At 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks, Christians in North Carolina, New York and across U.S. take time to reflect on the lives lost.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
MOCKSVILLE, N.C. — Carolina Bible Camp’s all-day bluegrass festival Saturday was a time for pickin’, fellowship and remembrance.
Hundreds of bluegrass fans converged on the rustic camp, about 60 miles north of Charlotte, to hear artists such as Scythian, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers and His & Hers.
But before the banjos, mandolins and guitars took over the wooden stage — normally the camp dining hall’s front porch — the crowd paused to reflect on the 2,977 lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Related: At 20th anniversary of 9/11, faith remains a big part of the story
“This is a very important day in our nation’s history — the 20th anniversary of 9/11,” Dennis Conner, minister for the Brooks Avenue Church of Christ in Raleigh, told attendees seated in folding chairs on the lawn. “We’re just blessed and thankful to God that we continue to enjoy our freedoms and the way of life that we have here.”
On a sunny day with high temperatures in the 70s, red, white and blue ribbons adorned hay bales and wooden planks as a group called Wilkes Seniors on Stage sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Talitha Vickers, news reporter and anchor for WXII-TV in Winston-Salem, led the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.
This story appears in the October edition of The Christian Chronicle.
The Ross News 