SLO commemorates first responders on 25th anniversary of 9/11

Nearly 3,000 lives were taken in acts of terror and tragedy, and today God, we pause to honor every life lost, every family member whose life has been forever changed, every survivor who still carries the weight of that day, and every first responder who ran toward danger so that others might live. Lord, as we stand here at this memorial, it preserves the steel from the World Trade Center and bears witness to 403 emergency responders who made the ultimate sacrifice. May we never lose sight of the cost of courage, the weight of service, and the sacred responsibility to always remember. We remember where we were, we remember the first reports, we remember watching the images and trying to understand what we were seeing. As we remember the realization that this was not simply a terrible accident, our country was under attack. I hope as we remember, we place these roses on the steel, that we remember, just for a moment, think about the sacrifice that was made. And I hope that we remember today, and going forward, to be willing to open our homes, to provide food, to provide help, whatever that is, when our neighbor needs it, or something as horrible as 9-11 is to happen again.