wfn.org | NCC discusses response to Sept. 11 tragedy

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 3, 2001       News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-21-71BP{442}

NOTE: A photograph of the Rev. Robert Edgar is available at
http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.html online.

NEW YORK (UMNS) - The ecumenical response to the tragic events of Sept. 11
and the implications for the future were a major topic of discussion when
the National Council of Churches (NCC) executive board met Oct. 1-2.

The Rev. Robert Edgar, a United Methodist pastor and the NCC's chief
executive, along with other NCC staff, shared what the organization had done
on behalf of its member communions.

One of the first steps was to join with other faith groups in shaping a
statement called "Deny Them Their Victory: A Religious Response to
Terrorism." Released the day after the terrorist attacks, the statement had
more than 2,800 signers at the beginning of October.

Edgar invited four prominent Muslim leaders to meet with him on Sept. 26 to
work together to present better information on Islam to the American public,
promote interfaith understanding and respond to the various portrayals of
Muslims in the media. He said he would continue to meet with those leaders
on a monthly basis.

The NCC also plans to release a resource created in November 2000,
"Diversity and Community: A Multi-Religious Statement on Social
Responsibility in the Context of Ethnic, Cultural, Racial and Religious
Diversity in the United States." The council hopes that churches will use
the document as a basis of discussion in October and November.

The Rev. John McCullough, chief executive of Church World Service, said the
NCC's relief agency and the American Red Cross are working in tandem as
primary partners with the Federal Emergency Management Association to assist
victims, rescue workers and others affected by the terrorist attacks. The
interfaith counseling teams in New York provide emotional and spiritual care
and stress debriefing on an immediate basis, and are preparing for the
provision of long-term recovery services.

Some executive committee members also briefly shared the responses of their
denominations to the tragedy. The Rev. Bob Roberts reported that the
American Baptist Church has been focusing its efforts at the regional level.
As people have turned to the churches in their pain, for example, pastors
are being encouraged to respond "to the unique opportunity to develop a more
mature spirituality."

The Rev. Robina Winbush, Presbyterian Church USA, said her denomination has
been intentional about framing the crisis within the context of its
interfaith work. The Rev. Bruce Robbins added that the United Methodist
Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, which he leads,
has adjusted the agenda of its upcoming meeting to focus on improving
relations with Muslims. That meeting will include a visit to the Islamic
Center of Los Angeles.

The Very Rev. John Meno, Syrian Orthodox Church, warned about stereotyping
non-Muslim Arabs as well. He explained that his denomination has been
present in the United States for more than 100 years. Although the community
is small - no more than 30,000 - "I can assure you we're a community with a
very large heart," he said.

The United Church of Christ created space on its Web site where members
could chat about the aftereffects of Sept. 11, according to the Rev. Lydia
Veliko. "The intensity of that dialogue on the Web site has lasted to this
day," she added.

International visitors appeared at the executive committee meeting to offer
words of comfort and support in light of the tragedy. A crew from Italian
Protestant Television also filmed part of the meeting.

A trio from Central America - Noemi Espinoza of Honduras, the Rev. Vitalino
Similox of Guatemala and Benjamin Cortes of Nicaragua - brought gifts and a
letter from churches in Mexico and Central America.

The Rev. Kim Dong Wan, chief executive of the National Council of Churches
in Korea, also offered the support of his churches and spoke about progress
in the reunification efforts between North and South Korea.

Margaret Kornfeld and Mary Ragan, pastoral counselors who also teach at
Union Theological Seminary and General Theological Seminary respectively,
led a discussion about leadership strategies for pastoral care in response
to the terrorist attacks.

Ragan told the executive committee that traumatic grief is different from
all other types of grieving. "That gap, that hole, cannot be filled by
anything else," she explained.

Any type of reaction, from numbness to nightmare, is normal as the result of
such catastrophic events. "This is not about you being weak or fragile or
unable to take it," she said. "We mustn't individualize it. Its scope is
beyond what any of us can get our arms around."

Kornfeld pointed out that the usual timeline for trauma, making a diagnosis
sometime after three weeks, must be extended because the scope of the
catastrophe was so massive. The events also may reactivate earlier traumas.

In this particular case, churches can help members understand the process of
the "demonification of others," according to Ragan. Because of the rage
against the Arabs believed responsible for the terrorist attacks, "anyone
who looks different will be increasingly in danger," she said. 

Links to statements, news and resources regarding the ecumenical response to
the Sept. 11 tragedy can be found at www.ncccusa.org, the NCC's Web site. 

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United Methodist News Service
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