Flt 93 Chapel
www.Flt93MemorialChapel.org
Boulevard of Heroes
P. O. Box 142
Shanksville, PA    15560

 

 

Flt 93 Chapel is a spiritual Memorial dedicated to the Memory of the Heroes of  Flight 93 and all who lost their lives on September Eleventh.    Flt 93 was described in the days following the September attack on America as the “forgotten flight” that crashed “in rural Pennsylvania south west of Pittsburgh”.

 The Chapel building is located on the road leading to Shanksville, popularly called “Boulevard of Heroes.”  Here in Somerset County, relatives and friends of those on board Flight 93 found friends and an entire population from which to receive support, prayers and good wishes.  The immediacy of the appearance of the “Popular Memorial” on the streets of Shanksville while the Impact Site was cordoned off from the public testifies to the heartfelt and genuine response of local citizens.  The continual demonstration of prayerful best wishes at the Unofficial Temporary Site testifies to the profoundly religious nature of so many who come to visit.  The apparent deep spiritual religious nature of the response of so many is evident in the testimonials left by those who come to pay their respects to the Heroes of   Flight 93.

 During late October, the Chapel was offered for sale.  Immediately the opportunity to develop a spiritual religious memorial became available.  It is evident, given the present inclination of so many to institute lawsuits demanding the removal of anything even remotely suggestive of religion or faith in God on public land, that eventually, when the Temporary Memorial becomes a permanent civil memorial, the testimonies of prayers, religious symbols, crosses, rosaries, or anything else indicative of religious sentiment presently so prominently displayed at the temporary memorial probably would be removed and the developing practice of displaying them would cease.

 If there was a need for a religious expression in response to the Experience of September Eleventh, then it would need to be located on private property, and not impinge in any way upon the Sacred Memory of the Heroes of Flight 93.  The location of the Chapel is sufficiently removed from the actual Impact Site that there would be no sense of obligatory imposition of either the symbol of the building, nor even of its purpose on any who visit the Site.  Stopping or visiting such a remote location would obviously be deliberate and voluntary.  The acquisition of the Chapel property was completed in January, 2002.  The Chapel is presently undergoing renovation and reconstruction to prepare it for a Memorial Chapel primarily dedicated to the memory of the Heroes of Flight 93.

 The Chapel is intended to be a place of peace, reflection and prayer.  In order to be a place truly open, the Chapel is a nondenominational secular Chapel.  It might not be possible for any religious organization, or even board of directors of such an organization to be true to its own charter and still establish or maintain a “Chapel of All Faiths”.  The Chapel is planned to be void of religious symbols, images, statues or ikons.  The Chapel will be open to all who care to visit, or to spend time to pray or reflect on faith in God in American history and in the lives of the Founding Fathers and other great Patriots and Statesmen.

 The Chapel will enshrine Memorial Tablets, primarily the forty names of the Heroes of Flight 93, and the names of public leaders and officials prominent in the Recovery of America.

 The theme of the Chapel is One Nation Under God.  Services and ceremonies will celebrate the American Spirit.  The purpose of the Chapel is to proliferate the Message of the Heroes of Flight 93.  That their memory will never be forgotten, that their great accomplishment will become a treasure in the hearts of all who come to visit, and that the part of our experience which can be only described in terms of “faith” and “faith in God” as the enduring grace and source of strength and consolation for so many Americans will have a sanctuary wherein to express their faith and faith experiences.

 The Chapel will present a multi-media program: three themes of Thunder on the Mountain, the Message of Flight 93, God Bless America, the expression of faith in God throughout American History and America the Beautiful, a personal rededication to the principles of American democracy.  Other programs will encourage citizens to register and vote, to participate in the American process, to dedicate themselves to the President’s invitation for American’s to pledge to serve the Nation through voluntary public service.  Additionally, visitors will be provided with information and be encouraged to support Law Enforcement Agencies, Public Officials and Service Organizations, Fire Fighters, Emergency Response Teams.  In effect, to become involved and committed as a way of preserving and honoring the Legacy of Flight 93 and all those who perished that September Day.

 Presently, status as a non-profit organization is being investigated.  The Chapel is privately owned, has no religious affiliation and is open to all.  Ministers, members of the clergy and other religious leaders who wish to conduct services, to which the local public will be invited, are welcome to do so.  Religious accessories appropriate to their needs will be provided during their service and will be removed to a non-public area until needed.  Other religious and secular services will be scheduled according to dates referencing the September Eleventh Experience, Sunday’s and National Holidays with the themes of God Bless America and America the Beautiful.

 

Rev. Alphonse T. Mascherino, Director