The Story of the Ground Zero Memorial Cross

(January 2002)

By Chaplain Steve Lee

    Two days after September 11, Frank Sileccia, a construction worker at Ground Zero, was probing the rubble inside the Customs Building (Building Six) at the World Trade Center.  In the collapsed center of the building, he discovered a large, perfectly proportioned cross, formed from structural steel by the collapse of the North Tower.  A piece of sheet metal, also formed by the falling debris, was wrapped over one arm of the cross like a Good Friday shroud.  The cross gave the appearance of a God-given sculpture in the middle of what was otherwise an amphitheater from hell. 

     In the days following Frank’s discovery, Building Six became a shrine.  Recovery workers called it “God’s House,” and occasionally walked inside to view the cross facing them from the rubble.  The first time I saw it I was told by some of the workers that Building Six was scheduled for demolition, and they wanted to preserve the cross as a memorial.  I immediately went to Claude Wuytack, the daytime superintendent on site for Amec (the demolition contractor for Building Six), and told him, “Claude, we have to get that cross out of there and set up on site as a memorial.  We need to give your people something good to look at besides all this destruction.”  Claude thought about it for a moment and said, “I’m a Vietnam vet, and we have the Wall…You’re right.  Let me see what I can do.”  Others were also working to preserve the cross as a memorial. 

     One evening in early October, Rev. Brian Jordan, Frank Sileccia, and I met on site with Ken Holden, City of New York Foreman of Design and Construction.  The next morning Ken called me and said Mayor Rudolph Guiliani had given his approval to recover the cross.  Led by Danny Collins of Local 79, a specially equipped team of construction workers from Locals 95, 15, 14, and 40 then worked to remove the cross, weighing several tons, from Building Six, and set it up on site as a  memorial.  Paul Morse, President Bush’s photographer, was also present to photograph the recovery.  As the on-scene chaplain for the cross recovery effort, I gave encouragement and prayed for the safety of the team.  No one got hurt. 

     After the cross was removed, it was laid out on site for the rest of the day, and as officers, firefighters, and construction workers passed by, I encouraged them to write names and memorials on the cross, and many did.  One construction worker walked up to me and asked, “I’m Jewish…is it OK if I write my name on your cross?”  I told him, “It’s not just my cross.  It’s yours too.  It’s for the whole world.”  He smiled and said, “I’m just bustin’ your chops,” and wrote “Dorsey Slagle” on the cross, with a Star of David underneath the name.  Later that day Sal Tagliarino, a welder with Local 40, welded a base plate on the cross.  He took several commemorative quarters representing different states, including two New York quarters, and welded them into the base.  As for me, I wrote my own memorial on the cross in the form of a short poem: 

From “God’s House” –

Fired new from dying flame,

this living sign remains,

arms outstretched,

embracing yet,

our avalanche of pain,

to still, to fill –

to heal again. 

     Claude Wuytack had suggested we mount the cross on a large abutment near Building Six.  The abutment, located in the median on West Street, is all that remains of the footbridge once connecting the North Tower to the Atrium.  Late at night a crane lifted the cross onto the abutment, and I had the privilege of directing the positioning of the cross for bolting into place.  I then held a short dedication service atop the abutment for the construction crew, with an invocation, readings of Psalm 23 and Romans 8:31-39, and a prayer.  Rev. Jordan conducted the official dedication the following day.

 Please pray this cross is preserved on site as a memorial.  

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African Time

(October 1999)

By Chaplain Steve Lee

     It was ten years ago.  It was the first trip to Africa for this ex-cop rookie missionary, and I was rapidly discovering that, no, I had not seen and done it all.  “This place is full of all kind of surprises,” I mused.

      Assistant to the Bishop Martin Shao and I were doing lunch in the sun on the balcony of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania’s Northern Diocese office.  I was busy putting away some delicious chicken and rice, occasionally – and cautiously – dipping into a wild hot sauce which could also double as an arsonist’s accelerant.  While juggling spicy food and a fire hose and good conversation with my friend, I watched with watery eyes the market day happenings across the street.  From my perch I could view an open air African version of Wal-Mart, busy with vendors hawking everything from bananas to baskets. They rolled out their sale items onto thatch mats, and haggled loudly with the colorful crowd.  It was a flea market with ambience.

      While taking in the scene, I suddenly saw a man break away from the milling shoppers.  As quick as it takes to tell, he ran in front of us and off to my right up the street.  Behind him trailed a mob of obviously irate chasers.  The man was making gold-medal time, heroically booking it up the road with his escort yelling along behind.

      “Hey, Martin,” I asked, watching the foot pursuit.  “What’s going on?”

      “Oh, that,” the Assistant to the Bishop replied nonchalantly.  “That man is probably a thief and has stolen something at the market.  Someone has seen him, and now those people from the market are after him.”

      I looked at the impromptu parade with what was now professional interest.  I was witnessing a modern African example of the old English “Hue and Cry” method of law enforcement – or maybe a lynch mob straight out of an old John Wayne movie.  Without taking my eyes off the hue-ers and cry-ers, I asked, “So what will they do if they catch him?”

      “If those people catch that thief, they will beat him.”  Martin paused.  “They may even kill him.”

      For a moment I forgot the fire in my mouth.  “So…where’s he headed?  How does he hope to get away on foot like that?”

      Martin pointed up the street.  “Do you see that building there at the end of the street?  That is the police station.  The thief is running to the police for protection.”  He added with a smile.  “This happens all the time.  Our thieves would rather go to jail in one piece than remain free and get beaten into many pieces.”

      Now, in my “been there, done that, got the T-shirt” life, it’s not often that I do a double take, but I did one then.  After an incredulous pause, I looked at Martin and finally remarked,  “What a great place to be a cop – you just sit at the station drinking coffee and wait for the bad guys to come to you.!”

      As this experience illustrates, Africa is a land of surprises.  From those surprises, I learned some lessons that I thought I already knew  - maybe some things we can all learn.

      Some of these surprises were merely interesting, because we have mostly lost the ability to apply their lessons in our so-called “civilized” society.  For instance, I had the privilege of preaching at an outdoor service on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania.  There were a large number of children in attendance, and these kids, some as small as toddlers, all came down to sit on the grass in front.  There were a number of preachers who spoke before and after me, and so, while I was seated and not speaking, I had a chance to watch.  I was amazed.  These kids sat quietly and, like the adults, listened - really listened - as the different preachers spoke.  A preacher’s paradise, I thought.  Later on I figured it out.  These kids had no TV and no CD players.  Depending on their age, we preachers were their Barney or their MTV, except we were able to actually communicate some spiritual content into their unscrambled minds.  Their attention spans had not been fat-fried by years of McDonald’s commercials.

      On my second trip to Africa, I was waiting for an up-country bus in Abidjan, a large city in Cote d’Ivoire, on the western side of the continent.  There, in a huge open bus stop area covering several city blocks, I struck up a conversation with a man I met.  In my fractured French, I told him that I was there as a missionary.  Answering his eager questions, I was able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him and prayed with him.  He not only politely allowed this foreigner to talk about spiritual things, but he actually encouraged me to overcome my hesitancy to open up and “impose” my faith on a total stranger.  It became plain to me that this man, like many in Africa, could talk about spiritual things like we talk about the weather, because he knew that spiritual matters were just as real as - and certainly more important than - the weather.  I could not help but reflect that if I were to try to engage a stranger here in the U.S. in conversation about spiritual things, he would probably edge toward the nearest available exit.  We are a sensual and materialistic people, often too “civilized” to consider the deeper truths and meanings and relationships of life, and therefore at the end of the day are often left wondering why we have no one and nothing left but our rusty toys.

      In Africa, as in many “uncivilized” places in the world, age is revered, and gray hair is proudly displayed and respectfully observed as a badge of honor and wisdom.  In our country, however, foolish youth is worshipped.  We surgically arrange our bodies and color our hair to make ourselves look like our glitzy but likewise empty young idols, because we do not have the smarts to appreciate the maturity that experience has given us.  We are too dumb to wear our badge of age with dignity, and our “civilized” society is too preoccupied with extreme youth to consider how our upside-down attitude is robbing us of one of our greatest potential resources - age.

      Finally, and most important of all, is what I call “Africa Time.”  In our “civilized” country, we measure civilization by technology and the clock.  In many places like Africa, however, civilization is measured by caring relationships.  Thus, in Africa, a person is considered civilized if he takes time to be concerned for others and takes time to have a relationship with God.  For example, if a man is walking on a road and meets an elderly acquaintance, he will say something equivalent to, “Hi, how are you?” - but with a different meaning than here in our country.  In our society, this is merely a polite but superficial greeting.  We don’t really want to know how a person is doing, because typically we are on a schedule and do not have time or interest to listen to an honest and complete answer.  We expect a person to simply respond, “I’m fine.  How are you?”  We then respond, “Fine,” and move on to our various appointments.  In Africa, though, people will take the time to inquire about your life, your family, and many other things that show a genuine concern for your welfare.  They will also pursue a spiritual life (while the “civilized” nations are turning away from God, people in Africa are coming to Him by the millions).  God and people, not technology or schedules, typically come first in Africa.

      I do not want to over-idealize Africa.  There are obviously many problems facing people in that part of the world.  However, I do think that they can teach us many things we think we already know, if we care to listen.  Here I recognize that our circumstances often make it difficult for us to set proper priorities.  For instance, it is hard to take time to show concern for people when calls are backed up and your caseload is stacked up.  Try to remember, though, like I try to do, that to make the most of our lives, sometimes we need to be on “African time.”  Also, remember that God is always on African time.  He always has time for you.  He always listens to you.  He is always willing to give you the wisdom he has in his Word.  He desires nothing more than to show you his love in Jesus Christ.  His Son took the time – African time – to come to this earth and live as one of us, and die for us, and rise again for us, so that we can live forever with him in African time.  My prayer is that you discover a bit of Africa in your life.  Blessings!

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Ten Characteristics of a Competent Christian Chaplain

(June 2002)

By Chaplain Steve Lee

      The officer was at the end of his rope.  He was at his house–no longer a home–alone.  He was alone because he had driven away those who loved him.  He was alone because he had grown cynical and abusive toward family and friends and even life itself.  He was alone because he had built a thick strong wall between himself and everyone else–including God.  He was alone because he had tried to fill the stress-filled hole of his life with everything but what he really needed.

     It was late one night when the noise of his life finally quieted down and left him with nothing but a choice between the phone on the wall or the gun in his lap.  After careful consideration, he picked up the phone and called his police department’s chaplain.  He did not pick up his gun because he knew he had a final option.  He would not have survived without it.

     I happened to be the chaplain on the other end of the phone that night.  I lost some sleep, but that was OK because my friend did not lose a whole lot more.

     The Bible tells us that peace officers are God’s servants and that we should all honor, support and pray for them (Romans 13:1-7, I Timothy 2:2).  This is fundamentally the reason why Peace Officer Ministries exists.  One of the best ways we can “serve those who protect and serve us” is to be or provide them with competent Christian chaplains.  What makes a good chaplain?  In my experience, I have identified at least ten characteristics or qualities.  Incidentally, many of these qualities mirror those characteristics that peace officers themselves need:

 Quality #1 – Compassion

     Compassion is a form of love, which in turn is the greatest of all human or divine characteristics (John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 4:7-21).  To have compassion is to have the desire and ability to understand and empathize with another person’s situation or predicament, and to also want to help and be able to help.  Jesus had compassion for those around him (e.g. Matthew 9:36).  As the compassionate Son of God, He took on the uniform of human flesh to become one of us.  He understands us.  He empathizes with us.  He knows what we need.  He wants to help and is able to help (Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:14-16).  Like Jesus’ example, a good chaplain understands the culture of law enforcement, empathizes with the unique (and common) problems which officers and their families face, and brings a desire and ability to help from a spiritual perspective.

 Quality #2 – Character

     Law enforcement officers must have character – integrity – in order to function professionally.  In order to be credible and effective, chaplains must also have unimpeachable character and integrity.  They must model the faith, virtues and hope they champion, or officers – fairly or unfairly – will often dismiss the message along with the messenger.  The first and sometimes only sermon preached by a chaplain is a personal example of faith and life.

     A huge part of character for a chaplain is honesty – honesty especially to admit failure, and to honestly deal with that failure in a positive way through forgiveness.  Without honesty, integrity turns into hypocrisy, because no one is perfect.  Officers sometime avoid admitting failure professionally because of liability issues, but this trait, carried over to their personal lives, can be devastating.  This is a big reason why they are at such high risk personally.  A big part of a chaplain’s ministry is modeling forgiveness, and it begins with a chaplain’s honesty, self-forgiveness, and self acceptance because of Jesus Christ.

 Quality #3 – Common Sense

     The world of law enforcement requires common sense.  An officer without common sense is a tragedy waiting to happen.  Officers respect those with common sense and dismiss those without it.  Therefore, chaplains must demonstrate “street smarts.”  Common sense for a chaplain consists of the following: basic intelligence, appropriately applied knowledge, and practical insight and wisdom.

 Quality #4 – Communication

     Like officers, chaplains must be skilled communicators.  They must be situationally aware.  They must know when to listen and when to speak, when to do nothing and when to act.  They need specific communication skills, such as active listening skills, to be effective.  Chaplains have a bully pulpit, but it is always a pulpit labeled “By Invitation or Permission Only.”  A chaplain only goes where invited or permitted, and only speaks when invited or permitted.  A chaplain who is a skilled communicator will be able to discern the appropriate moment to listen and speak, and will be ready with words and actions seasoned with wisdom and grace.

 Quality #5 – Courage

     Like officers need physical courage, chaplains need spiritual and moral courage (they sometimes need physical courage too).  Law enforcement requires courage because it confronts evil and tragedy in a no-holds-barred battle.  There is no place for cowardice in law enforcement, and no room for cowardice in a law enforcement chaplain.  A chaplain must be willing to sacrifice for the cause, whatever that sacrifice entails.

 Quality #6 – Conviction

     A chaplain must have basic beliefs that form a foundation of ministry.  A chaplain needs convictions to be effective, and must be willing to “go to the mat” for them.  A chaplain without conviction is a chaplain without conscience.  Officers may disagree with your convictions, but they will respect the fact that you have them.  The standard or norm of conviction for a Christian chaplain is – of course – the Bible.

 Quality #7 – Commitment

     Commitment is a four-letter word spelled T-I-M-E.  Effective chaplaincy – especially with officers - requires that trust be established.  Trust requires building relationships – officers trust the chaplain because they know the chaplain.  Officers, with good reason, are suspicious and skeptical people.  It takes time to overcome that suspicion and skepticism and develop trust.  It takes time to demonstrate the qualities that will win people’s trust.  Commitment of time is one of the biggest arguments for having full-time law enforcement chaplains.  Effective chaplaincy takes time.

 Quality #8 – Congeniality

     Officers love a good sense of humor.  Humor serves to temper the horrors they witness and the stresses they feel.  They typically enjoy what others might consider to be inappropriate or “black” humor.  Chaplains must not let their boat get rocked too much by this humor, and must maintain amiability while avoiding becoming “just another one of the gang.”  A good chaplain is congenial and has a good sense of perspective and humor, without compromising integrity.  Humor is a doorway to friendship – and ministry.

 Quality #9 – Confidentiality

     Officers are what I call “trained paranoids.”  They must be to survive on the street.  Typically they also carry this attitude off the street.  They will not talk with a chaplain if they are not comfortable about confidentiality.  A chaplain is aided by the fact that the “bar” of confidentiality is set high for ministers.  The need for confidentiality is a good reason to have licensed or ordained chaplains who are also associated with church bodies that formally support a high standard of confidentiality.  The legal definitions of and requirements for confidentiality vary from state to state, and even sometimes from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.  A chaplain must have the courage to clearly articulate and practice appropriate confidentiality in this sea of confusion.

 Quality #10 – The Cross of Christ

     From a legal and law enforcement management perspective, I understand the need for chaplains of various religious persuasions.  Furthermore, it is always appropriate for a Christian chaplain to assist folks without prejudice, whether or not they agree with a chaplain’s Christian beliefs, or whether or not the chaplain is invited to bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Here there is no compromise with principle.  A Christian chaplain renders aid and comfort at the level invited or permitted.  This is in keeping with both legal and biblical principles (1 Peter 3:15).

     Having said this, it is my strong conviction that only the cross of Christ offers ultimate hope for everyone – peace officers included.  Peace officers daily confront the failures of the human condition.  They are inundated in a sea of sin and overwhelmed by a litany of loss.  The necessary remedy they bring to the gross outbreak of sin is enforcement of the law.  But law has its limits, and finally, personally, it cannot save us from our human condition that infects each one of us.  We need a Physician who can heal us.  We need a Peace Officer who can give us peace.  We need a Savior who can save us.  I have rubbed elbows with lots of situations, ideas and people in my life.  I have yet to find a better answer to our situation than the Gospel of Christ, a better idea than the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life won at the cross for helpless sinners, or a better person than the holy and loving Son of God, Jesus Christ.  “Indeed, we can be saved only by the power of the one named Jesus and not by any other person” (Acts 4:12).  A Christian chaplain both lives and speaks the cross of Christ.  There is no other way (John 14:6).

      Let me conclude by pointing out that there is a growing recognition in the law enforcement community of the need for professional and dedicated chaplains.  There are many wonderful part time volunteer chaplains who, in addition to serving long hours at their churches as pastors, also devote much time and effort to chaplaincy.  We need to support their endeavors.  At the same time, we need to also support the development and expansion of full-time law enforcement chaplaincy.  There are not nearly enough full-time law enforcement chaplains today, and many of the demands of chaplaincy require full-time attention.  Please pray with me that God will send much-needed workers into this harvest field.                                                                                         (Matthew 9:37-38).

Peace Officer Ministries

Chaplain Steve Lee, Executive Director

P.O. Box 9426

San Jose, CA 95157-0426

Toll Free: (877) 487-1717 Outside the US:  (408) 366-2671

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