9/11 Commemorated by West County Churches, Police and Fire Departments

Sunday Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Town and Country Police and Fire Departments will join with other local churches, fire and police departments to hold a day of “remembrance and renewal” to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

(Click here for a look at a compilation of local 9/11 stories.)

Covenant’s senior pastor Ryan Laughlin said that the idea for the event originated early in the year when he started having conversations with other community leaders about what the community would be doing to recognize a day that is a significant milestone not only for the country, but also for many individuals in the area.  

Laughlin said that he was moved not only as a pastor but also as a human being when he saw the news TV and heard stories about New York firefighters and airline passengers who sacrificed their lives to try to save the lives of strangers the day of the attacks. Laughlin feels that the country was unified by the sacrifice of those people in the days and weeks after 9/11, but that the country has drifted away from that unity throughout the last 10 years. 

“One of the things we have talked about a lot in planning this is that there are common human themes that we have in some ways lost in the political discourse that’s going on right now,” Laughlin said. “We’ve just lost the themes that were uniting people on that day...and we think that those are themes that anyone can appreciate no matter where they are coming from spiritually.”

Even though two churches are involved in sponsoring the event, the main speakers will not be religious leaders. Scheduled speakers include owner Trip Straub, Des Peres police sergeant and Iraq War veteran Dan Milberg, and Mike Higgins who is the dean of students at Covenant Seminary as well as an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel and military chaplain. 

The speakers will primarily reflect on where they were and what they were thinking on the day of the attacks, Laughlin said, so those in attendance may be spurred to think back to what they were doing on that day. 

“I think this is going to be an event that celebrates. I don’t know if celebrate is too strong of a word, but it will really celebrate that since 9/11 we have really developed some meaningful partnerships with the community,” Town and Country Police Department Captain Gary Hoelzer told Patch. “So this event will be something that really recognizes that, as well with the community coming together with police and fire.”

The event begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at West County EMS and Fire Station 3 at Mason and Clayton roads in Town and Country. The service portion of the event begins at 2 p.m. and will last 30 minutes. Before and afterward the West County EMS and Fire Protection District will provide free food.

Destiny Church, which is also co-sponsoring the event, will have prizes and games geared toward children.

Parking will be at the old Wirth property just east of Mason Woods Village.

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