United in Love and Care

Community leaders and residents gathered together at the end of Pier A Park on Saturday for the Annual Interfaith Memorial Service in memory of those killed in the 9/11 attacks.

The Hoboken Clergy Coalition organized the event, and this year's theme was "United in God's Love: Coming Together in Faith."

Rev. Marvin W. Krieger from the Community Church of Hoboken explained the meaning of the theme. "September 11 should be a day for rebuilding and restoring relationships, for reaching out to find ways to work and live together in this world," he said. "There is nothing in any faith that calls for actions of intolerance. In fact, as we recall, there was a time that all of us could come together to unite in God's love and care."

Sen. Robert Menendez made the opening remarks and described the early hours of Sept. 11, 2001. "It seemed like just another beautiful fall-like morning here in Hoboken, looking across the river in that familiar skyline, a morning like so many other September mornings," he said. "Then, we stood witness to history, unable to imagine what was happening before our eyes and what the future would hold when that blue sky turned gray. Smoke and ash blanketed the city, rising up like a signal to the world that everything had changed."

During the ceremony, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said the city's 9/11 Memorial Committee has continued to work on plans for a permanent 9/11 memorial that's expected to be completed by next year. "It is important for our community that we finish this memorial because by remembering those who were lost, we will also be reminded of how 9/11 has changed all of us," she said. "The events of that day brought us together more than ever before and caused us to reflect on what it meant to be an American."

Zimmer also addressed the recent controversy sparked by a Florida pastor who had plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11. "Burning holy books is the opposite of what it means to be an American," she said. "Doing this does not honor those loved ones who were lost. Their loss is a reminder of the need to defend ourselves but also of our need to remain committed to our core values to respect and honor the diverse cultures that exist within our nation and around the world."

Christian, Jewish, and Islamic leaders also spoke at the event. Rev. A. Benny Prado from the Saints Peter and Paul R.C. Church gave the opening prayer. Psalms 130 and 133 were read in Hebrew by Joel Freiser from the United Synagogue of Hoboken and in English by Rev. Samuel Vazquez from the Hoboken Fellowship Church. Rev. Triffel Felske from the St. John the Baptist Lutheran Church read a selection from the Book of Isaiah 11, and Waqar Khokar, the president of the Stevens Muslim Student Association, read excerpts from the Quran in Arabic and English. Rev. Geoff Curtis from the All Saints Parish read a selection from the Book of Matthew, and Rev. Mary Forell from St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Church read the closing prayer.

Musical performances included "Once There Stood Twin Towers There," a song written by Sam Scardigno from the Hoboken Veterans Organization, and John Lennon's "Imagine," sung by students from the Hudson School under the direction of Kerry Dunn.

Representatives from the Hoboken Fire Department were also at the event to present the flag. Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.

The ceremony also included the reading of the names of the 57 Hoboken residents who lost their lives in 9/11: Joao A.F. Aguiar, Jr., Jean Ann Andrucki, Peter Paul Apollo, Donna Bernaerts-Kearns, Martin Boryczewski, Nicholas W. Brandemarti, Swarna Chalasani, Christopher M. Colasanti, Michael Shamus Costello, Annie Marie Cramer, Christopher S. Cramer, Gavin Cushny, Michael DeRienzo, Douglas Frank DiStefano, Neil M. Dollard, Margaret Ruth Echtermann, Meredith Emily June Ewart, Peter Feidelberg, John Roger Fisher, Jeffrey Brian Gardner, Brian Goldberg, Michael Edward Gould, Pedro Grehan, Kevin James Hannaford, Scott Jordan Hazlecorn, Robert Wayne Hobson, III, Matthew D. Horning, Joseph Anthony Ianelli, Thomas Patrick Knox, Gregory James Malone, George Patrick McLaughlin, Jr., Michael Joseph Mullin, Marc A. Murolo, John J. Murray, Martin Stewart Niederer, Katherine McGarry Noack, Brian C. Novotny, Keith K. O'Connor, Dominique Lisa Pandolfo, Jon Anthony Perconti, Joseph O. Pick, Beth A. Quigley, Raymond J. Rocha, Scott William Rohner, Joshua M. Rosenblum, Nicholas Charles Alexander Rowe, Ronald J. Ruben, Richard L. Salinardi, Jr., James Kenneth Samuel, Jr., John T. Schroeder, Alexander Robbins Steinman, Lesley Anne Thomas, Melissa Renee Vincent, Meredith L. Whalen, James Patrick White, Debbie L. Williams, and Michael Robert Wittenstein.