Light at Ground Zero: St. Paul's Chapel After 9/11 [Paperback]

Krystyna Sanderson (Author, Photographer), Ned Bustard (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2003

From the back cover:

"St. Paul's had been spared." It seemed clear to me that if this was true, it was not because we were holier than anyone who died across the street; it was because we now had a big job to do. --The Rev. Lyndon Harris, Associate for Ministries at St. Paul's Chapel

St. Paul's Chapel is an 18th-century Episcopal church in the parish of Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan. It stands less than one hundred yards from the World Trade Center site. This book is a picture essay telling of the relief work carried on at St. Paul's for almost nine months. Many people who saw that the church still stood despite the destruction all around its walls talked about "the miracle of St. Paul's." The real miracle of St. Paul's, displayed in these pages, was the miracle of radical hospitality joined with good will from around the world in a common mission to offer works of goodness in response to the catastrophe of 9/11.

Images of the crumbling buildings flooded our eyes through the various conduits of the media. This book tells a different story. Accented with fragments of prayers and Scripture, these photographs show the love and encouragement offered to the men and women who labored after September 11 in the most difficult and challenging context anyone ever could have imagined.

This story is not just a faith story as told by St. Paul's; it is also an American story dedicated to each and every one of us who has experienced hope after devastation.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

As one left the harsh lights and barricades of Broadway with its cacophony of earth movers, jackhammers and dump trucks, and entered St. Paul's Chapel, one was enveloped in a subdued light, a murmur of hushed voices, a sacred spirit, undeniable, almost tactile. The interior of the chapel with its pastel pinks and blues and its delicate Waterford crystal chandeliers could offer no greater contrast to the monochromatic moonlike landscape of Ground Zero with its associations of dread, horror and agony.

St. Paul's was a welcoming fireplace where all who entered could warm themselves from the elements and from the cold spectacle outside.

For seven months my camera and I were witnesses, and I hope also instruments, of God's radical grace, mercy and love at St. Paul's. During this time I created over 2,500 images. My ministry was to witness and to record the work of the Holy Spirit in action. I loved the brilliant morning light pouring through the east window over the altar, and the warm late afternoon light from the south windows bathing the chapel in gold. The 18-century symmetry of the chapel formed an ideal backdrop for the rainbow colors of children's cards and letters and the large and small banners from all over the world. Here God's love was poured out through thousands of hearts stretched to the breaking point, through sore hands and aching feet. Workers and volunteers shared their lives, their stories, a cup of soup or coffee. We prayed and cried, sometimes alone, sometimes together. We hugged, and we refrained from hugging...

?from the Preface

About the Author

Krystyna Sanderson, a fine art and commercial photographer, has been widely exhibited and her work is in public and private collections in the U.S. and Europe. Her photographic series "Masks" was published in book form by Texas Tech Press. She is a contributing author of a chapter on "Light" in the book It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God, published by Square Halo Books in 2000.

For close to eight months Krystyna photographed the relief project at St. Paul's Chapel, one block from Ground Zero, and produced over 2,500 images.Krystyna holds an M.F.A. in painting and photography from Texas Tech University.

She taught photography at The New School and at St. John's University and was a staff photographer for the New York City Police Department. She is a member of the board of directors of ECVA (The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts). Krystyna and her husband Colin worship at Grace Episcopal Church in New York.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 105 pages
• Publisher: Square Halo Books (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965879844
• ISBN-13: 978-0965879842
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 7.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,576,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing view, December 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Light at Ground Zero: St. Paul's Chapel After 9/11 (Paperback)

The photographs taken in St. Paul's Chapel of the men and women who worked to exhaustion in the rescue and cleanup of the rubble of the World Trade towers, and the photos of the banners and other gifts of love and encouragement from all over the world, sent to these heroic workers, bring alive that special time in our history. The photos in the book are set off with quotes from the Bible and the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.

Krystyna's photo album book illustrates the way in which tragedy can be transformed by the human and holy spirit into acts of love, kindness, comfort and healing for the heartbroken survivors. Light at Ground Zero is a spiritual book. I recommend it as a unique Christmas present this year.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comes close to the actual, April 25, 2005

By 

S. Johnson "book worm" (Ct) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Light at Ground Zero: St. Paul's Chapel After 9/11 (Paperback)

I was present as a volunteer at the chapel. This book comes close but doesn't portray the full variety of people, of gifts and of sanctuary at this hallowed place.
For example, the photos of the gifts sent by others seems repetitive and not representative of some of the sentimental and heart-warming aspects: Kids who sent their teddy bears--big workers asleep on the pews hugging those bears. Quilts sent by sewing circles-same kind of reaction from the workers. The huge outpouring of donations from corportations across the country-from clothes to food to toiletries. As Diane said, "somehow the generator keeps working with no one paying to have it refilled and somehow the toilet gets replaced before the church officials had to ask."
I have many lifetime memories of that time-but no pictures, since we all honored the privacy wishes of the workers.
This book comes close but does not capture it all.