Sep 12, 2002 By Jackie Beranek 3 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – A year after the Sept. 11 attacks, a local minister urged the community Wednesday to continue to be a “lighthouse” for others and continue to reach out to those in need. During a solemn noon service conducted by the Connellsville Area Ministerial Association to remember the victims of last year’s terrorist attacks, the Rev. Kay Kurtz of the Connellsville Church of God said city residents are still mourning the loss of those on Flight 93, but at the same time they are celebrating the heroism of the people on the plane.

“I think it meant more to us because of the close proximity of the city of Connellsville to Somerset County,” Rev. Kurtz told those gathered at First Presbyterian Church. “We know that God guided that plane as well as those people to do what they needed to do that day.”

Rev. Kurtz said even though a year has passed, the pastors as well as the people of Connellsville are still in “a little bit of fear” that something like that could happen again.

“We keep asking ourselves, ‘How is it going to turn out? Do we need to be in fear? Do we need to go about our daily lives?’ That’s just something that we wanted to encourage folks today with this service,” said Rev. Kurtz.

“If there’s one word for today, it is hope,” she added. “Without hope, we can’t carry on, so hope is the key word.”

Rev. Kurtz said she has seen a rise in attendance at her church since last year’s tragedy and that the church will soon begin holding two Sunday morning services to accommodate the congregation.

The Rev. Bruce Storms of Mount Olive Evangelical Church in Bullskin Township said that, despite somewhat sparse attendance, he was pleased with the spirit shown by those attending Wednesday’s service.

“I thought it went very well, but I wish it would have been better attended,” said Rev. Storms. “Having said that, I also need to say that I know it’s difficult for people to get off from work at lunchtime.”

Rev. Storms said the service provided a positive message and was an encouragement to parishioners and their Christian faith. He said that shortly after Sept. 11, he saw some increase in his congregation, but after a couple of months people settled back into normal routines, which is typical of human nature.

“People who did come were a little more serious and a little more thoughtful because of what had happened,” he said. “But, as time goes by and there is some distance between the event, people have a tendency to let old habits fall back into their lives.”

The Rev. Mark Juengel of the host church agreed. He also said that he would have liked to have seen the schools and government offices closed Wednesday so that more people and children could attend the remembrance and anniversary service.

“I would have liked to have seen it done for no other reason than respect,” he said. “It was a solemn day, and I think that we owed it to those who died. This tragedy really affected our society.”

Although he has seen some growth in his congregation over the past year, the pastor said he’s seen more growth in giving.

“People have been touched by what happened and they seem to really want to do something,” he said. “I also think that people have a little bit more sensitivity to what’s going on in the country and in the world.”