Crime & Safety

9/11 Prayer Service 'Cathartic' for Speakers, Audience

The Burlington County 200 Club will hold its 11th annual 9/11 memorial service at Trinity Episcopal Church in Moorestown next week.

For some, Sept. 11, 2001, might be a day they’d just as soon forget. But for Pete Clifford, it’s critical to remember.

Clifford, president of the Burlington County 200 Club, which hosts the annual 9/11 Memorial Prayer Service, said, “This is a broad statement, but we as Americans get complacent … I want to remove that complacency, because (9/11) is a major portion of the history of this country.”

The 200 Club—a nonprofit group dedicated to providing financial assistance to families of fallen or injured first responders—will hold the special service, now in its 11th year, at 7:30 a.m. next Tuesday (Sept. 11) at .

The guest speakers for the service include Richard P. Quinn, assistant special agent in charge of the Philadelphia division of the FBI, as well as a Medford Lakes resident who was working in the North Tower of the World Trade Center the morning of Sept. 11.

Jack Smith, vice president of the 200 Club, said the resident—who he chose not to name—was working on the 74th floor when American Airlines Flight 11 plowed into the building. He escaped unscathed, and walked 40 blocks to the Hudson River to catch the ferry back to New Jersey.

“He is very appreciative of the emergency services that responded that day,” Smith said of the speaker. “He knows the toll it took on them.”

One of the primary purposes of the prayer service is to recognize the emergency responders who turned out that day, as well as all emergency service workers everywhere.

“We’re also remembering the others that died,” said Clifford, who explained the service is as much for those at the lectern as it is for those in the audience.

“It’s very cathartic to (the speakers),” said Clifford, , “because it reinforces the impact (of that day). It validates their feelings. It validates their patriotism. It validates them as Americans.”

The service is open to the public, as is the breakfast that follows.

For more information about the Burlington County 200 Club, visit their website at burlco200club.org.


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