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FLIGHT 93 MEMORIAL CHAPEL (5th Anniversary 2007)
By CarolynCHolland(9,534)
| This past weekend (March 10-11, 2007) marked the fifth anniversary of the Flight 93 Memorial Chapel, near Shanksville, Somerset County, PA. During the weekend there was an open house, a premiere screening of "Thunder on the Mountain" (a documentary on the dedication of the Flight 93 Crew Monument), a tribute concert and a church service. This piece is filed in the category Laurel Highlands. A sign at the small, white, clapboard church abutting farm fields and a cemetery reads Thunder on the Mountain, UAL Flt 93 Memorial Chapel, Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The small front lawn features a bell tower, a torch and a pole with a U. S. flag. Lettering on the 1868 half-ton cast-steel bell, hung on a 44-foot high steel frame, reads “Thunder Bell, Voice of Flight 93.” The bell echoes through the hillsides when visitors ring it to honor Flight 93’s heroes. The Memorial Torch of Liberty is mounted on a 6-foot high, dark gray, marble pyramidal base. Four 6-foot cylindrical stainless steel strips spiral about each other, topped by metal “flames” reaching skyward. The flames will soon house a 200 - million candlepower halogen light to be visible on the PA Turnpike, three miles south of the chapel. "This is a refuge uniting God and country,” the Rev. Alphonse Mascherino of Somerset, founder, explains. “My realization…the passengers didn’t have time to ask about each other’s faith. They just prayed the 23rd Psalm. It strengthened them to rise up and move against the oppressors. The chapel is my way of experiencing their significance and testimony.” The chapel memorial at the former Mizpah Evangelical Lutheran Church, six miles from the crash site, honors Flight 93 heroes “and all others who perished Sept. 11, 2001.” It was blessed August 11, 2002, the centennial of the original church’s 1902 dedication. Mascherino is an omnipresent figure there, dressed sometimes in work clothes and other times in clerical robes. The chapel’s red doors open to a foyer. Overhead a century-old, 10-foot wide 5-foot high semi-circle stained glass window emits rays of gold, blue and green. The artwork’s large center panel depicts the Star of David in the Great Circle; its side panels show the Ten Commandment Tablets and a Menorah. From inside the chapel visitors see its beauty and craftsmanship accented by natural light from the open doors. The ceiling edge of a small, white room off the foyer has stripes, of red, gold and blue, the latter trimmed with gold stars. Painted on the back wall are two draped flags, with a golden eagle mounted at the juncture of their stripes. Thirty-nine frames hold autobiographies/photos of the forty Flight 93 heroes at eye-level above a ledge lined with red votive candles. A single golden lamp and spotlights brighten the windowless room. The chapel is painted off-white, with white woodwork. One large and four small gold chandeliers mimic electrified candles. Five matching three-light sconces are mounted between seven stained glass windows with panes of blue and green swirls. The chandelier lights reflect from a Plexiglas panel on the wall behind a white altar. The panels’ large gold lettering proclaims “And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Red print above states “ONE NATION UNDER GOD.” Across the top of the sanctuary’s front wall is a hand-painted mural. Scattered among a sky, partly blue with white clouds and partly red with streaking gold lightning bolts, are forty stars. Its sunrise points toward the crash site. Centered on the mural is a 7 ½-foot wide golden “Peace Eagle.” Its talons grasp an olive tree branch. A plaque on the sanctuary’s front wall lists names of people who spoke out about 9/11; another lists the crash fatalities (minus the hijackers). Under each plaque are five candles---two each red and white and a single blue one. Silk flowers, wreathes, a “garden” angel,” and a banner with over forty multi-colored butterflies complete the scene. Below is the second part of an article I wrote on the chapel in 2003. Parts 1 and 2 are filed under Carolyn's Writings. Also note: there is now a Flight 93 Memorial Chapel photo album (scroll down the right hand column to photo albums). Click on Flight 93 Memorial Chapel to view chapel photos. ---Carolyn A handcrafted “Perpetual Lamp of Remembrance” is in front of the altar. Its inverted dome (the crater), hanging 10-feet above the sanctuary floor, has swirling flames cut into it. Inside the dome a red globe covers a candle that burns out every seven days. The diligence required to keep it lit symbolizes the vigilance required to protect our nation’s freedom, said Rev. Mascherino.
Half way up the counterbalance two wings among several iron cylinders represent the plane among the trees and woods. The top of the counterbalance is marked with a star.
Light-gray folding chairs face a television for watching videos; twenty-eight others provide seating for chapel activities. A stand displays two photographs comparing the unfinished chapel on September 3, 2002 to its improved state a week later. Along the walls are numerous framed pictures, including one of the Statue of Liberty.
Signatures in a guest book include names of family and friends of the flight’s heroes. Messages include “moving and beautiful;” GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! Rest in Peace; Glory to God---Awesome; and Impressive---Really beautiful tribute.
In a back corner is a small gift shop selling T-shirts, mugs and a Cat’s Meow wooden rendition of the chapel. Lettering on its back reads: “The chapel is the first national memorial to the heroes of Flight 93 and all who perished Sept. 11, 2001.”
The chapel’s yard has a Prayer Pole and a Children’s Peace Rock Garden. The sides of the 14-foot high, 6x6 inch pole are vertically inscribed: “God Bless America;” “Let there be peace on Earth;” “Pax et bonum,” (peace and good will” in Latin); and “May Peace prevail on Earth” (in sign language). It’s topped with an American eagle weather vane.
Between two benches a large urn holds smooth round pebbles. Those piled around the pole’s base bear witness to prayers. Some larger stones are decorated with childish printing and artwork. Etched rocks tell about the Freedom Trees, two registered American Liberty elms “planted as a patriotic remembrance of the victims and survivors of 9/11/01 by the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania… member of the Central Atlantic Region of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. Funds provided by garden club members and Shell Oil Company. October 11, 2002.” Visit the chapel website at http://www.flt93memorialchapel.org/ | |
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Posted to ProBlogs.com on Monday, January 01, 2007
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