wfn.org | New York observances planned for Sept. 11

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Sept. 5, 2002        News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-21-71B{390}

NOTE: This report is accompanied by a sidebar, UMNS story #391.

NEW YORK (UMNS) - For New Yorkers who want to observe the first anniversary
of the events of Sept. 11, events ranging from church services to arts
performances to solemn city-sponsored gatherings are planned.

So many opportunities for participation have been scheduled that The New
York Times published a 12-page special section on Sept. 4 titled, "Remember,
Reflect Renew: New York City's Guide to Cultural Events Surrounding the Week
of 9/11." 

But some United Methodist pastors in Manhattan have noticed that people are
conflicted about such observances. "Some of my parishioners are saying
'let's get over this, let's be done with it'; some want to take the day off
and reflect," said the Rev. William Shillady, pastor of Park Avenue United
Methodist Church. "You talk to 10 different New Yorkers, each is going to
experience something different that day."

For those who do want to talk or simply reflect in silence, Park Avenue is
reviving its role as a "listening post" for the entire week of Sept. 8.
"Basically, what I am doing is the continuation of my street ministry from
last year," Shillady said.

Further downtown on 13th Street, Metropolitan-Duane United Methodist Church
has operated a listening post on weekday afternoons for the past year and
provides referrals for people who need professional counseling. The Rev.
Takauki Ishii expects that the stress of the anniversary may compel more
people to seek assistance. "Hopefully, our ministry will be helpful," he
said. 

The Rev. James "K" Karpen, pastor of the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew,
United Methodist, on the Upper West Side, admitted that he is not looking
forward to the anniversary. "My feeling is that we've all come a distance in
the last year," he explained. "That day is just going to bring it all back
again."

Karpen - who has written an article about Sept. 11 for Unterwegs, a United
Methodist magazine in Germany - does believe that church members should
gather in remembrance. "I have hope and faith that by going through that day
... we end up afterwards in a better place," he said.

The Rev. Bryan Hooper, pastor of Washington Square United Methodist Church
in the Village, said the fact that some 5,000 people gathered in July to
critique six proposed designs for rebuilding on the World Trade Center site
"really demonstrated that no one has gotten past it."

Hooper, who had served with Shillady at Park Avenue until receiving a new
appointment this summer, noted that people seeking help at the church
associated many of their problems with Sept. 11, even if there was no direct
relationship to the events of that day.

"People are moving on, but they're moving on in new ways," he said.

The citywide observances on Sept. 11 will begin as bagpipe and drum corps
depart at sunrise from each of the five boroughs and march toward the World
Trade Center site, arriving about 8 a.m. After a moment of silence at 8:46
a.m. - the time the first hijacked jet hit the site - New York Gov. George
Pataki will read the Gettysburg Address. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani will
then lead family members and loved ones of the estimated 2,819 people killed
in the terrorist attacks in reading the names of victims. New Jersey Gov.
James McGreevey will follow by reciting an excerpt from the Declaration of
Independence.

The formal ceremony at Ground Zero will conclude at 10:29 a.m., the moment
the second tower collapsed, and houses of worship and schools will be
encouraged to ring their bells. Victims' families will be allowed to descend
into the seven-story pit, and President Bush is expected to visit Ground
Zero in late afternoon. At sunset, an eternal flame will be lit in Battery
Park.

Many churches, throughout the city and the metropolitan area, will have
special services on Sept. 11. Uptown on 86th Street, for example, members of
Park Avenue United Methodist will gather on the sidewalk in front of the
church and read the names of victims, beginning at 8:47 a.m. Other
participants in that service will include 20 second-year district
superintendents from around the United States who are attending a meeting at
the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries' offices the next day. A
name-reading service also is scheduled during the same period at Washington
Square United Methodist Church.

Cokesbury, a part of the United Methodist Publishing House, has donated
4,000 candles for Park Avenue Church members to give to passersby, and the
Upper Room has provided 2,000 of its publication for distribution, according
to Shillady. Later, he will be among the religious leaders at a 6 p.m.
interfaith service at Park Avenue Synagogue, expected to draw 2,000 people.

Metropolitan-Duane will open its sanctuary at 6 a.m. for personal prayer,
meditation and worship, with specific services scheduled at 8:30 a.m., 12:15
p.m., 4: 15 p.m. and 7 p.m. A West Indian drummer will perform at 3 and 6
p.m. outside the church. "I think people will be coming in and out
throughout the day," Ishii said.

The United Methodist New York Conference and United Methodist City Society
are sponsoring a 1:30 p.m. remembrance service at John Street United
Methodist Church, just a couple of blocks from Ground Zero. Bishop Ernest
Lyght will preach, and some 400 people are expected to fill the pews and
courtyards of the small, historic church.

Christ Church United Methodist, on the Upper East Side, will have services
at 7:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Other evening observances include a 7 p.m. service at St. Paul and St.
Andrew with B'nai Jeshrun, the church's interfaith partner, and a 7 p.m.
communion service at Washington Square. Members of Washington Square also
will participate in a dusk-to-dawn "NYC Vigil for Peaceful Tomorrows,"
beginning Sept. 10 in Washington Square Park. 

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United Methodist News Service
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