Interfaith Ceremony Sunday in Decatur

Members of different religions will gather at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, at the Decatur Hotel and Conference Center for an interfaith ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The ceremony will include music and readings. Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims are expected to participate.

Carmen Agra Deedy of Decatur, a children's author, will read from her book, "14 Cows for America." It's the story of Kenyan villagers who bestowed an unusual gift on America after the attacks.

The Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta is sponsoring the event at the hotel at 130 Clairemont Ave. Parking is available at the hotel for a charge and there is free parking at the nearby

A press release from the Faith Alliance said, “The event will remember those who died on September 11, 2001, while seeking to shift our combined energies toward the building of relationships between faith communities and across lines that have divided us in the past. ...

“Our hope is to help heal the wounds of 9/11/01, and to move our wider community forward with hope and peace.”

For more information contact the Rev. Jan Swanson, Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, worldpilgrims@bellsouth.net, or the Rev. Lanny Peters, pastor of Oakhurst Baptist Church, lanny@oakhurstbaptist.org.

At 8 a.m. Sunday, DeKalb County’s 9/11 Memorial Project will be unveiled in a ceremony at DeKalb County Public Safety Headquarters at 1960 W. Exchange Place in Tucker.

According to a website about the memorial, DeKalb Firefighter Doug Harms has worked with Curtis James Miller, a sculptor and former Marine, in designing the memorial.

The website said:

“The memorial will pay homage to the 343 New York Firefighters, 60 New York and Port Authority Police Officers and the more than 2800 civilian victims of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C. and Shanksville, Pa., on September 11th, 2001.

“Firefighter Harms has received a piece of steel from one of the World Trade Center Towers in New York City to be the centerpiece of the monument. Curtis James Miller has designed and is currently sculpting a steel phoenix to rise from behind the Trade Center steel, honoring America’s resolve to rise above acts of terror.”

A story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the ceremony would include 11 seconds of silence, a 21-gun salute and remarks by DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis.

Several fund-raising events were held to pay for the memorial, but donations are still needed. Go to the memorial project website for information about making donations.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said had the wrong last name for Karen Shipp, music minister at Oakhurst Baptist Church.