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ACNS 2859 - USA - 7 February 2002

Archbishop of Canterbury visits "Ground Zero" and Church emergency centre

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, on Sunday 3 February visited
an Anglican chapel at "Ground Zero" in New York that became a focal point
for emergency operations following the terrorist attacks in New York on
September 11.

St Paul's Chapel, which adjoins the site of the disaster, has served as a
centre for relief operations, offering support to thousands of emergency
workers and volunteers. Dr Carey, accompanied by his wife Eileen, shared
breakfast with some of the men and women involved in the rescue and
continuing recovery operation. The Chapel has become an informal shrine and
place of pilgrimage for visitors wanting to honour those caught up in the
tragedy of last September.

In a sermon preached later at the nearby Trinity Church, Wall Street, Dr
Carey highlighted both the heroism and the fear aroused by those events.

"I am sure those of you who were so close to the terrible events of
September 11, in this Church and elsewhere, still remember how the shock of
it all tested your faith," he said.

"I have been struck by many tales of great bravery, defiant optimism and
outstanding courage. But I suspect that each hero felt at critical moments
very vulnerable and very scared."

Dr Carey set those emotions within the context of a continuing spiritual
journey: "That uncertainty is entirely understandable, because walking in
faith clearly suggests that we have not arrived at our destination; walking
in faith implies that we still have much to learn, more growing to do."

Earlier, Dr Carey joined seven other senior spiritual leaders - Christian,
Jewish, Muslim and Hindu - for a ceremony at "Ground Zero", during which
prayers were said from a number of religious traditions as well as the
twenty-third Psalm, which includes the words: Though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

Dr Carey was attending the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in New
York, in which the role of religion and faith communities in the
twenty-first century is a prominent theme.

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