Janet Vincent is the rector of St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Northwest Washington. Before moving to the District five years ago, she served in White Plains, N.Y., only 25 miles away from Ground Zero. On Sept. 11, 2001, she rang church bells to call people to gather, and watched the church fill with mourning souls. In the weeks that followed, she found herself ministering to those who had lost loved ones and comrades, often visiting the scene of the attacks to accompany those who retrieved body parts, to bless remains and to comfort firefighters. She spoke to The Washington Examiner about that tragic day and what she has learned, 10 years later. Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?
I’m a Christian. What I most appreciate about Christianity is our belief in a God who takes on human flesh and shares our experiences, including human suffering, and who offers us a way of transformation and peace-building.
What spiritual lesson did people take away from Sept. 11?
I don’t think there was one spiritual lesson. I think for some they took away nothing — the experience was so overwhelming. For others they took away hope — hope from the people who came from all over the country to help in the recovery efforts. I think everyone who was there gained a deep sense of the fragility of life. And finally, many people came away with the sense that they wanted their lives to be about peace and justice and not about hate and destruction.
What did Sept. 11 teach you specifically?
The most poignant lesson for me was that I realized just how important it is to be a priest and a Christian and to offer oneself in service, even when one isn’t sure what one can do. Being there is what matters.
In an earlier interview you said that in the weeks after the attacks, if Osama bin Laden had been standing in front of you and you had a gun, you would have pulled the trigger. Do you still feel that way?
No, that feeling passed within a few months, but it was my initial feeling of rage. The news of his death did not bring me any joy. I think my feelings are nuanced on that. I did not feel joy, but I did not feel sad, either. He was the perpetrator of a monstrous act who showed no regret or compassion for the people whose lives he destroyed totally.
You practice Ignatian spirituality, which teaches that God is in everything — work, friendships, church, art, nature, everyday life. Where did you find God in 9/11?
I found God in the people I met, but also in the rubble and the remains of those buildings. And in the end I felt a deep connection to the living and the dead of that place. And in that connection — quite improbably, one might think — there was Christ, continuing to offer the open arms of love and asking me not to be afraid of what I was experiencing and to trust that love is enough.
Many thought at the time that if there were a God, 9/11 would not have happened. Have you found a response to that?
No, I think to respond to that in some formulaic way is to do violence to someone who’s already grieving. Being there, and allowing someone their full grief, is the gift one has to offer.
Some say religion is to blame for 9/11, because religious fanatics carried out the attacks. What do you say to that?
Sadly, religion has sometimes been the source of bigotry and evil, because human beings populate the world’s religions. But those same religions hold within them the promise of transformation of human life. So I’m holding out for the transformation part.
On this 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11, what do you want people to remember?
I would hope that we would remember that our first response to 9/11 was to come together, to hold each other, to look for each other’s company, and that our second response may have been one of fear that led to two wars. But it’s not too late to remember the first impulse — to come together, to gather, to serve. Those responses will lead us to peace.
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
Love triumphs over evil and death. So stay on the side of love.
– Liz Essley
– Liz Essley
