Violence and Sacred Space

“I can’t begin to wrap my mind around the fact that this senseless act of violence happened on sacred ground. It does not matter that my spiritual path is different from those at Mother Emanuel … what matters is the sacredness of where they were when this occurred.” – Kelly Scott, Chairwoman of the Charleston Area Lowcountry Council of Alternative Spiritual Traditions. In recent months, it seems that news report after news report speaks of violence either against or within a sacred space. These acts range from the horrifying terrorist attack at Charleston’s Mother Emanuel to the destruction of ancient religious sites.

Column: Visiting a Sacred Void, the 9/11 Memorial

This past week I had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial site in Manhattan. After a short ride on a commuter rail, I jumped on the downtown A train to the Fulton Street station, stopped at a Starbucks for a tall iced-coffee, and began weaving my way eastward. This was not the first time that I had been to the area. As a child, I remember standing under the draping shadows of the twin towers – the two monolithic structures that symbolized New York City. Later, as an adult, I recall dining at Windows on the World, the restaurant that operated on the 106th floor of the North Tower.