Twenty years after the September 11 attacks, a whole generation is coming of age with no direct memories of that fateful day.
Deacon Greg Kandra, who was a journalist in New York when the towers fell, and who will speak at the Diocese’s Red, White, and Blue Mass September 11, aims to change that.
“We need to keep telling this story,” he says. “We can’t forget what was sacrificed that day, and in particular, we can’t forget the courage of those who ran into the building to try to save lives.”
Deacon Kandra will talk about his experiences in a special presentation after the Red, White, and Blue Mass, a special Mass for police, firefighters, first responders, health care workers, military, legal professionals, elected officials, and their families.
The Mass will be 3 p.m. September 11 at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Orefield. Bishop Schlert will be the celebrant. The Mass will satisfy the Sunday obligation.
Deacon Kandra was a writer and producer for CBS news at the time of the attacks. “Watching those towers fall, hearing the emotion, trying to make sense of it – that had a profound effect on me,” says Deacon Kandra, who serves in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
It planted the seeds of his vocation. “I got a sense of how fleeting life is, how vulnerable we are, and I began to wonder what else God had planned for me.” He was ordained 14 years ago.
Deacon Kandra is an author, blogger, and well-known speaker on Catholic topics. His blog, “The Deacon’s Bench,” has garnered 20 million readers from around the world.
To attend the Mass, RSVP to stewardship@allentowndiocese.org. For more information, visit the web page, www.allentowndiocese.org/redwhitebluemass.
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