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The little white church is weather-beaten, its interior in disarray; bare bulbs sprout from light fixtures, and the floor is littered with drywall and insulation.

Outside, a red, white and blue sign has been erected. It reads, "Thunder on the Mountain, UAL Flt 93 Memorial Chapel, Shanksville, Pa."

Inside, Al Mascherino was grinning. On Monday, he plans to throw open the doors of the former Mizpah Lutheran Church in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, for the planned memorial service recognizing the six-month anniversary of the crash of hijacked United Airlines Flight 93.

Mascherino, 58, is affiliated with the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. A Catholic priest for 25 years, he said he was relieved of his chaplain duties during an assignment in Delaware because of illness. He defines himself as a priest in good standing, unassigned.

Nonetheless, he has found himself spending hours each day inside a church long abandoned, its former parishioners gone on to join with a neighboring congregation. Mascherino recently purchased the old church, and has been working to turn it into a nondenominational memorial chapel. He hopes those who come to Shanksville to visit the crash site may also stop at the chapel, perhaps say a prayer or light a candle in memory of the 40 passenger and flight crew victims who died in a nearby field on Sept. 11.

The church is 100 years old, Mascherino said.

"I made up my mind I was going to dedicate my life to it," he said.

Mascherino said he has always kept an eye on the tiny country church. It was put up for sale in October, and he bought it in January. He said he fears it will take the federal government years to erect a monument or memorial to the flight's victims, several of whom have been credited as heroes for apparently fighting back as terrorists commandeered the plane.

"We can't wait five years," he said. "I want to do this. We keep saying we will never forget. But what are we doing to remember? I'm doing what I can do."

Mascherino, who resides in Somerset, said he has no plans to turn the chapel into a souvenir shop.

"Absolutely not," he said. "It's not commercial."

He said he met many families of victims last fall, and wanted to do something immediately to commemorate their loss.

"I was very affected and touched by their situation," he said. "I decided something had to be done, so I bought the church. I call it a secular chapel. If people want to pray, they can. I'm not establishing a church."

Mascherino said he is planning a complete renovation of the building, but acknowledged that his financing is on a wing and a prayer. He obtained a bank loan for the $18,000 mortgage, and chuckled about his anticipated bill as electricians installed nearly a mile of wiring last week.

He has big plans for the future, including installing stained-glass windows depicting the various heroes of Sept. 11, from firefighters and police officers to President George Bush to the passengers of Flight 93. He hopes to list all of the passenger and crew names on one of the chapel's walls.

An organ he purchased at auction was sheathed in plastic, awaiting eventual placement in the balcony he hopes to build.

Mascherino said he has already received several offers of help, including from one volunteer who drives from Uniontown weekly to help clean up the chapel.

"People seem to want to participate," he said.

He hopes to preserve an important part of the community's history and at the same time to memorialize sacred ground.

"Every day somebody stops and says, 'I was baptized in this church. I was married here. I want to know what you are going to do with it.'"

Harold Knupp had the same questions, when Mascherino, a long-time acquaintance, first asked him if Knupp would donate a bell to the new chapel.

Knupp bought property in Somerset formerly owned by the Church of God state headquarters, along with its campground, which is now known as Edgewood Grove Estates, a residential retirement community.

"He's got a unique idea," Knupp said of Mascherino's plans. "That was my old home church. I was baptized there and went through catechism there."

The bell Mascherino referred to came with the church he bought, Knupp said, but it was not hung from a belfry.

"The bell was manufactured around the late 1800s," Knupp said. "It's a huge, beautiful bell. It's got a beautiful tone to it. It's a classy old bell. We are going to give it to him (Mascherino) on condition, as long as the facility there exists. It's basically permanently on loan."

"I want this bell to be mighty," Mascherino said. "Visitors can pull the rope and make it ring. I want it to be the voice of (Flight) 93."

It will be a while before the bell, which Mascherino has christened "Thunder Bell," actually rings in the chapel.

But in the meantime, he greets visitors to the chapel with a proud parent's enthusiasm, and is especially delighted when former parishioners stop by.

"I tell them, 'You are going to be proud of this someday.'"

Memorial service

"A Time for Remembrance," an ecumenical memorial service to recognize the six-month anniversary date of the crash of Flight 93, will be held at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the Shanksville United Methodist Church, 701 Main St., Shanksville, Somerset County.

At 10:06 a.m., church bells will toll 40 times with a moment of silence, while names of 40 crew members and passengers are read. (It is suggested that all churches, courthouses, etc. statewide participate in "Tolling of the Bells" at 10:06 a.m., with a moment of silence being observed.)

Immediately after the service, those interested will proceed to the temporary memorial site, where a formal dedication of a bronze plaque installed at the scene will take place.

An American flag, flown from the masthead on the USS Carl Vinson, has been sent to the borough of Somerset and will be accepted by Susan Hankinson, Somerset County Flight 93 coordinator, on behalf of the families of Flight 93. The flag was sent "in honor of those who lost their lives on Flight 93 due to the terrorist attack on our country; in honor of the heroes of United Airlines Flight 93 who so bravely gave their lives for all of us, and in honor of those left behind to carry on. We stand together fully engaged in this war on terrorism."

Several family members of passengers aboard Flight 93 will attend the service. If they are willing, the flag will be presented to them on behalf of all families. The flag will then be returned to the Somerset Borough office for display and public viewing until a more permanent memorial is established.

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