A Community of 9/11 Families, Friends & Concerned Citterns

Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey

The 220th Convention

The Diocese of New Jersey

The Rt. Rev. George E. Councell Bishop

Second oldest diocese in the Episcopal Church, The Diocese of New Jersey today is one of the largest in terms of number of parishes, missions and diversity. .

A Resolution in support of the WTCFFPB Mission was passed at the convention.

RESOLUTION 2004-1

Subject:     Concerning the World Trade Center Victims

Whereas, The unprovoked attack on the United States carried out by international terrorists on September 11, 2001 against targets in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia, resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people, injury to countless others and the destruction of innumerable lives; and

Whereas, Among the victims of this depraved act were civilian and government workers, military personnel, airline passengers and crew members, and police officers, firefighters, and paramedics, many of whom reside in this State; and

Whereas, The remains of many victims of the World Trade Center attacks were never located; and

Whereas, The ash from the World Trade Center site, which contains the remains of victims of September 11, 2001, has been held at Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, New York; and

Whereas, It is fitting and proper for the State and City of New York to honor the victims of September 11, 2001 by returning their ashes to the site of a memorial at the World Trade Center in their honor, or a suitable resting place other then a landfill; and

Whereas, The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey understands that the right to a proper burial is fundamental to the healing process and should be accorded to the victims of  the September 11, 2001 attack upon the WTC; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That this 220th Convention of the Diocese of New Jersey go on record as supporting and endorsing the request of the September 11 Family members, to have the ashen remains of those lost on September 11, 2001 to be retrieved from their temporary internment in a land fill and be given a proper burial and laid to rest as part of the healing process For all Americans, and it be

Further Resolved, That, as we continually pray in the Diocese of New Jersey for all those lost, the Secretary of Convention forward a copy of this Resolution to the Hon. Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the New York State Assembly, to the Hon. Joseph L. Bruno, Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, to the Hon. George E. Pataki, Governor of the State of New York, to the Hon. Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, to the Episcopal Diocese of New York, to Mr. Joseph J. Seymour, Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to the Hon. James E. McGreevey, Governor of New Jersey, President  George Bush,  and to the Standing Commission on National Concerns of The Episcopal Church..

Submitted by: Mr. Thomas J. Meehan, III, Trinity Church , Woodbridge .

Statement in Support of Resolution 2004-1 by Proposer:

My name is Thomas J. Meehan III, the father of Colleen Ann Meehan Barkow, age 26, who perished in the attack upon the WTC on September 11, 2001 .  Colleen was an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald, working on the 103rd floor. Her partial remains (upper torso) were found on September 17, 2001 , the date which was to have been her first wedding anniversary.  My wife and I continue to be filled with the anguish of her death, the manner in which she died, her unviewable remains, her dismemberment, and the tragic death she suffered.  I share these facts so that you may understand why our lives have not returned to "normal".

In the aftermath of the loss of so many lives, my wife JoAnn and I have become advocates to ensure that the lives lost are not forgotten.  Families of those lost on 9/11/01 still speak in terms of body parts found and not found and of what will never be found, that we live with the tortured images of how our loved ones perished, their dismemberment, the man­ner in which they died, the place of their death, and the tragedy of their loss.  The knowl­edge that their ashen remains and bone fragments have been left in a landfill called Fresh Kills, on 40 acres in Staten Island , is why I write to you today.  We are left with no place to vist, pray, or honor their memories.

The right to a proper burial is part of the healing process; it marks a distinct point in the grieving process that those who have lost loved ones must travel. Almost a third of the victims were residents of New Jersey, and their families are still in pain and anguish as they try to cope with the emptiness of their lives — the lost spouses, children, siblings, and life partners that perished on September 11, 2001.

The WTC Families for Proper Burial seek to correct this injustice.  More information is available at their website www.WTCFamiliesForProperBurial.com.

As members of Trinity Church , Woodbridge , we offer this resolution for all of the victims of the September 11 tragedy.  It has the endorsement of our parish priest, the Rev'd Robert L. Counselman.  I hope that the diocese will extend its support, prayers, and acknowl­edge­­ment of this injustice, and offer their acknowledgement of this issue, by passing this resolution.