This past week I had the honor to participate in a new form of Avodah. On October 31st, I had the privilege to spend a long but extraordinary day in New York City at "Ground Zero," or "The Rock" as the workers called it. Here are are just a few of my experiences and reflections on the day, and the powerful presence of God and life-giving signs even amid the reality of horror and destruction.

My job, as part of a team of volunteers from our Presbytery in New Jersey, was to help St. Paul's Chapel in its ministry to serve the emergency workers at Ground Zero. St. Paul's, as you may know, is a place of many miracles. Built in 1766, it's the oldest public building in continuous use on the island of Manhattan, the only remaining colonial church, and the place where George Washington worshipped on his inauguration day in 1789. While all the other buildings in and around the "red zone" were devastated or at least severely damaged, St. Paul's Chapel suffered no more than a few broken panes of glass.

Since 9/11 the Chapel has been transformed from a house of worship to a house of work - serving the emergency crews who labor 24/7 on the site. Avodah. Staffed by a small but dedicated team, and supported by daily volunteers and donations, it has morphed into a new place of hope, healing, and help. Avodah. At its peak, they served over 3000 emergency workers in a single day. We served 650 people during my 12 hour shift. Avodah. The police, fire department, National Guard, Con Ed, Verizon, and other official emergency workers come inside for physical and spiritual nurture; hot food, coffee, clothes, beds, massage therapists, chiropractors and podiatrists for the body, while prayer, counseling, a hug, and a smile were there to help heal the soul. Avodah.

The Chapel has become a shrine of grieving, anger, love, and hope (see: www.trinitywallstreet.org/photos.html). Inside, the sanctuary is bedecked with greetings, cards, paintings, posters, and prayer slips from all over the nation, and yes the world. One woman from a church in Massachusetts asked me to put a deck of prayer cards, all handwritten by her congregation, inside. I felt as if I were placing prayer slips into the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Outside, the metal gate is covered in a similar fashion. One of the jobs my friend Larry and I had was to hang up two huge (16'x16') blank canvases for passersby to write their thoughts. Within 3-4 hours each canvas was filled with thousands of tiny scrawled messages in dozens of languages. Amazing, that nearly two months after the attack, family, co-workers, strangers, citizens, and foreigners are still flocking to Ground Zero, with a deep need to connect viscerally, emotionally, and spiritually to the experience, and to leave a thought or a prayer behind. The filled canvasses are being kept for later use in some form of memorial.

After dark, near the end of my 12-hour shift, I spent some time walking around The Rock, talking with policemen and fire workers. It is a massive site, the World Trade Center complex alone covers 16 acres. Wearing my chaplain's badge, several emergency workers poured out their feelings. One police officer shared how he had become a follower of Jesus about five years ago, and that was the only thing that gave him hope, and not a desire for revenge. He spoke of experiencing reduced levels of tension between civilians and police, of reduced ethnic and racial tension, and of new chances for trust and hope.

After talking with the officer, I walked over to the center of The Rock and stood by myself where Tower One once stood. I looked into the night. Steam rose from still smoldering fires. Despite water sprinkler trucks, dust and a certain stench like burning clay filled my nostrils and pores. I knelt, held a few bits of broken concrete in my hands, looked into the crater before me, and said a prayer. Then I stood up, looked outward, slowly turning 360 degrees to see the ripple effects of destruction. All the TV cameras look in from the outside. Here I was inside looking outward and upward. I looked up into the dark of the sky to the bright shining full moon and a few stars. I said another prayer.

Finally, as I turned to leave The Rock and return to St. Paul's Chapel, I spoke with a Red Cross worker. She described to me how construction workers had found two massive steel beams in the rubble. These were no ordinary twisted, mangled metal beams like most found amid the devastating explosion. In an incredible fashion, one long steel beam pierced the other slightly shorter beam and fused together in the form of a perfect cross. Workers hoisted it near the remains of Tower Two and the Cross now watches over the Rock.

May God watch over you in your own place of work and worship - your own Avodah...

An Unusual Time (12/19/01)