Remembering 9/11

There had not been a specifically planned 9/11 commemoration event last week, but after the shocking murder of Charlie Kirk by a 22 year old Utah man earlier in the week, an event was put together to try to go some way toward providing a public way to express the grief and anger of many residents, as well as to try to seek some measure of hope.  The event was a mixture of patriotic national commemoration and devotional discussion.

The event included a number of participants from around the county, including John Beer, Alana Burns, Naconna Gentry, Kate Lauck, Daniel Larsen, Rick Hatch, Ryan Carpenter, Carrie Yost, and Jared Hunsaker.

In addition to the prayers, comments, devotional readings, and thoughts shared, the evening ended with a group candle lighting ceremony and moment of reflection.  

After an opening flag ceremony conducted by Jacob Hirsbrunner, Bob Johnson played “Amazing Grace” on harmonica, setting the somber but positive mood for the evening.

John Beer offered an opening prayer, in which he expressed the heartbreak felt by those in attendance, and asked for justice, patience, and righteousness.

Alana Burns spoke about how the event started.  “Obviously, September 11th is a big deal.  We all know where we were when we heard about the tragedies in New York that killed our brothers and sisters.  We will always remember that day.  Yesterday felt like that day again for me.  Because it wasn’t just an assassin killing another one of our brothers—it felt like an assault on all of us.  On our freedoms of speech, our freedoms of gathering, our freedom to disagree civilly.  And that’s what makes America so special, and we can’t ever let that go.  You feel like justice has to be served and that can be met with anger, but the man that we’re mourning right now, and the people that were murdered in New York so many years ago wouldn’t want that.  Charlie himself would have pointed you towards Christ.  He would have called you to love.  He would have called you to forgive.  So I felt like in that moment when I was searching for connection yesterday, bawling my face off, not knowing what to do with all these emotions, I felt like I needed to gather.  I needed to know that there were other people in the world who were feeling what I felt. And that they cared.  And that it mattered in the world.  As I’ve been watching the news over the last few years, it’s been so disheartening, to see the hearts of people change.  To see stories of crime where people didn’t take action.  Where people let evil win—and that can’t happen.  I am so encouraged to see this pavilion so full of people who will not let that happen in our community.  We will be there for each other, even if we disagree.  There is so much darkness in the world, and the Lord is calling us to be his light.  And in this moment, we want to just lash out—he’s asked exactly not to do that.  He’s asked us to share light with the world.  Darkness is already present; we don’t need to add to it.”

Following Burns’ remarks, Naconna Gentry discussed the example of anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who discussed the role of Christianity in the secular world.  Bonheoffer was murdered in a concentration camp as a result of his outspoken beliefs.  She concluded with some of the words of Saint Paul:  “Love must be sincere, detest what is evil and cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Outdo yourselves by honoring one another…do not repay evil with evil.  Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for god’s wrath.  For it is written vengeance is mine I will repay says the lord.”

Kate Lauck spoke about the profound experience she had in 2018, finding out that her brother-in-law had been killed in Afghanistan.  Her niece had been explaining to her that there were soldiers at the door and she wasn’t sure why.  Lauck asked whether the men had on dress uniforms or camo, and upon being told that they were wearing dress uniforms, the reality of what was transpiring crashed down upon her.  Lauch recounted the full experience of being notified about his death, receiving the body when it returned to the United States, and dealing with the grief.  “In the nearly seven years since Brent was executed by the Taliban, the price of freedom has surely felt incredibly high to those of us who knew and loved him.  But the value of freedom is immeasurably high to those who know and love America and all she represents.”

“Patriotism is not bigotry, it’s not supremacy, it’s not arrogance, and it was never intended to be,” Lauck continued.  “Patriotism is an awareness, it’s a gratitude to that price of freedom that let me tell you is pretty costly.  Especially to the men and women who come home draped in a flag.  Freedom isn’t free, and that’s not just a cliché.  I hope more than anything, I hope that as a patriot I feel a kick in my butt to make my community a better place.”    

Daniel Larsen spoke about how the country seems to go through cycles of being more and less intolerant and violent.  He observed that every two or so generations there is another major moment “when we go through something like this, and we have a choice.”  The choice, Larsen explained was between choosing to love our enemies and bless those who curse us or not.”  Despite what he pointed out was the difficulty of doing so, he encouraged those in the audience to “follow the words of our savior.”

Rick Hatch spoke about remembering where he was on 9/11, but pivoted his remarks to talk about how much he remembered 9/12.  He noted that Charlie Kirk was an example of the kind of citizen that he hoped his government students would become.  He hoped that both his students, and those in attendance, would internalize the importance of continuing to have a conversation with others, regardless of how comfortable it was or wasn’t.  “The worst thing we can do it to stop having the conversation,” he said.  

Ryan Carpenter noted Glen Beck’s point that “they never kill the weak people, only the strong” and spoke about his own feelings over the past day or so.

Jared Hunsaker spoke about the difficulty of being Christlike while worrying while not letting things go in a direction that you aren’t okay with.  He detailed a number of ways to get help make the world a better place.  Ultimately, the connecting thread between the suggestions was to take a direct role in helping with the community. Coaching a Little League team rather than yelling at the umpire.  Running for schoolboard rather than complaining about the school.  Like all of the speakers, he reiterated that it was most important to stay connected to the community and family.

It was an amazing night of reflection, and thoughtful processing of a tragic national moment, both in 2025 and 2001.