Leaders Call For Unity At Wheeling 9/11 Ceremony
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WHEELING - City officials, faith leaders and community members gathered at Heritage Port on Wednesday to remember those lost during the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and reflect on how the nation united after the tragedy.
Faith leaders called for the same sense of unity felt among Americans after those terrorist attacks to return to the country - without violence being the catalyst for that civility - during the annual Sept. 11 Service of Remembrance in Wheeling.
Temple Shalom Rabbi Joshua Lief, who coordinates the service, paralleled the country's state on 9/11 to today during his speech at the ceremony. He voiced his hopes that the politically divided nation would be able to unite in the same way the country united after the historic terrorist attacks.
"There was a disputed election, there was a very bitterly divided nation, there were hateful things said from one American towards another," Lief said. "Accusations would fly, and division ran rampant. This was the world in 2001. On September 9th, we were a nation torn apart."
Lief said the terrorist attacks were a direct attack on the nation's values, ethos and "who we think we are as a nation."
"Would we rise to face such a challenge?" Lief questioned. "Amazingly, miraculously, we did."
Following the attacks, Lief noted that the nation "came together," putting aside differences and focusing on "that which binds us," including shared values and the belief that "everyone should be entitled to safety and security."
Though the attacks "struck at the very heart of who we are as a country," Lief noted the country did not fall but instead "rose above pettiness towards a sense of purpose."
"We survived, we came together, and we chose to move forward," Lief said.
The years after the attacks were "not easy," Lief noted, adding that the nation has become "terribly divided once again." He said Tuesday night's presidential debate between candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris "proved, if nothing else, we as a nation have a difficult time even speaking civilly with each other."
"We as a nation have brought ourselves to the brink of yet another moment of neighbor against neighbor, forgetting that we are, in fact, shared citizens of one society," Lief said. "It should not take terror, death, destruction and tragedy to bind us together again. It should not take the deaths of countless Americans at home and abroad to give us a shared sense of purpose."
Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder also brought audience members back to the events of 9/11 during his speech at the ceremony. He called on audience members to reflect on the nation for the next half hour.
"We live in the greatest country in the world, and with that, there's a very grave responsibility and just some awesome things that we need to do," Magruder said. "Please make sure that we continue to tell our children and grandchildren about these events and how important it is that we continue to pray that we stay the land of the free, the home of the brave and the land of opportunity for all, especially our young."
Faith leaders in the community also took to the podium during the ceremony to lead audience members in prayers for first responders, the military, the nation, peace and victims of terror and defenders of freedom.
Prayers were offered by Lief, Bishop Darrell Cummings of the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple, the Rev. Jake Steele of Christ United Methodist Church, the Rev. Erica Harley of Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Chris Figaretti of Newbridge Church and the Rev. Kenny Hardway of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
To hold an interfaith ceremony to commemorate 9/11 was important to Lief, who stressed that "all Americans were attacked that day" regardless of their race, gender or religion.
"That was an attack on all of us, on our nation as a whole, and so in remembrance, we should stand together, not just with our own friends and neighbors but with the wider community as well," Lief noted.
Lief found it "heartening" to see the wider Wheeling community gather for the ceremony, noting that attendees took time out of their day to "be a part of something larger than themselves."
"That is something that I wish we as a community would all try to do more often, and I treasure the opportunity in my professional career to bring people together," Lief said. "Certainly, it is keeping with our Jewish values to partner with friends and neighbors of all faiths to try and bring more goodness to our world, a world that is certainly in need of the help that all of us can provide."
Marguder also emphasized the need for unity among the Wheeling community and the nation following the ceremony.
"The whole message here today is of unity, to put aside those barriers, and to do what's right for each other," Magruder said. "We need to treat each other as the brothers and sisters we truly are."
The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra's brass quintet provided patriotic music during the ceremony, and members of the Wheeling Fire and Police Honor Guard presented the colors.