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["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

Lutherans in the United States Mark Anniversary of September 11
Terrorist Attacks
A Day for Prayer, Memory and Hope

CHICAGO, United States of America/GENEVA, 7 September 2002
(ELCANEWS/LWI) - Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) will mark the anniversary of last year's September
11 terrorist attacks on the United States with special services
and remembrances during Sunday worship tomorrow, September 8.

In an August 22 statement to the church, ELCA Presiding Bishop,
Rev. Mark S. Hanson, 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 September 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
September 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 [LCMS] and I have signed a
declaration to commemorate Lutheran Disaster Response's ministry
since the September 11 acts of terrorism," Hanson wrote in a
letter to the 10,766 congregations of the ELCA.

Hanson said 8 September 2002 in both churches, would 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 Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the
ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, a list of ELCA publications that
offer assistance to congregations commemorating the September 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."

The ELCA joined the Lutheran World Federation in 1988.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted,
material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the
LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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