
In the three years since that fateful day, the U.S. has gone to war in Afghanistan and Iraq and citizens and visitors face tethering rules from a new federal Department of Homeland Security.
"There is a lot of fear and anger and denial floating around out there," said Mary Miller Stair, who will lead an evening of storytelling, song and poetry geared to spiritual healing at Handsboro Presbyterian Church.
The small church had planned its annual homecoming for this weekend, and when the pastor realized the significance of the date, he asked Stair to add a Saturday evening program of hope that will appeal to all faiths. Stair, a North Carolina inspirational speaker and performing artist, was originally invited to do the Sunday homecoming program on the Aramaic prayer of Jesus, but gladly added an extra Saturday event.
"We will follow the advice of a dairy farmer from Kentucky named Wendell Berry, who is also a terrific essayist and poet," Stair said. "He writes, 'When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be...'
"His answer is about hope and love instead of anger and fear," said Stair, "and that should be the message for this 9/11 anniversary."
Remembering
A handful of South Mississippi events will mark the anniversary of U.S. terrorism attacks.
Sept. 11 events
Here are some of the South Mississippi events that will mark 9/11 in South Mississippi
Today's events:
VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care Centers in Gulfport (200 East Beach Blvd.) and Biloxi (400 Veterans Ave.); be at either center chapel by 11:45 a.m.; at noon a moment of silence will be observed followed by a ceremony led by Chief of Staff Dr. Gregg S. Parker in Gulfport and Gulf Coast system director Julie A. Catellier in Biloxi. Yellow ribbons will be handed out and the ceremony will last about 20 minutes. Open to the public, VA employees and patients.
Seashore Retirement Community each year holds a 9/11 memorial service for residents and the public; 9 a.m. on the front lawn of the complex at 1450 Beach Blvd., Biloxi. Details: Karen Windham, 435-3861, ext. 104
Patriot Day Event for Woodmen of the World, Lodge 63 of Ocean Springs. In remembrance, the lodge will rededicate the flagpole at City Park, 400 Alice St. at 4 p.m. Speakers include Damian McKay, Bobby Styron, Mayor Seren Ainsworth, Charles E. Hendrick Jr. and Gus Donohoe. Details: 935-5092.
On Saturday:
Blood Drive and 9/11 Memorial Service, sponsored by D'Iberville Moose Lodge .332 at the D'Iberville Recreation Center (off Brodie Road behind D'Iberville Elementary School); 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. A memorial for the 9/11 victims and heroes will be outside at 8:44 a.m. To donate blood to the American Red Cross you must be at least 17, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good health and have not donated in the past 56 days. Details: 896-2217.
West End Hose Co. .3 Museum & Fire Education Center, 1046 Howard Ave., Biloxi, near the intersection with Porter Avenue; be there before 8:50 a.m. when the official assembly of emergency of firemen, policemen and EMTs begins, followed by prayer, tolling of the bell; talks by officials. Ceremony lasts about 20 minutes and is free and open to the public. A small reception follows and includes a video on 9/11. Details: 435-6119 or 435-6200.
Pascagoula Bell-ringing for 'Patriot Day,' when churches join American Legion Post 160 and other citizens of Pascagoula in commemorating 9/11 by two-minute bell-ringings followed by a minute of silence at 8:45, 9:03, 9:43 and a 10 a.m. commemoration ceremony at the Harry C. Kelly Post 160 at 1019 Market St. Titled "All Gave Some and Some Gave All," it will honor military, Purple Heart awardees, 9/11 emergency service workers and other victims.
Reflections on 9/11: Healing Resources of Our Faith Communities, sponsored by The Interfaith Alliance of Mississippi, at First United Methodist Church, 2301 15th St., Gulfport. 9:30 a.m. morning refreshments; 10 a.m. Interfaith Panel on 911; 11 a.m. Interfaith Memorial Service; 11:30 a.m. vegetarian lunch and roundtable discussions. Free and open to the public with a $5 donation for those who stay for lunch. For information, Milton Grishman, 432-2671 or the Rev. Margaret Ennis at 864-5420.
Camp Shelby Mobilization Center, 9 a.m., will remember 9/11 when 3,500 soldiers of the Tennessee Army National Guard, representing six states, assemble. Public should use South Gate off U.S. 49. Details: 558-2835.
Biloxi Seafood Festival's Patriotic Program, Point Cadet Plaza at foot of Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge; 3-3:30 p.m. with a minute of silence for 9/11 victims. Biloxi High School Junior Air Force ROTC will present colors, MGCCC-Jeff Davis Campus' Coastal Vibrations will provide patriotic melodies. Festival entry fees apply and range from $2 to $5.
When Despair For The World Grows In Me, at Handsboro Presbyterian Church, 1304 E. Pass Road, Gulfport; 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; guest speaker is Mary Miller Stair of Asheville N.C., who will present a positive message of coping with aftereffects of 9/11 with hope. The program will appeal to all faiths and includes storytelling, song and poetry. Free and open to the public. Details: 896-6619.
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