Vigils, memorials throughout region mark 15th anniversary of 9/11

PHOTOGRAPHER: Erica Miller

Audience during the Saratoga Springs 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at High Rock Park on Sept. 11, 2016.

Vigils, memorials and tributes were held across the Capital Region on Sunday to mark the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In Amsterdam, Saratoga Springs, Glenville, Schenectady and elsewhere, community members gathered to look back on the attacks 15 years ago that killed nearly 3,000 people. Some events focused more heavily on honoring first responders, some focused more on the victims and their families and others took note of the servicemen who have served in the war on terror that followed the attacks.

Community members had the opportunity to reflect in a unique way during the Walk for Peace at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Schenectady. The congregation hosted a labyrinth walk on Sunday afternoon in the courtyard outside its building.

The activity involves a brick labyrinth laid out on the ground. Visitors could take their time winding through the maze formed by different colored bricks, praying or reflecting as they walked, said Pat Jones, the deacon of the church.

“It seems like a good time for anyone to use the labyrinth for whatever purpose they feel fit,” she said.

Sunday marked the first time the church had done a Walk for Peace event for Sept. 11, Jones said. A few people had filtered in and out to walk the labyrinth during the afternoon. The space was available throughout the day for those who wanted to use the labyrinth for reflection, she added.

The labyrinth has just one path from the outside to the center, so visitors could take as much time as they wanted meandering through it while praying or contemplating.

Another memorial was held in Schenectady later in the evening at the Bridge Church on Crane Street.

Elsewhere in the Capital Region, larger groups gathered to pay tribute and remember those lost 15 years ago. Dozens of people, including members of the armed forces and law enforcement, came to the 9/11 memorial at the Waters Edge Lighthouse in Glenville. They gathered along the banks of the Mohawk River outside the restaurant starting at 5 p.m. to pay their respects.

The memorial at Waters Edge features steel beams taken from Ground Zero and a flag that flew over one of the buildings destroyed in the attack.

Another memorial constructed using five pieces of twisted steel from the World Trade Center stands in Saratoga Springs. A remembrance ceremony was held there early in the day.

Reach Gazette reporter Brett Samuels at 395-3113, [email protected] or @Brett_Samuels27 on Twitter.