wfn.org | Lutherans Mark Anniversary of Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 29, 2002

LUTHERANS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF SEPT. 11 TERRORIST ATTACKS
02-205-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA)   Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) will mark the anniversary of last year's Sept. 11
terrorist attacks on the United States with special services and
remembrances during Sunday worship Sept. 8.
     In an Aug. 22 statement to the church, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson,
presiding bishop of the ELCA, said, "Sept. 11 is a day for prayer, a
day of memory and hope, a day to rededicate our lives to working for
peace and justice.  We remember those who died and those who continue
to mourn their deaths.  We also remember those who have died since
Sept. 11 from the escalating violence in the world."
     "As Jesus wept over Jerusalem, longing that people might know
the days that make for peace, so we weep for the world.  Yet, we do
not lose hope for our hope is in God who continues to create life,
reconcile and set us free for a life of witness and service.  Let our
working for peace be witness to God's work in and for the sake of the
world," he said.
     Hanson and the Rev. Gerald B. Kieschnick, president, Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), signed a "Joint Declaration of a Day of
Commemoration for Lutheran Disaster Response."  The declaration
invites Lutheran congregations from across the country to observe
Sept. 8 as a "Day of Commemoration" for "sisters and brothers who
have suffered and are suffering from natural and human-caused
disasters."  Lutheran Disaster Response is a ministry of the ELCA and
LCMS.
     "My counterpart in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and I
have signed a declaration to commemorate Lutheran Disaster Response's
ministry since the Sept. 11 acts of terrorism," Hanson wrote in an
Aug. 15 letter to the 10,766 congregations of the ELCA.
     "In both of our churches, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2002, will be a day
to remember survivors, rejoice in the response, and rededicate
ourselves to sharing one another's burdens, continuing to pray and
work for peace in the world.  In the past year, Lutheran Disaster
Response has been tirelessly at work in New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.," he said.
     Hanson's letter to congregations was accompanied by a copy of
the declaration, resources for worship that included a "Litany of
Remembrance" developed by the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the
ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, a list of ELCA publications that
offer assistance to congregations commemorating the Sept. 11
anniversary, and a report outlining the ELCA's "massive" short- and
long-term domestic and international disaster responses.
     "On the first anniversary of these terrorist acts, I ask your
congregation to remember those who work on our behalf to respond to
this disaster, and to continue to support the extensive work that
lies ahead," Hanson said.  He encouraged the 5.1 million members of
the ELCA to continue their "financial generosity" as they
"rededicate" themselves "in the name of Christ to share one another's
burdens in response to the long-term needs of disaster-affected
communities in the United States and around the world."

ELCA AND LCMS WORK TOGETHER
     The Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director, Lutheran Disaster
Response, said Lutherans on Sept. 8 will not only remember the sorrow
of last September but remember the work that the ELCA and LCMS do
together.
     "The purpose of the commemoration is for our members and
congregations, as they remember people who have been affected by
natural and human-caused disasters, first of all to remember that in
the midst of all these things, God doesn't abandon us but is present
with sustaining grace, and that also in the midst of them God works
directly in our lives through God's people and the people of our
Lutheran congregations and Christians people throughout the world,"
Furst said in an interview.
     The anniversary of Sept. 11 "will stir many feelings," Bouman
said in a pastoral message to the ELCA.  People will experience
"ongoing grief over the loss of loved ones; a lingering depression as
we find it hard to 'move on'; heightened patriotism as well as
anxiety about the continuing conflict; anger and a continuing hunger
for revenge.  Some who lost loves ones are still too numb to be able
to attend any remembrance ceremonies at all.  And, lingering over all
of it is the question of God.  My tears have been my food day and
night, while people say to me continually, 'Where is your God?'  How
shall we remember?"
     Bouman offered four images for remembrance: an open window; a
lit candle; bowed heads and silence at 'ground zero'; and a phone
card, metro (subway) card and food voucher.
     "How will we remember?  An open window reminds us of our global
solidarity and vocations as peace makers.  Bowed heads and silence at
ground zero remind us of the heroes and of the selfless service and
sacrifice of so many, including our own.  A lit candle reminds us of
our connection and conversation to the world's spiritual hunger, and
the witness of the Church to the death and resurrection of Jesus.  A
phone card, metro card and food voucher remind us of the day-to-day
discipleship of compassion and ministry as we continue to attend to
our wounded metropolis," Bouman said.
     Bouman is scheduled to preach at St. Peter Lutheran Church,
Manhattan, N.Y., Sept. 8.  The Rev. Elisa Buberwa, bishop of the
Northwest Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, will
preside.  Holy Eucharist with Anointing and Laying on of Hands for
Healing will be part of the service.  Bouman will also preach during
an ecumenical service on Sept. 10 at the Interchurch Center,
Manhattan.
     The Rev. David Benke, president, LCMS Atlantic District, will
preach at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, N.Y., Sept. 10.
Festival Memorial Vespers will take place at Holy Trinity Church,
Manhattan, Sept. 15.
     The Rev. Theodore F. Schneider, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan
Washington, D.C., Synod, will attend an interfaith "Service of
Remembrance" at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., on Sept.
11.  Later that day, Schneider will preach at Hope Lutheran Church,
Annandale, Va.
     Members of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Shanksville, Pa., and St.
Paul Lutheran Church, Buckstown, Pa., together known as the Good
Shepherd Cooperative Lutheran Ministry, will hold a Service of
Remembrance on Sept. 11 in Buckstown.  Both congregations were within
four miles of the United Flight 93 crash site.

ELCA OFFERS WORSHIP RESOURCES
     To guide congregations and worship leaders observing the one-
year anniversary during worship, staff of the ELCA worship team,
Division for Congregational Ministries, has provided a list of hymns,
prayer and Scripture for incorporation into the various forms of
worship, including services of Holy Communion, Morning and Evening
Prayer, Service of the Word, and ecumenical worship services.  The
resources are available at http://www.elca.org/dcm/worship/911 on the
Internet.
     "The resources are intended to reinforce for us, as Lutherans,
that we are certain about hope.  They are designed to draw people
together" with the understanding that "in the face of anything, we
continue to have profound hope in the God we have come to know
through Jesus Christ," said the Rev. Michael Burk, ELCA director for
worship.
     Burk said the approach taken to put together hymns, prayer and
Scripture for Sept. 11 observance during worship derived from the
perspective that people of the church are most interested on "how we
continue to be faithful in our worship.  There's a temptation to
think that we need a brand new liturgy.  The approach we've taken is
that we've got the liturgy.  What we need are the words to wrap our
mouths around.  It's about saying, 'It's time to be together as a
people of God,'" he said.
-- -- --
     ELCA Domestic Disaster Response compiled links at
http://www.elca.org/DCS/disaster/sept11index.html to resources for
commemorating the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html