St. James Church, 5185 Castor Ave., held its annual Service of Remembrance on Sept. 11 to mark the 23rd anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
The service featured the singing of the national anthem, God Bless America, America the Beautiful and Amazing Grace.
The Revs. Gabe Wang-Herrera, of By Grace Alone, and John Sweet, of Frankford Presbyterian Church, lit 23 candles.
There were remarks by Pastor Paul Andell, of St. James; the Rev. Larry Fowler, of Northeast Liberty Lutheran Church; and the Rev. Larry King, of Second Baptist Church.
“We gather to remember, lest we forget,” Andell said.
The office of state Sen. Tina Tartaglione presented a citation.
Eva Parisi read the words of Lisa Beamer, widow of Todd Beamer, who was a passenger on a plane that crashed into a field in Somerset County. Beamer and some other passengers and two stewardesses decided to attack the hijackers, with Beamer famously saying, “Let’s roll.” Their actions saved the plane from being flown into either the White House or the Capitol.
There were two Northeast natives killed on Sept. 11, 2001. Alisha Levin, of Castor Gardens, and Peter Ortale, of Northwood, both died when a plane crashed into the World Trade Center South Tower, where they worked. Ortale grew up on the 4900 block of Castor Ave., two blocks from St. James. ••
