September 11 Community
2022 Calling Of The Names Ceremony
Honoring All Deceased 9/11 Rescue and Recovery Effort Responders and Volunteers who came to help during the nine-month Rescue and Recovery Effort at the World Trade Center site following the attacks of September 11th, 2001. By calling their names we invoke their memory and call out our gratitude for their service. All 9/11 Responders will be remembered regardless of the reason for their death.
WHEN: Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 2:00PM
WHERE: St. Paul's Chapel NYC
WEBCAST: Watch here
SUBMIT NAMES: Please submit names of any deceased 9/11 Rescue & Recovery Effort Responder's and Volunteers by clicking here
The Laughter Saves Lives Foundation, a 501(c)3, is our fiscal conduit; contributions for Calling Of The Names made through LSL are tax-deductible. Write on your donation, "Contribution for Calling Of The Names". Your support makes all of this possible, including our programs and beautiful commemorative pins. Gifts of any size are appreciated; thank you.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact Ceremony Director, Barbara Horn: director@callingofthenames.org
Your gifts make this annual ceremony possible.
Donations of any amount are gratefully appreciated.
Thanks to Laughter Saves Lives Foundation for accepting donations on behalf of the
Calling Of The Names Ceremony and providing proof of your tax-deductible gifts.
Laughter Saves Lives Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing assistance to First Responders trying to overcome financial hardship due to an unforeseen tragedy or illness.
Thank you again for your generosity.
HOW WE BEGAN
As the 15th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks approached, three volunteers from the 2001-2002 St. Paul's Chapel World Trade Center Relief Ministry - Chester Johnson, Ralph Farris, and Barbara Horn - created the first Calling Of the Names Ceremony. Their intention: to honor all deceased 9/11 Rescue and Recovery Workers and Volunteers who came to help in the days, weeks, and months following the September 11th, 2001 attacks. They felt it meaningful to do so on the anniversary itself and at historic St. Paul's Chapel where many responders found respite during the nine-month Rescue and Recovery Effort. Two important decisions were made immediately: first, to call each Responder by name and affiliation, for example, Firefighter, Police Officer, Sanitation Worker, Iron Worker, etc.; and second, that their name would be called regardless of what caused their death.
The WTC complex was considered this country’s most dangerous construction site ever. For nine months, Responders labored at their own peril. They put themselves in harm’s way in order to save survivors, restore safety and security to the complex and find as many remains as possible for the families of those lost. Their determination and dedication allowed many families to put their loved ones to rest.
Responders’ Families: Your love and encouragement sustained the workers. You are the reason they were able to do what they did. Our nation is forever in your debt.
Read More
St. Paul's Chapel
A poem by J. Chester Johnson
It stood. Not a window broken.
Not a stone dislodged.
it stood when nothing else did.
It stood when terrorists brought September down.
it stood among myths. It stood among ruins.
To stand was its purpose, long lines prove that.
It stands, and around it now, a shrine of letters,
poems, acrostics, litter of the heart.
lt is the standing people want:
To grieve, serve and tend
celebrate the lasting stone of St. Paul's Chapel.
And deep into its thick breath, the largest banner
fittingly from Oklahoma climbs heavenward
with hands as stars, hands as stripes, hands as a flag;
and a rescuer reaches for a stuffed toy
to collect a touch;
and George Washington's pew doesn't go unused.
Charity fills a hole or two.
It stood in place of other sorts.
lt stood when nothing else could.
The great had fallen, as the brute hardware came down.
It stood.