Area 9/11 Events Highlighted by Chews Landing Fire Dept. Memorial

The township will host a 9/11 memorial ceremony at Chews Landing Fire Department's Somerdale Road station beginning at 8:15 a.m. Sunday.

But that's not the only 9/11-related event happening in and near the township over the coming days and weeks.

The fire department will dedicate its World Trade Center Artifact Memorial during Sunday's ceremony. The centerpiece of the display will be a 182-pound, 36x24x10 steel beam from one of the fallen World Trade Center buildings, according to officials.

Last fall, Mayor David Mayer traveled with township police and fire personnel to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to retrieve the steel beam from one of the airport's hangars.

Mayer has described the trip as a "very moving experience."

"It is hard to believe that 10 years have passed since the attacks," Council President Glen Bianchini said in a statement issued Wednesday to promote Sunday's ceremony. "We have learned to heal as a community and to rebuild our nation, but we have not forgotten the day that terror threatened our homes, our families and our quality of life."

On Thursday, Camden County College will host the author of a biography on a counter-terrorism expert who warned US officials of the threat presented by al-Qaida years before anyone really knew about the terror organization.

Murray Weiss will discuss his book, The Man Who Warned America, a profile about former FBI counter-terrorism expert and Atlantic City native John O'Neill.

O'Neill was killed in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.

The forum, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Civic Hall inside the college's Connector Building.

On Sunday, Sterling High School, located at 501 S. Warwick Rd., in Somerdale, will host a ceremony recognizing first responders and other heroes. The event, which runs 7 to 8:30 p.m., will also feature performances by choirs and demonstrations by JROTC members.

On Saturday and Sunday, Gloucester County Community Church will host 9/11-related discussions with a former Lebanese militant Muslim who converted to Christianity after he came to America. The sessions are scheduled for Saturday night beginning at 6 p.m. and Sunday morning beginning at 9 and 11 a.m.

Jerry Rassamni will discuss 9/11 and his book, From Jihad to Jesus: An Ex-Militant's Journey of Faith.

Gloucester County Community Church is located at 359 Chapel Heights Rd., in Sewell.

On Tuesday, Oct. 4, Camden County College will screen a documentary profiling a Voorhees Township Muslim's efforts to see a mosque built in his community in the post-9/11 world.

Zia Rahman's efforts, as well as the impact of an interfaith coalition that supported is efforts, are profiled in Stephanie Daniels' Talking Through Walls: How the Struggle to Build a Mosque Unites a Community.

Following the hour-long film's screening, which is slated to begin at 7 p.m., Daniels, Rahman's widow, Zahida Rahman, and interfaith coalition members interfaith coalition members will be available for a panel discussion and question-and-answer session.

The screening and discussion will be held in the college's Civic Hall.