Basking Ridge Church Marks 25th Anniversary of September 11 with Two Days of Remembrance

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — Bishop Janes United Methodist Church will observe the twenty-fifth anniversary of September 11 across two days, beginning with an open sanctuary Friday morning and concluding with a Sunday worship service given entirely to the anniversary.

On Friday, September 11, the sanctuary at 22 South Finley Avenue will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for personal prayer.

At noon, the church will hold a thirty-minute midday prayer service. The names of the Bernards Township residents who died on September 11, 2001 will be read aloud. All are welcome. No church affiliation is expected.

Also on Friday, the church will install an interfaith prayer wall at the Lyons train station, beside the existing memorial plaque bearing the names of the township's dead. The wall is intended to be a place for community members and commuters to stop and reflect. Its center is left open for handwritten prayers, echoing the paper-covered fences and station walls that appeared across the region in the weeks after the attacks. Prayers from seven traditions run down its sides. The wall stands through the weekend with permission from NJ Transit.

On Sunday, September 13, worship at 9:30 a.m. will be devoted to the anniversary. Every prayer written at the Lyons wall will be placed on the altar. A survivor who was inside the South Tower on September 11, 2001 will join Pastor Dave Tillisch in sharing the message.

"For a lot of years now, the observance has felt routine," said Tillisch, senior pastor at Bishop Janes and chaplain to the Basking Ridge Fire Company. "Twenty-five years doesn't. It's long enough to ask real questions: are we where we wanted to be? Where does God want us to go from here?"

Bishop Janes United Methodist Church has served Basking Ridge since 1853. Worship is Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and is livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.