Church Program Offers Remembrance and Hope

Jefferson Mayor Russell Felter said “hero is a word we use far too often to describe people who aren’t.” While some look to sports figures as heroes, we should look to the firefighters and police who gave their lives to help others directly following the attacks on Sept. 11.

“So many of those people gave up their lives that day,” Felter said. “We need to remember the strength and bravery of all those involved.”

Speaking without any notes, Felter said that when he sat down to write his remarks for the day, “I realized that you can’t write a speech for something like this. You just talk.”

Among his comments, Felter mentioned both J.T. Wroblewski and A.J. Preziosi, both of whom joined the military after the attacks, and both of whom died while serving the country.

Felter made his remarks at “9/11…A Program of Remembrance and Hope” at the Milton United Methodist Church on Sunday afternoon. The ceremony remembered the attacks of Sept. 11 in word and song.

The church’s pastor, Rev. Ellen Mearns Bechtold, opened the ceremony, with many further remarks being made by congregant John Casciano.

In between words of hope and remembrance came musical selections to symbolize the day and its meaning.

Selections included “The Prayer” sung by Madison, McKenna and Morgan Brown; ‘Voices that Care” sung by Gretchen Wendolowski; “God Bless America” sung by Roxanne Casciano; “You’ll Never Walk Alone” sung by Diane Bull and “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You’ sung by Wendolowski.

Bechtold also read the poem “Footprints.”