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By Nicole Seiferth

With its proximity to Ground Zero, St. Paul's Chapel often finds itself surrounded by news trucks, tourists, and pilgrims. This was even more evident on May 5, 2011, when President Barack Obama visited Ground Zero in the wake of the news that the U.S. had found and killed Osama bin Laden.

As the streets around St. Paul's were temporarily shut down in advance of the President's arrival, inside the chapel it was the kind of day that those who work or volunteer there have become used to in the past 10 years. Tourists came inside in waves, walking around slowly and taking in the exhibit that illustrates St. Paul's role as place of respite for Ground Zero's rescue and recovery workers.

Several of those visiting had a unique perspective on 9/11.

"I was in first grade," said Jenna Townsend, visiting with a choir from Wellsboro, PA that was scheduled to sing at St. Paul's. "I don't really remember it."

Townsend's friend, Sharon Mummerd, was in second grade in 2001. "It's really overwhelming," she said about St. Paul's. "It brings it more to reality for me."

Deborah Hale, another member of the choir, was focused on the President's arrival. "It's kind of exciting to say I've been here when the President is here," she said.

The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector of Trinity Wall Street, read the Prayers for Peace at 12:30pm. The prayers are said every day at the chapel by a priest or volunteer.

"This is a house of prayer for all people," Dr. Cooper said, "where we stress the theology of peace, and the theology of reconciliation."

In a statement earlier in the week, Cooper said, "Let us also reflect on the wisdom of Archbishop Desmond Tutu that justice requires reconciliation, and while we seek the end of violence, we work and pray for reconciliation and peace."

The theme of reconciliation was also heard at Trinity Church, where the Rev. Matthew Heyd was preaching at the weekday Eucharist.

"We began the week hearing about the death of Osama bin Laden, tying us back to that day in September nearly ten years ago. There's been joy, and sadness, bewilderment," he preached. "These unplanned moments...provide us with the possibility of working together for peace."

The President had left New York by 3pm, after meeting privately with families who had lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. As he entered the building across the street from St. Paul's to meet with those families, the visiting choir from Pennsylvania -- with its singers too young to remember 9/11 -- sang in the chapel for tourists and staff members.

Nicole Seiferth is assistant editor for website and parish publications.

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