St. Paul's Chapel : Guestbook

Welcome to the St. Paul's Virtual Guest Book! Here you will find snapshots of our recent guests and events, as well as selected excerpts from the many thousands of messages and greetings we receive.

We invite you to browse through these mementos and to use the form at the bottom of this page to submit a message about your own visit to St. Paul's.

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Stephanie
Bonney Lake - July 1, 2008
i was just there on a mission trip and on the rememberence wall there was a poem about a dad that died and i read that poem and was crying for a long time and i would like to read the poem again.

Ruby Alvey
Louisville, Ky - June 27, 2008
My son, who is a firefighter, and I took a trip to NYC the 1st week of Septemeber 2007. We went to the WTC site, and visited St. Paul's. How humbling it was to see the firefighter's coat, helmet and boots in the pew and to see all the pictures of the people displayed on the memorial. We lit a candle in memory of them, and we hope to visit again. It was very peaceful in the church, and we were overcome with emotion. God bless and keep each and every person who perished that fateful day and may peace be brought to thier families.

Elisha Kanikannan Elavarasu
Jesus for every soul ministry,Prayer Fort,PO Box4234,Bangalore 560043 INDIA - June 27, 2008
We are Connecting 1 Million Prayer Partners Worldwide they will be Praying for You,Your Family and all Your Ministreis.May God Richly Bless You. Thank You Very much Elisha K.Elavarasu India

Donna LeMaster
California - June 26, 2008
God bless you all! May he continue to bless and keep you in his tender mercy.

nery
north miami fl - June 26, 2008
in memory of fire fighter who lost his life on 9/11- Nelson J. Garcia- WE WILL NEVER FORGET- on behalf of your family - it is still hollow grounds

Madison Holston
OKC, Oklahoma - June 25, 2008
Myself, some family, and friends visited St. Paul's last week, and I just wanted to say how beautiful your Chapel is and how proud I am to be from Oklahoma. New York too will over come this terrible tragedy, but the memories will forever live on. God Bless

Francis Osborne
Los Angeles - June 21, 2008
That St. Paul's should survive the Great Fire of 1776 and the tragedy of 9/11 to be vandalized in such a manner is unspeakable. Gone is the chapel's balance and calm: by turning worshippers away from the light- filled sanctuary built by McBean, (a legacy, through James Gibbs, of Wren) your 'liturgical architect' has turned Manhattan's most peaceful sacred space into a multi-purpose room; an act which verges on desecration. Though in God's perfect scheme this is unimportant, it is a shame and a pity nonetheless. Lay aside cunning ideas and resume wholehearted worship. "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes."

Rev. William Beaver
Haddock, Georgia USA - June 17, 2008
I was in the Chapel that stood a couple of weeks ago with the Mercer Children's Choir from Macon, Georgia. I was initially moved by the cemetery in the front of the chapel and the history I discovered there. Once inside, I was deeply moved again by the exhibit of George Washington's pew, and the teddy bears, and the letters from children, and the banners, and the patches of fire departments. As I read more and more about the post 9/11 history of the chapel, I saw the mission clearly...the mission that God has called this chapel to. In the earliest days of this chapel it saw the beginnings of freedom of our nation. It saw all the wars our nation has been involved in. And through it all, it has served as not only a house of prayer, but a beacon of hope, sharing through Word and deed the freedom offered by Jesus Christ. And most recently, it has done what it does best. It was not just a building, but the building and the congregation which served as a chaplain to the people who served freedom's cause in the post 9/11 era. When I heard the voices of these children singing "Amazing Grace" and "America the Beautiful," I looked around the room through tear-filled eyes and saw a room full of visitors transfixed, with their hearts joining as one. Many were smiling and tearing up. I realized that the name of this chapel, St. Paul's, was simply not complete. I realized that this little sacred space and sacred congregation has truly earned an additional name...Freedom. In my mind, this is the St. Paul's Freedom Chapel. This has been its historic mission, and the events of 9/11 and post 9/11 only confirm this role for me. My prayer is that one day FREEDOM may be incorporated into the name. This is not only New York's Freedom Chapel, this is America's Freedom Chapel. Our first president inaugurated it, and the men in uniform, New York's finest, gave it a rousing AMEN!

Randall Stewart
Baltimore, Maryland - May 26, 2008
I was at Saint Paul's May 24 and was very upset by what I found. I had heard of the pews bearing the scars of 9/11, and while in NYC frequently I had not been to the WTC area in five years. When I walked in I was shocked that Saint Pauls, of all places, would remove its pews! Granted, most of these (save a few remaining boxes) these were not the original furnishings. The most obvious mark of history on them were those scars from 9/11. But while a sacred space is made not necessarily more sacred by furnishings or what has happened there, surely the removal of the pews reduces our sense of the the sacred. Furthermore, it is difficult for me to believe any architect would so misunderstand the delicate balances inherent in Georgian architecture so as to replace the pews with the chairs. Even if the arrangement is symmetrical, it looks wrong! Churches ought to have layers of history, where one generation lovingly modifies the building in spirit with the saints who came before. Sometimes they go too far. In the 1980's, clergy and parishoners at Chirst Church, Philadelphia, recognized the excesses of their forebears and undid the heavy Victorianization of the church, restoring it to something closer to its orignial appearance. I hope future generations at St. Paul's will have the wisdom to recognize how the latest Episcopal liturgical "fad" (and that is what this is!) has marred their buidling, and will act to undo it.

Ann Jefferson
England - May 24, 2008
May 2008 My first visit to NY. I was truly moved by my visit to St Paul's and Ground Zero. Still in our hearts. God Bless!

Suzanne Paul
Coventry, RI - May 20, 2008
I recently visited St.Paul's Chapel on May 2, 2008 with the Coventry High School Choir. I was very moved by the things I read and saw from 9-11 and the wonderful people who volunteered during that terrible tragedy. As soon as I walked in the Chapel I could still smell the smoke and it hit me all at once of what that day must of been like for all those people. I hope our country will never witness such a terrible thing like that ever again. Go Bless the U.S.A.

MAJ OR OSCAR PALERMO- US ARMY
COLLEGE POINT - May 19, 2008
Very proud of all Military that helped during and after this tragedy. I visited Ground Zero 3 months after the tragedy and this year on Sat May 17 and still feel the same pain. May God bless America and the families of those that perished.

John Soan Jr
Farmington Hills, MI - May 17, 2008
I felt the souls. It was over powering

Kathy
England - May 10, 2008
My husband and myself visited your chapel on our trip to New York. It was the most moving place I have ever been to. There was a choir singing when we visited which made it even more moving. When I think of what you all went through it breaks my heart.

Judy Burns
Philadelphia, PA - May 5, 2008
I visited your chapel and grounds on the way back from ground zero. Kudos to you all for the wonderful ministry you gave in the aftermath of such a terrible tragedy. I believe none of your grounds were broken or your windows blown out because of the work that was needed in the days after to begin the healing process. The spirits that are lying on your site protected it so that many could come and be given solace. Thank you for preserving the memories to touch those of us who could not come and help.

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