10th Anniversary of September 11th
"Getting Through, Not Over, 9/11"
~ Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper, Senior Minister, Judson Memorial Church
Many people want to get over things that have hurt them. Few understand we have to get through them. In the case of 9 /11, we have opened a great national conversation about what constitutes grief and sacred space and how revenge is not the route through, but the route around. It is time to turn the page on revenge and understand that sacred space is larger than any one grief or any one religion.
On September 11th, Judson launched a art installation "Meditation on Mourning" by Susan B. Woods and "Obituaries to Prayer Flags" by Carla Shapiro, both on transformation after the attacks of 9/11.
Art Installation & Photo Exhibit: Open until October 9, 2011
The exhibit will be open with one of the artists available for questions on Fridays-Sunday afternoons through October 9, 2011. See our e-calender for exact times at judson.org/upcomingatjudson. See below for samples of the artist's work and descriptions.
Installation: “Meditation on Mourning” by Susan Brown Woods is an installation of life-sized, female figures wrapped in cloth, marble dust, and ash to embody the complexity of loss. Woods explains “The women are representative of land and procreation—equally restful in their positions and in pain." See more of her work at www.sbwoods.com or see a film on her work by The David Lynch Foundation.
Photo Exhibit: “Obituaries to Prayer Flags,” is a photo exhibition by Carla Shapiro honoring those who died on 9/11. Over five months for four hours per day, Shapiro hand-copied 2500 obituaries from the New York Times of those who died in the World Trade Towers. “As I wrote,” says Shapiro, “I became intrigued with the words that represented each person and created an art project that was full of peace instead of death.” She photographed the instillation hanging outside over a stream that finally came to represent Tibetan prayer flags. See more of her work at www.carlashapiro.com.
Where Were You 10 Years Ago?
~ Rev. Michael Ellick, Minister, Judson Memorial Church
Who were you, and how have you changed since then? For my part, I used to work in the financial district as a Public Finance Analyst. Because of this, when I got off the subway for work on the morning of Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, the World Trade Center like two giant chimneys loomed directly overhead. The next few hours changed my life - changed all our lives - and though I didn’t realize it fully at the time, events were set in motion that would eventually lead me to ordained ministry. In my imagination, the subconscious seed was planted a few hours after the towers fell, when I was walking uptown, passing through Washington Square Park, and sharing a cigarette with a friend on the steps of Judson Memorial Church. The doors were thrown wide open that day, and though it would be a few more years before I would walk through them myself, I remember being pleased that this was the church’s instinctual response.
This year, as we mark the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, the doors are open still. In truth this started over twelve months ago, when the proposed opening of an Islamic Community Center two blocks from Ground Zero became the center of national controversy. At the time Judson helped to organize NY Neighbors, a coalition of advocacy groups pushing back against anti-Muslim rhetoric, and defending the right of “Park 51” to exist. This year that work has continued; but as we pass the decade milestone, we’ll also be making time to reflect on how we’ve changed since 9/11.
There will be no final answers (as Donna says, we can not ‘get over,’ we can only ‘get through’), but we hope the beginning of perspective on how we’ve changed as New Yorkers, as Americans, and as Citizens of the World. So how have you changed?
Judson Congregants Discuss 9/11
For the 10th anniversary of September 11, Judson members answered questions the PBS NewsHour posed to the public to post on YouTube including: Did 9/11 "change everything" and has it changed your life?
September 11th Program at Judson
11:00 AM -12:00 PM Worship Service
"Getting Through, Not Over, 9-11" with Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper
Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper will return to Judson from her sabbatical to carry us through the 10th anniversary of September 11th.
12:30 - 3:00 PM – Art Installation & Photo Exhibit
The exhibit will be open with one of the artists available for questions on Fridays and Saturdays from 12:30 - 6:00 pm and Sundays from 12:30-4:00 pm through October 9, 2011.
Installation: “Meditation on Mourning” by Susan Brown Woods is an installation of life-sized, female figures wrapped in cloth, marble dust, and ash to embody the complexity of loss. Woods explains “The women are representative of land and procreation—equally restful in their positions and in pain." See more of her work at www.sbwoods.com or see a film on her work by The David Lynch Foundation.
Photo Exhibit: “Obituaries to Prayer Flags,” is a photo exhibition by Carla Shapiro honoring those who died on 9/11. Over five months for four hours per day, Shapiro hand-copied 2500 obituaries from the New York Times of those who died in the World Trade Towers.
3:00-4:30 PM - Play Reading IN THE NAME OF GOD
Director Thom Fogarty will present a staged reading of Peter-Adrian Cohen’s stirring new play, IN THE NAME OF GOD based on the PBS FRONTLINE documentary FAITH AND DOUBT AT GROUND ZERO by Helen Whitney.
Using testimony from the film and Cohen’s research, the play follows six people about what they saw and felt on 9/11. Through their agonizing doubt - or perhaps because of it – they ask, “Where was God that day?”
The cast includes: Frank Anderson, Rev. Michael Ellick, *Diane Kagan, *George Kareman, *Grace Zandarski, *Lulu Fogarty, and *Joseph Melendez.
*Member of Actors Equity Association
Watch the Film
Watch and read more interviews on the FRONTLINE program site.
Press Contact
Jonny Goodman
Judson Memorial Church
Phone 347.722.1835 * Fax 212.995.0844
E: info (at) judson.org
Directions
Judson Memorial Church is located at 55 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012.
Subway stops: W. 4th on the ACE / F/ B / M and the NYU-8th St. on the N / R.
Map your journey here.
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