Remembering 9/11: First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville

For workers at of Hyattsville, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, didn’t offer time for them to think about themselves. They had childrens' lives to worry about.

“Several children were in the building, and we have a daycare center,” said Carol Bergmann. “We assumed in the very beginning that we were going to be impacted. We gathered whatever we had in the church. We checked to see what our Meals on Wheels program had on hand, so we could feed the kids.”

Because phone lines were down and cell signals weren’t available, parents—many of whom worked in downtown Washington, D.C.—didn’t know if their children were safe.

“Many parents ran into the building to take their children home,” Bergmann said. “Some of the parents were late getting here because getting out of D.C. was an issue.”

Most of the church workers went home by 8 p.m.

From that day on, the church has served as a touchstone for many area residents: A University Park family who was killed that day would often partake in the church’s plays. The funeral for a teacher who was aboard one of the airplanes that crashed was held at the church.

This photo was created as part of a larger project in coordination with Action America to document how the country has been affected by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

See how you can become an Actionist and turn the events of 9/11 into positive action at www.ActionAmerica.com and look for more local coverage of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 on Patch.

How has 9/11 affected you in the last 10 years? Please share your post-9/11 remembrances with us in the comments section below.

Find similar stories from other local Patches using the links below.

, , , , , , , ,