Armed with markers and cotton pennants of various colors, Ellicott City resident Sally Goss stood behind a set of white tables outside St. John's Episcopal Church, on Frederick Road, on Sept. 4, waiting for the morning service to end and parishioners to come streaming out. A math resource teacher at Laurel Woods Elementary, Goss called out to families, encouraging them to make a pennant in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

"Hey guys!" Goss shouted, "come make a pennant for peace." Goss drew families to the tables and urged them to write or draw what peace meant to them. The finished pennants will be blessed at 4 p.m. Sept. 10 in a special service, before they are strung between two trees at the entrance of the St John's Parish Day School and the church. The project is the first joint effort involving 9/11 between the church and the St John's Parish Day School, located on the same property.

The idea for decorating pennants came after the Common Life Commission, a joint committee between the day school and church, of which Goss co-chairs, decided it wanted to encourage more student and parishioner hands-on involvement.

The committee tries to be "deliberate and intentional on activities that can include both groups," Goss said.

"The children at school weren't even born on Sept. 11, and we wanted them to have some understanding to commemorate this time. We then thought of pennants for your team, along with fall and the football season," resulting in the Pennants for Peace idea, Goss explained.

Erin Richardson, 7, of Ellicott City, and a second-grader at the day school, drew peace signs and hearts on her white pennant.

"It's all about peace this week," she said, "and us being instruments of peace."

Her mother, Norma Richardson, agreed.

"It's a perfect way to turn a tragic, negative event into something positive," Richardson said. "They (the children) can't really relate to the concept of someone not liking us and flying planes into buildings. It's so beyond her realm of what she can understand," adding that Erin had asked her how people could not like her when they hadn't met her.

This is the second time the day school, which serves pre-K through fifth grade, has done something in remembrance of Sept. 11, according to headmaster Steve Harrison, of Ellicott City. Last year, as part of its Day of Service, the school held a book drive and collected about 500 books for the Collington Square School, in Baltimore.

Harrison expressed sentiments similar to Richardson's about explaining Sept. 11 to younger students.

"We're not doing much of an explanation for our younger students," he said, "but they're doing flags for peace and drawing designs that make them feel good." For the older students, Harrison said the topic will be discussed during the first week of school, which started Wednesday, Sept. 7.

"We try to explain to them that 10 years ago, there was an act of terrorism on our soil and what we're doing now is trying to promote the cause of peace in the world, a world without terrorism or violence."

Harrison said the concept is difficult to get across, considering the U.S. is involved in two wars.

"We want to be supportive of our country and our troops' efforts, and we have wars going on because we want to world to be free of war. It's like we're promoting violence to get away from violence," Harrison said.

Harrison said the school's families have been very supportive of the project.

He said some families brought older children along to the school's visitation day on Tuesday, Sept. 6, and "they think it's neat that we're going to put the flags they created along Frederick Road, commemorating peace and Sept. 11."

"They recognize they have a way to express themselves, which is something very few people have the opportunity to do, to express some sense of commemoration of Sept. 11," he said.

"It's really empowering for families. It gives them an opportunity to talk about it with their children, where they were. It really is a conversation starter for some of our families."

By the end of the two services on Sept. 4, Goss said about 100 pennants had been made.

But the young artists weren't the only ones drawn to the tables.

"It's good to have a tangible project that we can do with the school," said Elyse Evans Kircher, of Columbia, whose husband, Matt, decorated a green pennant, with the word "Peace" written across it.

"I think we have to be positive so we can move past the negative of tragedy and come together as a society," Matt Kircher said.

Added Goss: "We're hoping they (the students) can think in terms of world peace and even have conversations on what went on in the world 10 years ago; for them to have a greater understanding of other cultures and people. We think about the lives lost, but are also trying to move forward."