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September 6, 2002
Service
of Remembrance to be Held September 11
Since last fall,
the MHC community has grappled with the terrorist attacks that
killed thousands of people at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,
including Elizabeth M. ("Lisa") Gregg '71 and Kevin
Bracken, husband of Jennifer Liang '90. The community has
grieved together by gathering for candlelight vigils, religious
services, and support sessions. It has sought understanding in
classroom discussions, "teach-ins," and lectures on
terrorism and national security. On the one-year anniversary of
the attacks, students, faculty, and staff will gather once again,
for "A Service of Remembrance," which has been organized
by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. Open to the public,
the service is scheduled for Wednesday, September 11, at 12:15
pm in Abbey Memorial Chapel. The College will also encourage reflection
by ringing bells at the time each plane was struck down on September
11, 2001, and again at noon, in unison with bells at Smith, Hampshire,
and Amherst Colleges and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
"We were together
as a College community last year, just one week into the semester,
when we heard and saw the tragedy, and we gathered then to grieve,
and pray, and try to understand," said Andrea Ayvazian, dean
of religious life. "We want to be together as a community
to mark the day of the attacks, to honor the dead, to grieve,
and to remember."
The thirty-five minute
service will represent the many populations that make up the Mount
Holyoke community, says Ayvazian. It will be interfaith and will
include diverse offerings from alumnae, faculty, students, staff,
and administrators. After opening words from President Joanne
V. Creighton, Professor of Chemistry Sheila Browne will read a
translation of "End and Beginning," a poem by Nobel
Prize–winning Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska, translated
by Joseph Brodsky. Campus chaplains and spiritual advisers will
read or chant sacred texts from Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Jewish,
and Baha'i faith traditions. Linda Fernandes, senior administrative
assistant in the international relations department, will read
"The Message is Love," a meditation on September 11
written by Emily A. Dietrich '85. Kathryn D. Foran '02
and Professor of Spanish and Italian Alberto Sandoval will read
their poems, which are both titled "September 11, 2001."
Music will include
organ pieces by Larry Schipull, associate professor of music,
a meditation on lap harp by Sarah Cutler '03, and Ayvazian's
composition "We Will Remember You." The dean of religious
life will perform her piece
and have the audience join in. The singing will be accompanied
by Mark Gionfriddo, director of jazz ensembles. Barbara Harlow
FP; Thato Sukati '04; Ivy Tillman '83, technical support
and repair consultant; and Cynthia Woerdeman FP will sing the
hymn "This is My Song." Schipull will accompany the
singers. Finally, locksmith Robert Lamothe and groundskeeper Theodore
Hamel will sing "Amazing Grace." The service will close
with a "sending forth" given by Ayvazian and Memory
Bandera '04 and a postlude by Schipull.
Foran's poem,
along with other poems and songs included in the service, can
be found in 9/11/01: Reflections on September 11 from the Mount
Holyoke Community, a booklet of responses to the attacks that
will be available at the service. The collection, compiled by
Eliot House last spring, includes poetry, articles, artwork, journal
entries, and songs submitted by staff members, students, and alumnae
from as far away as Japan.
The
counter is
2,750
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