Remembering 9-11: Services held in Bowdon, Carrollton
10 months ago | 544 views | 1 
| 7 
| 
| 
| 7 | |
Rain wasn’t going to keep Joan Barrow from the 9-11 remembrance services in Bowdon Friday.
“Today, we had rain in New York. So everybody just walked in the rain today. God was crying, too,” said Barrow. “We need to keep remembering what happened on 9-11 and we need to keep vigilant,”
The plans originally called for a walk from The Meeting Place near the Bowdon High School to the City Hall but because of the rain it was cancelled. A few hardy souls, like Barrow, still decided to walk to the ceremony.
Paul Aust, commander of the Carrollton Post of the American Legion, led the ceremony again this year. A retired veteran of the Army reserves, Aust was spurred into organizing the city’s first ceremony last year after reading a report that said young children don’t understand the significance of the attacks or the scope — many only know about the two hijacked airplanes that hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. They don’t know about the plane that crashed into the Pentagon or the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. They don’t understand how significant the death toll of more than 3,000 people is.
“Just imagine a community this size wiped off the map, and the impact that had on the country,” Aust said.
Jimmy Meigs, Bowdon’s city manager, read a proclamation declaring Sept. 11 be a day to remember the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks.
Meigs remembers watching in disbelief as the planes flew into the twin towers that morning eight years ago.
“We suffered through an unprovoked attack by Muslim terrorists,” Meigs said. “We didn’t ask for it and I just think it’s important that we remember it.”
David Roop is constantly reminded of the date because the attacks happened on his birthday. He was in a restaurant when he heard about the first plane crash and saw the second crash on television when he got home.
“I remember it very well, sure do,” Roop said. “I at first thought it was an accident, the first one. The second one of course I didn’t think it was an accident. I really didn’t know what to think. I couldn’t believe it. It was just outrageous. By that time the news media had sort of figured out that it was a terrorist attack.”
Carrollton held a ceremony, Cry Out America, on the Carroll County Courthouse steps at noon. The rain had turned to drizzle and about 25 people showed up to listen to the prayers and readings to focus not only on remembering but healing for the nation.
The Carrollton service was one of many that was being held across the nation, said Sara Popphan, who arranged the local service. The event was not just a remembrance of the Sept. 11 victims, but a call for the nation to turn back to God.
“The greater threat confronting us is our departure from God,” Popphan said. “We need a spiritual awakening in our nation. We need to come back to a first love for Jesus.”
Rev. Steven Peeples, pastor of Roopville Baptist Church, was at the service to pray for the lost in the community.
“We certainly need to keep the awareness not only in our community, but in our families, churches, that we don’t lose sight of the freedoms that we have and to do all that we can to maintain those freedoms at all costs,” Peeples said.
“Today, we had rain in New York. So everybody just walked in the rain today. God was crying, too,” said Barrow. “We need to keep remembering what happened on 9-11 and we need to keep vigilant,”
The plans originally called for a walk from The Meeting Place near the Bowdon High School to the City Hall but because of the rain it was cancelled. A few hardy souls, like Barrow, still decided to walk to the ceremony.
Paul Aust, commander of the Carrollton Post of the American Legion, led the ceremony again this year. A retired veteran of the Army reserves, Aust was spurred into organizing the city’s first ceremony last year after reading a report that said young children don’t understand the significance of the attacks or the scope — many only know about the two hijacked airplanes that hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. They don’t know about the plane that crashed into the Pentagon or the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. They don’t understand how significant the death toll of more than 3,000 people is.
“Just imagine a community this size wiped off the map, and the impact that had on the country,” Aust said.
Jimmy Meigs, Bowdon’s city manager, read a proclamation declaring Sept. 11 be a day to remember the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks.
Meigs remembers watching in disbelief as the planes flew into the twin towers that morning eight years ago.
“We suffered through an unprovoked attack by Muslim terrorists,” Meigs said. “We didn’t ask for it and I just think it’s important that we remember it.”
David Roop is constantly reminded of the date because the attacks happened on his birthday. He was in a restaurant when he heard about the first plane crash and saw the second crash on television when he got home.
“I remember it very well, sure do,” Roop said. “I at first thought it was an accident, the first one. The second one of course I didn’t think it was an accident. I really didn’t know what to think. I couldn’t believe it. It was just outrageous. By that time the news media had sort of figured out that it was a terrorist attack.”
Carrollton held a ceremony, Cry Out America, on the Carroll County Courthouse steps at noon. The rain had turned to drizzle and about 25 people showed up to listen to the prayers and readings to focus not only on remembering but healing for the nation.
The Carrollton service was one of many that was being held across the nation, said Sara Popphan, who arranged the local service. The event was not just a remembrance of the Sept. 11 victims, but a call for the nation to turn back to God.
“The greater threat confronting us is our departure from God,” Popphan said. “We need a spiritual awakening in our nation. We need to come back to a first love for Jesus.”
Rev. Steven Peeples, pastor of Roopville Baptist Church, was at the service to pray for the lost in the community.
“We certainly need to keep the awareness not only in our community, but in our families, churches, that we don’t lose sight of the freedoms that we have and to do all that we can to maintain those freedoms at all costs,” Peeples said.
We are so forgetful of what happened on 9-11-2001, that we don't really care until the next time it happens.
If my people who are called by MY NAME would repent and turn from their wicked ways, I will heal their land.