Eleven local religious leaders will offer devotions and prayers at noon today in commemoration of Patriot Day and to remember the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The hour-long program will bring local political and religious leaders together, organizer Rabbi Dr. Raphael Pazo said.

"The purpose of this is the brotherhood of human kind," Pazo said. "We are coming together, and we are coming together as patriots."

The service will start with the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, an invocation and then prayers from the 11 religious leaders.

In the program, it states the service's main goals: "Remembering the victims who perished, honoring the heroic efforts of public safety officers, governmental and civic leaders, civilian volunteer patriots and the bereaved survivors of September 11, 2001."

Once the religious leaders finish speaking, there will be a moment of silence, which will be broken by sirens from the Lodi Police Department.

"After the second tower fell, there was absolute silence," Pazo said. "Then all you could hear was the wailing sirens from the New York Police Department, the Fire Department of New York and paramedics."

The program will end with a 21-gun salute, "Taps," the retirement of colors, a benediction and then "Amazing Grace."

Light refreshments will be provided by the ladies of the Lodi Sikh Temple and members of the American Legion Post 22, where the commemoration will be held.

This will be the second year for the service. Last year, a group of interfaith leaders held a similar ceremony called the Gathering for Peace at Hutchins Street Square.

The ceremony was renamed after Patriot Day, which is the name of the federal day of remembrance President Bush signed into law after Sept. 11. Every year, there is also a national moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., which is when the first plane struck the World Trade Center.

"President Bush wanted to emphasize not so much the negative part of the remembrance, but the positives of people rallying from all different faiths, creeds and religions," Pazo said.

Participating houses of worship include St. John's Episcopal Church, Grace Presbyterian Church, the Lodi Buddhist Church, Big Valley Bible Church, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, St. Anne's Catholic Church, the Lodi Sikh Temple, the Salvation Army, the Lodi Mosque, Congregation Keter Yisrael, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Contact reporter Maggie Creamer at maggiec@lodinews.com. Read her blog at www.lodinews.com/blogs/citybuzz.