The Little Chapel That Stood

 **Reprint from September 11, 2012**

I have shared this book several times on this blog.  I used to read it to my children every year on September 11, and this year I have an empty nest, so I wanted to share this again with others who may be searching for a meaningful look at 9-11 to share with children who never experienced the world before that day.  The price of the book has gone up since, I believe, it is out of print, but you can also search for it on YouTube and find people reading it on video.

"We raised up the flag from the dust and the pain.

Freedom that's lost must be won again."

The two good giants fell on that grave day in September.  People died.  Rescuers saved lives, and some of the rescuers gave their lives.  My son's friend lost his dad at the age of three.  We do not know why God allows evil people to commit such atrocities in this life, but we know that, just as He controlled Leviathan and Behemoth in the ancient story of Job (Job 40-41), He has put a limit on evil's power in this world.  The border that the devastation could not cross on the 11th of September, 2001, was the unassuming little Chapel of St. Paul, located behind the Twin Towers in New York City.  The blast left rubble in a huge wake and tore the tree adjacent to the Chapel out of the ground by its roots (as is memorialized in the sculpture below), but the building itself was not affected.  

Throughout the day, rescue workers hung their gear on the fence around the little Chapel.  Some never returned to pick it up.  It was a little bit of solace on that day, a reminder that God is still in control.

I never heard anything about the Chapel of St. Paul in the media, and I did not know anything about this story until I saw the chapel when I went to New York several years after the tragedy.  I was awestruck by the simple story and the simple building.  I told my children the story every year.

Last year I found a beautiful picture book that illustrated my sentiments.  The Little Chapel That Stood, by A.B. Curtiss, is a lovely testament to the chapel, to those who lost their lives that day, to the strength of the survivors, and to faith.  It can be ordered from http://www.amazon.com/The-Little-Chapel-that-Stood/dp/0932529771, or you may see it online (free) at http://www.abcurtiss.com/graphics/books2/l_chapel/little_chapel1.htm.

If you are like me and have children, pre-teens, or young teens who do not remember the day that changed their history, and you have been looking for a book to help them understand, please take a look at this poem/story of tragedy and hope.

Remember.

United We Stood

Today I would like to share a guest post by Karen Butterworth.

Thoughts on 9/11 and "Never forget."

Like most of us who lived that day, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. I was en route to work that morning--my shift began at 9:10--and my first reaction to the breaking story and the note of hysteria in the radio announcer's voice was that I was listening to some modern attempt at "The War of the Worlds." Of course it had to be something fictional like that, played off as news--no way could it be real.

But it was real. Earth-shakingly, world-shatteringly real.

"Never forget!" we proclaim each year.

And I don't think anyone has forgotten the fear that clenched our guts or the images of towers falling. I don't think we've forgotten the heroes who died "just doing what they do," as the Alan Jackson song says. I don't think we've forgotten those brave final phone calls to loved ones.

But I do think we've forgotten the days afterward, the days when we came together as a nation and as communities. Days when "United we stand" wasn't just some catchy slogan. We grieved--oh, we grieved--but we grieved together. We were terrified, but we were terrified as one. We were angry, but we were on the same side.

I don't mean to romanticize it. It was a horrible and horrific event and a terrible and tragic time. And even in our shared grief, I do realize we weren't perfect. Prejudices and injustices and broad, unfair stereotypes abounded. I know that many Muslims and others of Arab decent faced cruel backlash that they had not earned and did not deserve. I won't excuse that nor will I pretend it didn't exist. It did. It was wrong.

But for the most part, we came together. And while I in no way, shape, or form want another tragedy even remotely resembling that one, I do miss that unity. The political climate today is so hotly divided that I'm not even sure that level of catastrophe would bring us together anyway. I think instead both sides would find some way to blame the other one. We've gotten awfully good at that.
Definitely hug your loved ones tight today. Life turns on a dime so often. We don't know what tomorrow or even the next moment will bring. Remember heroes and honor their memories. And maybe, just maybe, ponder our common humanity and the fact that we aren't so different after all. Try to do something to reach out to someone, to show kindness, to sow a seed of love. I think we could definitely use some of that.

The Little Chapel That Stood - Never Forget

When we lived in New York, we visited St Paul’s and heard this story. It is one of my favorite stories from the aftermath of 9/11, and I share it every year. The Little Chapel That Stood.

Never forget. 

Never Forget

Every year for 9/11 I read this book to my children. Never forget the heroes who did not come back for their shoes.

The Little Chapel That Stood

Start the story at 7:42 in the video.