UAL
Flt 93 Memorial Chapel is a spiritual Memorial dedicated to the Memory
of the Heroes of UAL Flight 93 and all who lost their lives on
September Eleventh. UAL Flt 93 was described in the days
following the September attack on America as the “forgotten flight”
that crashed “in rural Pennsylvania south west of Pittsburgh”.
The Chapel building is located on the road leading to
Shanksville, popularly called “Boulevard of Heroes.” Here in
Somerset County, relatives and friends of those on board Flight 93
found friends and an entire population from which to receive support,
prayers and good wishes. The immediacy of the appearance of the
“Popular Memorial” on the streets of Shanksville while the Impact
Site was cordoned off from the public testifies to the heartfelt and
genuine response of local citizens. The continual demonstration
of prayerful best wishes at the Unofficial Temporary Site testifies to
the profoundly religious nature of so many who come to visit.
The apparent deep spiritual religious nature of the response of so
many is evident in the testimonials left by those who come to pay
their respects to the Heroes of UAL Flight 93.
During late October, the Chapel was offered for sale.
Immediately the opportunity to develop a spiritual religious memorial
became available. It is evident, given the present inclination
of so many to institute lawsuits demanding the removal of anything
even remotely suggestive of religion or faith in God on public land,
that eventually, when the Temporary Memorial becomes a permanent civil
memorial, the testimonies of prayers, religious symbols, crosses,
rosaries, or anything else indicative of religious sentiment presently
so prominently displayed at the temporary memorial probably would be
removed and the developing practice of displaying them would cease.
If there was a need for a religious expression in response to
the Experience of September Eleventh, then it would need to be located
on private property, and not impinge in any way upon the Sacred Memory
of the Heroes of Flight 93. The location of the Chapel is
sufficiently removed from the actual Impact Site that there would be
no sense of obligatory imposition of either the symbol of the
building, nor even of its purpose on any who visit the Site.
Stopping or visiting such a remote location would obviously be
deliberate and voluntary. The acquisition of the Chapel property
was completed in January, 2002. The Chapel is presently
undergoing renovation and reconstruction to prepare it for a Memorial
Chapel primarily dedicated to the memory of the Heroes of Flight 93.
The Chapel is intended to be a place of peace, reflection and
prayer. In order to be a place truly open, the Chapel is a
nondenominational secular Chapel. It might not be possible for
any religious organization, or even board of directors of such an
organization to be true to its own charter and still establish or
maintain a “Chapel of All Faiths”. The Chapel is planned to
be void of religious symbols, images, statues or ikons. The
Chapel will be open to all who care to visit, or to spend time to pray
or reflect on faith in God in American history and in the lives of the
Founding Fathers and other great Patriots and Statesmen.
The Chapel will enshrine Memorial Tablets, primarily the forty
names of the Heroes of Flight 93, and the names of public leaders and
officials prominent in the Recovery of America.
The theme of the Chapel is One Nation Under God. Services
and ceremonies will celebrate the American Spirit. The purpose
of the Chapel is to proliferate the Message of the Heroes of Flight
93. That their memory will never be forgotten, that their great
accomplishment will become a treasure in the hearts of all who come to
visit, and that the part of our experience which can be only described
in terms of “faith” and “faith in God” as the enduring grace
and source of strength and consolation for so many Americans will have
a sanctuary wherein to express their faith and faith experiences.
The Chapel will present a multi-media program: three themes of
Thunder on the Mountain, the Message of Flight 93, God Bless America,
the expression of faith in God throughout American History and America
the Beautiful, a personal rededication to the principles of American
democracy. Other programs will encourage citizens to register
and vote, to participate in the American process, to dedicate
themselves to the President’s invitation for American’s to pledge
to serve the Nation through voluntary public service.
Additionally, visitors will be provided with information and be
encouraged to support Law Enforcement Agencies, Public Officials and
Service Organizations, Fire Fighters, Emergency Response Teams.
In effect, to become involved and committed as a way of preserving and
honoring the Legacy of Flight 93 and all those who perished that
September Day.
Presently, status as a non-profit organization is being
investigated. The Chapel is privately owned, has no religious
affiliation and is open to all. Ministers, members of the clergy
and other religious leaders who wish to conduct services, to which the
local public will be invited, are welcome to do so. Religious
accessories appropriate to their needs will be provided during their
service and will be removed to a non-public area until needed.
Other religious and secular services will be scheduled according to
dates referencing the September Eleventh Experience, Sunday’s and
National Holidays with the themes of God Bless America and America the
Beautiful.
