OUR HEARTS REMEMBER 9/11

Our hearts remember the families of all thoses who suffered such great loss, all those who gave their lives serving and all those who watched and prayed. May peace and hope now reside.

Here is another story of hope that sprang out of the ashes of terror.








St. Paul's Chapel is located at Broadway and Fulton in New York City. It is the oldest building in continual use in the City. A service of Thanksgiving was held in St. Paul's Chapel after George Washington's inauguration as president in 1789.

St. Paul’s Chapel is a beautiful little chapel right in the heart of Manhattan and adjacent to Ground Zero. It got it’s nick name the Little Church that Stood through the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The headstones are still standing as if nothing ever happened.




In 1926, the Women's Committee of the George Washington-Bulgrave Institution presented a marker to be placed at St. Paul's Chapel. This plaque commemorates what has become known as "Washington's Prayer For The Nation", which reads:

"Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer
that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection;
that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to
cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government;
to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another
and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large;
and finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose
us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves
with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind,
which were the characteristics of the Divine Author
of our blessed religion, and without an humble imitation
of whose example in these things can never hope to be
a happy nation. Grant our supplication we beseech Thee,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen."



The Rest Of The Story!!!
Then came 9/11! You see, St. Paul's Chapel is just across the street from the where the World Trade Center stood. The stump shown below is all that remains of a 100 year old sycamore tree that once stood in the NW corner of St. Paul's churchyard. The tree was toppled on September 11, 2001 when the collapse of the Trade Towers sent tons of debris hurtling towards the chapel. Miraculously, this tree and others in the churchyard saved the chapel from damage, and not a single pane of glass was broken throughout the church! The church was saved, the tree died.

Thus, this beautiful little chapel, which once served as a place of worship for President George Washington, and which thereafter commemorated his Prayer For The Nation and as an altar of the God's own Ten Commandments... REMAINED STANDING! Like Jesus parable, the house on the rock stood firm! (Matthew 7:24-27)