Remembering September 11

Tomorrow marks the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of 2,996 people. Among those lost were 30 members of the Boston University community. An online memorial contains photos and bios of all of those victims and a photo slideshow of memorial services held around the University in the weeks following the attacks.

September 11 has become a national day of service and remembrance. Several events are being held in and around Boston tomorrow and Sunday to commemorate the anniversary. Below is a listing.

Saturday, September 11
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the American Red Cross, the city of Boston, and the Boston Red Sox hold their eighth annual 9/11 Day of Remembrance Blood Drive at Fenway Park. The blood drive is the largest single-day, multi-location blood drive in New England, according to the American Red Cross.

To make an appointment to give blood, eligible donors should call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or can sign up online.

The Boston-area event will take place at Fenway Park, Gate D4, Yawkey Way, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. More information is available here.

The Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund hosts an event at the Mothers’ Walk on the Rose Kennedy Greenway to honor those men and women serving in the military. Volunteers will put together care packages, write letters of support to active duty service members, and participate in a pledge drive for the families supported by the Fund.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston. More information is available here.

MassFund is a local nonprofit organization that provides support for families of the victims of 9/11. On Saturday, the organization has organized the Massachusetts 9/11 Fund Ninth Anniversary Commemorative Services, a series of events to mark the anniversary.

7:30 a.m. Wreath-laying ceremony in the Boston Public Garden, September 11 Contemplative Garden, Arlington Street entrance

8:30 a.m. Flag-lowering, moment of silence, and reading of names at the Massachusetts State House lawn, 24 Beacon St.

9:30 a.m. Commemoration Observation and Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery presentation at the House Chamber in the Massachusetts State House

Sunday, September 12
Photographer and psychotherapist Krystyna Sanderson presents her series Light from Ground Zero at Boston’s Trinity Church. For the nine months following 9/11, Sanderson was the official photographer at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, located less than 100 yards from Ground Zero in New York City. In the months following the terrorist attacks, the church became a place for police, firefighters, National Guard members, engineers, construction workers, and other relief workers to rest between shifts. Sanderson’s images capture these men and women.

Visitors to Trinity Church can alsojoin in a choral remembrance at the 11:15 a.m. prayer service, as the choir sings “Faire Is the Heaven,” an arrangement by William Harris of the Edmund Spenser poem. The motet is offered in remembrance of all the lives lost on September 11.

Lights from Ground Zero begins at 10:15 a.m. and the choral remembrance begins at 11:15 a.m., both at Trinity Church, 206 Clarendon St., Boston.

Amy Laskowski can be reached at amlaskow@bu.edu; follow her on Twitter at @amlaskow.