September 8, 2011
Concord 9/11 Widow Carries on for Peace & Justice
Loretta Filipov is a member of Peaceful Tomorrows
Cindy Cantrell – The Boston Globe, www.boston.com
Loretta Filipov of Concord doesn’t plan to dwell on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. It will simply be another day missing her husband, who died on the first plane to hit the World Trade Center.
Instead, she prefers to recognize the anniversary of the Al Filipov Peace and Justice Forum, which she established as a living memorial to her husband in September 2002.
This year’s free event will take place on Wednesday, 7 to 8 p.m., at the Trinitarian Congregational Church in Concord. Keynote speaker the Rev. James Forbes, senior emeritus minister of Riverside Church in New York City, will be presented with the first Al Filipov Peace and Justice Award for his role in establishing the Healing of the Nations Foundation.
The day of the forum would have been Loretta and Al’s 54th wedding anniversary; one of their sons, David, is an editor and reporter at the Globe.
“The events of Sept. 11 were tragic, but I focus on the work,” said Loretta, noting that 10 years ago she made a conscious choice not to remain angry, knowing that’s what Al would have wanted.
While the forum is named for her husband, Loretta insists it has never been about him or the manner in which he died. For that reason, she hopes that people will come with an open heart and mind, ask questions, and ‘‘go out and do something good’’ with their knowledge.
“I want the forum to go on in perpetuity, until all nations can resolve their differences by talking rather than war. That’s a lot to ask for, but we’re better than what we’re made out to be. So we move forward to make a better world.”
For more information about the Al Filipov Peace and Justice Forum, call 978-369-4837 or visit www.alfilipov.org.
