Fifteen years after the terrorist attacks on the twin towers, Janet Ross can still feel its impact.
She had just moved to Ohio from Manhattan the year before the attacks that left nearly 70 law enforcement officers, 350 firefighters and 3,000 civilians dead.
Two weeks after, Ross, who is now a minister at First Congregational Church of Hudson, was asked to preach on the site, where rats scurried among the debris from the towers.
“You could just feel the grieving in the air,” Ross said. “The souls were screaming and crying.”
Ross was among hundreds who rallied together Sunday to not only commemorate the 15th anniversary of 9/11, but also to use it as a way to promote peace, diversity and collaboration with law enforcement among community members.
On the second Sunday of every September for the past five years, First Congregational Church has held its “First Serve Serve First” event where members of the church conduct service work around the Hudson area.
They used its falling on 9/11 this year to do something different: they collaborated with Temple Beth Shalom, Islamic Society of Akron and Kent and other community members to do service work for emergency personnel around Northeast Ohio.
Together, nearly 700 volunteers of different ages and religions worked with emergency personnel throughout the day as a way to give back to officers while strengthening their relationship with the community, doing things from cleaning up parks and alleys to setting up a pop-up bike inspection station.
“I think it’s a little token of the way we can thank those who serve us every day,” said Mike Bigham, a medical director at Akron Children’s Hospital who helped coordinate the event. “We’re just trying to make their day a little bit brighter.”
Bigham said he worked with Akron Fire Lt. Sierjie Lash and Akron Police Capt. Sylvia Trundle to determine what work the volunteers could do to make police and fire officers’ jobs better and easier.
“We are so blessed in this community to have people who truly care and support us,” Trundle said. “It’s just been beautiful.”
On top of helping law enforcement, Bigham said this year’s event worked to bring people together from all walks of life despite the growing political and religious divide in the U.S.
Bigham and Ross were among 25 volunteers who made repairs at the Akron police station, painting the walls in the police roll-call and locker rooms.
“This event is a way God takes such horror and redeems it,” Ross said.
Coming together
Along with her was Devi Gursahaney, a practicing Hindu who attends the Shiva-Vishnu Temple in Parma and coaches an interfaith program at the church with Ross.
“That’s one thing I admire most in this country is the sense of volunteerism,” said Gursahaney, who was born in India. “People may fight over politics and religion, but when it comes to service, people do come together.”
Despite coming together for service, though, Gursahaney said 9/11 left a stigma about Muslims that remains to this day.
“I still get emotional when I see any news about [9/11], but it is hard on Muslim people,” Gursahaney said. “The goal of this is to help them feel welcomed in this culture. We don’t want them to become the unnecessary victims.”
Just down the street at Lock 3, volunteers from the church were also helping pass out fliers and snacks at Akron’s 2016 Patriot Day event, coordinated by the Love Akron Network and sponsored by FirstEnergy.
There, a crowd of about 200 gathered to enjoy free food and activities, view safety vehicles and listen to a special program dedicated to honoring local safety forces.
During the program, Eric Mansfield, the Kent State University executive director of media relations, spoke about his deployment to Iraq after 9/11. Then, the Rev. Joe Schoblocher from Emmanuel Christian Assembly in Barberton said a prayer and Weathervane Playhouse Choir performed patriotic tunes afterward.
Like Ross, many people remembered the day with clarity.
“Everyone found the closest TV they could get to,” recalled Carol Gresham of North Canton, who said she and her husband, Denny, still get tearful watching that footage. “We couldn’t imagine what all had happened right before our eyes.”
The city of Wadsworth also held a 9/11 remembrance ceremony during its Props and Pistons Festival, where they awarded Ravenna native Edward Paulus a Purple Heart and other military decorations for his service in the Vietnam War.
At the Barber Airport in Alliance, nearly 100 people gathered to form a human peace symbol to honor firefighters, peace officers and veterans.
As different communities assembled, they all urged community members to remember the sacrifices that were made on 9/11.
“That day opened up our nation’s eyes,” said Schoblocher during his remembrance at Lock 3. “We want to remember and we want to thank those who served and put themselves in harm’s way for our protection.”
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom.