There are certain dates that stand out in people’s minds, events
so important that those who lived through them will never forget
what they were doing when they happened.
There are certain dates that stand out in people’s minds, events so important that those who lived through them will never forget what they were doing when they happened.
For the oldest Americans, it is Dec. 7, 1941: the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu.
For another generation, it is Nov. 22, 1963: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas.
The most recent of these watershed dates is Sept. 11, 2001: the coordinated attack by terrorists on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. (with the tragic plane-downing in Pennsylvania).
Morgan Hill’s Shadow Mountain Baptist Church (17810 Monterey Road) will be holding “We Remember Sunday,” and local residents are invited to participate.
The event will begin with a special service at 10:30 a.m. in the church to thank first responders for their service to the South Valley public. Pastor Kyle Haynes encourages police officers, firefighters, paramedics and nurses to come and receive the thanks of residents.
During the service, Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate and Police Chief Dave Swing will speak on behalf of the city’s residents. The day’s sermon will focus on those who risk their lives for the safety of others, as well as the events of a decade ago.
Immediately after the service everyone in attendance is invited to a free barbecue lunch. Tables will be set up at the church and also on the grounds of the adjacent Morgan Hill Museum.
A display of emergency response vehicles will be held in the parking lot. For more information call (408) 782-7806.
In Gilroy, there will be A Day of Remembrance service at 4 p.m. in the Christmas Hill Park amphitheater. Planned to honor police, fire, emergency personnel and victims of 9/11, it was organized by Malcolm MacPhail, city chaplain and pastor of Gilroy’s New Hope Community Church.
The ceremony will include presentations by the Gilroy police and fire chiefs, along with Chaplain Jim Uhey, a national disaster relief specialist. Police, fire, military and emergency response personnel are invited to attend in uniform. For more information, call Pastor MacPhail at (408) 427-5947.
For people who might like to conduct a commemoration of their own, the website of the National Council of Churches (www.ncccusa.org) contains a complete “Service of Hope and Remembrance” as well as a hymn written especially for the occasion (“O God, Our Hearts Were Shattered”). According to the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, “This 10th anniversary will be a time of prayer and remembrance for those who were lost, as well as a time for each of us to seek to discern God’s will for ending hatred and resentment that spawned the violence.”
