CHICAGO -- Mayor Richard M. Daley presented Chicago's plans for a Sept. 11 memorial in a press conference Thursday morning.

"Over the next two weeks each of us will be remembering Sept. 11 and its victims in our own way," the mayor said.

NBC5's Charlie Wojciechowski reported that the city of Chicago will be joining the rest of the nation in remembering the attacks. It will be a day of mourning and a day of memorials.

Daley laid out the city's plan for a Sept. 11 ceremony, and said, "It is also important that we come together as a city to honor those who lost their lives and to recommit ourselves to peace, understanding, tolerance, and respect for all humankind." Chicago's observance is designed to be simple with a ceremony to begin at 11:45 a.m. that day in Daley Plaza. At noon, the entire city will be asked to join in three minutes of silent reflection, one minute for each of the places lives were lost, New York, Washington and western Pennsylvania.

At 12:03 p.m. churches and other houses of worship will ring bells and engage in traditional expressions of faith. Daley asked that houses of worship throughout the city remain open on Sept. 11 to allow for individual prayer and meditation.

Wojciechowski said that the centerpiece of the program will be a reading of the "Chicago Prayer of Hope, Unity and Remembrance," a prayer written by leaders of the city's faith community.

The ceremony will be hosted by Chicago actor Gary Sinese, with a musical presentation by noted saprano Elizabeth Norman.

Also, on Sept. 11, Chicagoans are encouraged to visit other events and exhibits, such as the photo exhibit currently on display at the Harold Washington Library. This collection of more than 5,000 photographs and personal statements will remain on display through the third week of Sept.

"It's an opportunity to bear witness to the events of Sept. 11 through the pictures and words of people who were there on that day," said project curator Robert Debbane.