New York ? The pews of St. Paul’s Chapel still bear scuff marks from the boots and heavy equipment of bone-weary relief workers who found refuge there in the days and weeks following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The chapel across the street from the World Trade Center, the oldest church in Manhattan, served as the sanctuary where ground zero workers ate, slept, washed and wept.

On Monday, the 18th-century chapel where George Washington once prayed opens a permanent exhibit recalling the rescuers, the volunteers who nurtured them, and the images and words of a world pouring love on the city.

“The Unwavering Spirit: Hope and Healing at Ground Zero” celebrates “rescue efforts that were astonishingly brave — they were the things we love about one another, and that we don’t often get an opportunity to see,” said Edwin Schlossberg, an interactive designer whose firm, ESI Design, worked with the church to create the exhibit.