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September 11, 2026, marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in NYC, the Pentagon, and the downed airplane in Shanksville, PA. It's been over 9,000 days since that fateful day, and much of the world has moved on. A whole new generation has been born with no experience of that day. But for those who lost loved ones and those who served, not a day goes by without some remembrance of it.

In June 2002, as the site closed and the cameras left, some of the human consequences of serving at Ground Zero were just becoming visible. The first systematic Mount Sinai screening began on July 16, 2002—only about six weeks after the cleanup ended. A cohort of 1,138 non-FDNY workers and volunteers were examined: screenings revealed widespread and persistent respiratory illness among workers and volunteers. Most reported difficulties breathing and sinus problems, one third had abnormal lung-function tests, and one in five persons reported missing work because of WTC related health problems. The same cohort, evaluated for mental health stress, were recommended for further mental health screening and support, but only 3% actually report having done so. In 2021, the number of people who died from serving at the site from 9/11 related diseases surpassed the number of people who died on the day of 9/11.

The consequential 9/11 Commission Report speaks of leadership as having a “failure of the imagination” in not seeing the capacity of al Qaeda for terrorist activities. But there is also a failure of the imagination in not being able to foresee the mental and physical health crises facing those in any way involved in the rescue and recovery work and finding substantive ways to promote healing and offer support. There is an extraordinary gap between suffering and treatment.

25 years on, what have we learned?

For this presentation, Harris will explore what the 25th anniversary might teach us as we move from tragedy toward hope and healing, recovery and repair. Drawing on his experiences serving at Ground Zero in NYC and his own journey through PTSD, depression and recovery, Harris, trained in the forgiveness methods of the Stanford Forgiveness Project, will explore forgiveness as a tool for healing, recovery and steps toward repair. Forgiveness not as forgetting or excusing wrongdoing but as an evidence-based practice that can help us reclaim our future from the burdens of our past.

About the Speakers

Lyndon Harris served at Saint Paul's Chapel in NYC in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Staring with a small group of volunteers he initiated and oversaw a relief service that would grow to over 15,000 volunteer shifts served, ultimately serving over a half million meals to weary first responders. His work has been covered in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and others. Harris is a forgiveness teacher, workshop leader and keynoter and coach. He co-authored The Forgive or Good Recovery Workbook with Fred Luskin, and is the author of the recently published memoir, Forgiveness at Ground Zero: A Journey of Service, Loss and Redemption After 9/11.

Dr. Jim Somerville is the Senior Pastor of Richmond's First Baptist Church. He is a graduate of the Phillips Exeter Academy, Georgetown College (Kentucky), and Southern Seminary. Before coming to Richmond, he was Pastor of First Baptist Church, Washington, DC. Jim loves the outdoors, and on his day off you may find him hiking the Buttermilk Trail or sailing on the Rappahannock River.