Walk for Peace Commemorates Sept. 11

A Sept. 11 interfaith walk for peace drew supporters from the University of Cincinnati, nearby neighborhoods and places of worship as dozens of people walked and paused at religious organizations along Clifton Avenue in a day of remembrance.

The walk to reflect on Sept. 11 began at the Islamic Association of Cincinnati and proceeded along Clifton Avenue to the Hillel Jewish Student Center before turning onto UC’s campus and ending at McMicken Commons.

The interfaith walk for peace was organized by Campus Ministries and led by Paul Sittason Stark, campus pastor for the Wesley Foundation, and Jerry Hill, pastor of Clifton United Methodist Church.

“This is a day we gather together to walk and witness the call for peace,” Stark said.

Among the walkers were those who had attended an overnight vigil held at the St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church. “Peace begins with us in our hearts and in our lives and in our neighborhoods,” said St. John’s Minister Frank Carpenter.

Walker Frances May Brooks, retired assistant dean of student services for University College, also attended the vigil earlier in the morning. Brooks was working at UC the day of the tragedy. Still active in her retirement, she volunteers service for peace causes like the vigil and walk, and she adds that she believes efforts to pursue peace have intensified since the day of the tragedy.

Susan Schroeder remembers she was also at work the day of the attacks, at her job as a counselor at a Clifton mental health and rehabilitation center. “I believe that because of 9-11, we’ve become a lot more aware of what is happening around the world.”

The walkers paused at the Eve fountain at the intersection of Clifton and Ludlow, where they heard words of reflection and prayers from Tibetan Geshe Chogkhan Thubten Tandhar. “The heroes of 9-11 fought the inferno of terrorism with devotion and courage. We, the fighters from religious ‘stations,’ perhaps, need to be more faithful and more courageous in putting out the fire raging within and without. Let us be more faithful to our faith and spirituality.”

The procession crossed Ludlow Avenue to pause at Cincinnati Fire’s Engine Company 34, where four Cincinnati firefighters – Lt. Robert Howell, firefighter Chad Lumpkin, firefighter Ron Evans Jr., and firefighter Craig Boulding greeted the walkers and where retired United Methodist Minister Reginald Olson addressed the crowd. Olsen praised those who “put out fires,” including the fires of war and hatred, commenting on the fall of the Iron Curtain and the peace process in Northern Ireland.

The walkers then continued up Clifton to Hebrew Union College, where the regular morning service paused for prayer with the procession. The next stop was one building that housed three religious organizations: the Lutheran and Presbyterian Campus Ministries and the American Baptist Campus Ministry.

Jeanne Smith, associate director for the Wesley Foundation United Methodist Student Center, shared with the walkers that she is a member of the church’s Deaconess Ministry. “I come from a long tradition of women who have brought the church to the world.”

Smith told the walkers that on Sept. 11, 2001, her fellow Deaconess pastors were providing comfort “when the towers came down” in New York. The Deaconess movement has a home office in New York City. “Today reminds all of those who have worked together through the centuries to bring about peace in their time.”

When the walkers arrived at Hillel, Rabbi Abie Ingber told them they were standing on one of the “Paths of Righteousness” into the Hillel Jewish Student Center. He pointed out that they were standing near a tree planted in memory of Anne Frank – the only tree in the world planted in Anne Frank’s memory by Miep Gies, the protector of the Otto Frank family and the person who found and saved Anne Frank’s diary.

Together, Ingber and the congregation read a prayer of hope. “The God who has implanted within you the power of healing, be with you now and heal you,” he said.

The Rev. Paul Sittason Stark then led the procession on campus to McMicken Commons, calling the stop a public place to gather and work for peace.

UC Professor of Social Work Steve Sunderland, one of the coordinators of the overnight peace vigil, shared a word of parting on this final stop for the walkers. “This is where I teach. I look at the university as a house of peace, where we can work together and make this a place of safety, of excitement and of peace.”

Sunderland asked the walkers that as they mark the Sept. 11 anniversary next year, they reflect on whether their “own houses of peace have become stronger.”