Three years after Sept. 11, 2001, students, faculty and staff came together in Dahlgren Quad Saturday morning for the 9/11 emorial Interfaith Service.

The service has been held annually since Sept. 11, 2001, to promote the university’s quest to encourage interfaith dialogue.

After an opening song of Amazing Grace, led by Assistant to the President Michael Peterson, Fr. Philip Boroughs, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry, gave a brief welcome and opening prayer.

“It is at this time that we come together as a community, where we will look forward to the future with hope,” Boroughs said.

The service continued with a reading by Deidre Moskowitz (COL ’05), and three reflections by members of the Georgetown community, starting with government professor Anthony Arend (SFS ’80).

“Heaven on earth, we need it now,” Arend said, quoting the lines of rock band U2 and its message of peace. Arend then recounted his experiences on Sept. 11, 2001, noting that Georgetown held its inaugural interfaith service followed by a variety of other denominational services.

“The purpose of these services was to coordinate community and bring security to Georgetown,” he said, noting how a message of perseverance was apparent although many were “hurt and tired that day.”

Graduate student Hadia Mubarak (GRD ’05) spoke of her experiences on Sept. 11 as a Muslim American and how those moments affected her life.

“Being a Muslim American automatically put me on the defensive side, as Muslims became targets of hate crimes,” she said. “Those moments were some of the most testing of my life.”

Mubarak then spoke of March 26, 2002, when an American drove a car into a mosque. She recounted the ways Christians and Jews alike came to help rebuild the entrance to the mosque in the days that followed.

“Those people . who awakened a spirit of hope proved to me that compassion, love and hope can transcend abstraction and become reality,” she said.

University President John J. DeGioia offered the final reflection, recounting the fact that for those who were at Georgetown that day “our memories will forever connect us to this place.” DeGioia said that an event such as this reminded everyone of the powerful sense of community that binds Georgetown together.

“Georgetown has an ability to enable interfaith dialogue, and there is an unprecedented commitment to that role,” he said.

In closing, DeGioia said that Sept. 11 proved to be a defining event against the backdrop of tragedy and that Georgetown is prepared for a future full of hope.

Following DeGioia’s reflections, attendees had time for silent prayer in conjunction with a musical interlude by a student string quartet. This was followed by a closing prayer given by Elisa Perez (COL ’05).

Close to 200 members of the Georgetown community attended the memorial and many were moved by the service’s messages of hope and commitment to interfaith dialogue.

“I think that these moments of prayer and reflection have helped us to both remember, and also look forward in hope,” Rahul Bansal (MSB ’07) said.

“I really enjoyed and appreciate the service’s interfaith approach, as it makes us remember that we all serve the same purpose,” Tina Galarza (MBA ’05) said. “We are getting in touch with compassion, knowing that we’ll get through.”