On the twenty-fourth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano, Bishop of Long Island, offers a personal reflection on the meaning of remembrance and our call as Christians to live faithfully in response to tragedy.
Bishop Provenzano recalls his service as part of the Corps of Fire Chaplains who ministered at Ground Zero in the days and weeks following the attacks, offering support to firefighters, police officers, and grieving families. Out of that experience, he and his fellow chaplains chose to move away from the phrase “Never Forget,” which they felt carried a spirit of retaliation. Instead, they embrace the words “Always Remember.”
“To remember is an act of sacredness,” Bishop Provenzano explains. “It is about honoring the lives lost, the families broken, and the heroism of first responders. But it also calls us, as God’s people, to respond by caring for our neighbors and standing together in times of crisis.”