Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once penned the verse, “For bells are the voice of the church, for they have tones that touch and search the heart of the young and old.” With the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on our nation upon us, that passage is especially poignant to those at All Saints’ Episcopal Parish in Hoboken, as that congregation takes time to remember the day, to honor the memory of those lost, and to continue to rebuild their lives.
While congregations throughout the Diocese of Newark will mark the anniversary with an appropriate tribute, All Saints’ in Hoboken will continue with its unique tradition of sounding its church bell at the precise moments when each of the planes struck the Twin Towers.
According to the Rev. Geoffrey B. Curtiss, who has served as rector of All Saints’ for 32 years, “While every city and township in New Jersey suffered from the attacks on September 11, the City of Hoboken carried more than its share of tragedy that Tuesday morning. No other city in the state lost more people on that day than Hoboken, and no other zip code in the entire nation lost more people than what is known as the Square Mile City. Fifty-seven residents lost their lives that day.”
Ten years ago, the Rev. Laurie Jean Wurm, now the rector at Saint John’s in Boonton, was working at All Saints’ as parish missioner. “When I look back at that time, it has a surreal feeling about it,” she recalls. “Rev. Curtiss was in California attending a conference, and as soon as the planes hit the Towers, all air travel was halted. Everything around what was to be known later as Ground Zero was in lock-down – including Hoboken.”
She remembers the church organist responded immediately by opening the doors of All Saints’, as she scrambled to organize a rotation of parishioners and volunteers to staff the church. Local merchants arrived with coffee, water and sandwiches, and the church doors stayed open a week as people wandered in.
“It was the first time I witnessed the effect shock and disbelief have on the human body. Folks would arrive at the church seemingly calm – not trembling or crying – and then they would state that they had seen people jumping from buildings. At the time, it was impossible for any of us to process these experiences.”
In time, those who gathered formed what is still known as The All Saints’ September 11 Support Group. Wurm recalls, “Rev. Robert Griner, now rector of Christ Church in Newton, co-facilitated the group with me. People wanted to continue to meet and be there for one another. I was 32 years old at the time, and I was often the oldest person in the group. The World Trade Center was renowned for hiring young professionals, and many of them lived in Hoboken. We were moderating a group of 20-something-year-olds who lost spouses, fiancés, best friends, and coworkers.”
On the fifth anniversary, the support group presented All Saints’ with a bell for its empty belfry to express its gratitude. “For some reason, the church never had a bell, and this was something the members of the group wanted to do,” explains Curtiss. “It was given as a heartfelt expression of their thanksgiving for the church and in memory of their loved ones.” All Saints’ was recognized by the state as one of the leaders in helping hundreds of residents cope with the tragedies of September 11.
In an ironic twist, the victims from September 11, many who never had the opportunity to have a family, a career, or a lifespan of thirty years, left a lasting legacy by giving the neighborhood community and church its voice with the gift of the bell. And as Mr. Longfellow eloquently stated, that voice will be touching the hearts of young and old for generations to come.
