Local Priest Returns To Ground Zero Twenty-five Years After Attacks

Twenty-five years ago, Father Jeff Ethen was in New York City with another Minnesota priest, sightseeing and enjoying what was supposed to be a very different kind of trip.

Then they had one more cup of coffee. That extra cup of coffee changed everything.

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT...

Ethen, a priest with the Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud, was visiting Manhattan with Father Peter Kirchner on September 11th, 2001.

The World Trade Center was on their list of places to see that morning, but before heading out, the two priests decided to sit down for just one more cup of coffee. They had no idea that decision would put them in a different place when the first plane struck.

"We had an extra cup of coffee, and it was that second cup of coffee is when the plane struck," Ethen recalled in an interview with WCCO. Instead of spending the morning sightseeing, the two priests found themselves in the middle of one of the darkest days in American history.

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FINDING A WAY TO HELP

There was no way to prepare for what they were seeing around them. Ethen and Kirchner were wearing their clerical collars, making it clear to those around them that they were priests. That opened the door for them to begin helping people who were frightened, grieving, and trying to make sense of what had happened.

They eventually found themselves assisting at the Ground Zero hospital nearest the disaster, where they worked as part of a group of clergy members supporting firefighters and others involved in the response.

For Ethen, helping wasn't something he had to think about. It was simply what he could do."The only response possible was to help somebody else. You had to pick somebody else up in order to stand up yourself," he said.

The experience became something Ethen carried with him long after he returned to Minnesota. It affected the way he viewed his faith, his ministry, and his calling to serve others.

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A RETURN TO NEW YORK

Now Ethen is making another trip to New York as the country marks the 25th anniversary of September 11th. Over the years, he has returned for several of the major anniversaries, including the fifth, 10th, and 20th. This time, though, there is a Central Minnesota connection coming with him.

Six members of the Battle Lake Fire Department will make the trip alongside Ethen. Ethen has spent years serving the firefighters in Battle Lake. He also helped establish a relationship between the Battle Lake department and a New York fire company.

The Minnesota firefighters will have the opportunity to meet with their counterparts while they are in New York for the anniversary events.

WHY ONE FIREFIGHTER DECIDED TO SERVE

For Battle Lake firefighter Tim McCarte, the events of September 11th were also a turning point. McCarte had already been thinking about becoming a firefighter before the attacks. Watching what happened that day made his decision even stronger. "I was actually talking about joining the fire department before that, and that kind of solidified my desire to be a firefighter after I saw everything that happened on 9/11," McCarte said.

Now, a quarter century later, McCarte will travel to New York with a priest who experienced that day firsthand. It's another reminder that the effects of September 11th didn't end when the smoke cleared or when the nation eventually returned to its normal routines.

The people who witnessed it carried those memories home with them. Some became firefighters. Some became ministers to others, and some simply found a desire to serve the people around them.

WHAT SEPTEMBER 11TH STILL MEANS

Ethen remembers the firefighters who continued working, the people who reached out to strangers, and the clergy members who showed up to comfort people who desperately needed someone beside them. Today, he still believes the lesson from that terrible day is one worth carrying forward. "What it is about is serving others," Ethen said.

In the middle of unimaginable tragedy, these people found ways to help one another stand. Maybe that's what we all need to remember in our current political climate.

We all walk the same ground. We all breathe the same air. We all can be vulnerable at any time in our lives, and maybe it's that hard-learned lesson we are supposed to remember.