Posted on September 19, 2001 at 2:47 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — UAB University Professor Henry Panion III, Ph.D., has written a hymn, “We Stand Strong,” dedicated to the families of those lost in the September 11 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. The hymn is simple and musicians can easily add accompaniment, he said.

“I wanted it to be easy enough so that the average person wouldn’t feel intimidated by the music,” Panion said. “I also wanted people to be able to sing it in a congregation without a piano.”

Panion wrote the hymn in a hotel room in Huntsville during the early morning hours last Friday while attending a Leadership Alabama conference. Overwhelmed by the tragedy and the personal stories of loss, Panion turned off the television and began humming the tune.

“I don’t usually write lyrics,” Panion said. “The words just seemed to come.”

Panion sent the hymn via e-mail to his friends, colleagues and fellow musicians. By Friday he learned that people across the nation were singing it. Since then, he has received word that churches, civic groups and schools in Birmingham and across the country, including California, Illinois, Ohio and Virginia, are singing the hymn. At least four churches in Birmingham included the hymn in their Sunday services, he said. Panion is also singing the hymn with civic groups in Birmingham, including the Birmingham Rotary Club on Wednesday, of which he is a member.

“I wrote it for that purpose,” Panion said. “I wrote it with the intention of sharing it as a gift, with the hope that someone, somewhere might feel just a little bit better. People can take it and sing it and pass it along.”

Go to www.music.uab.edu/westandstrong.pdf to download or print a copy of the hymn. Please be aware that this document must be viewed with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.