On Holy Ground: Pilgrims in a Sacred Place

Aired 2002-03. Six months after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, much of the debris had been cleared away and the barren acreage had begun to resemble a construction site. But for those still searching for human remains and for the thousands of visitors who came to bear witness, this place was already a shrine, a place of pilgrimage. On Holy Ground: Pilgrims in a Sacred Place sampled the great variety of people from many ethnic and religious backgrounds who were drawn to the site out of curiosity or practical need and became transformed by the experience. For some, the visit was profoundly personal. Others came to offer food and drink to workers. A Jewish group on the viewing platform prayed together with a group of Unitarians. A mother brought her daughter to the site and planed to return with her husband and son for whom the visit would be "cathartic." And we saw Muslims who came to pray and bear witness to the aftermath of unspeakable events. Finally, the broadcast followed a Methodist youth group who came to New York to learn about mission work. But we witnessed that when they reported back to their congregation, their most profound thoughts were about Ground Zero.