wfn.org | Interfaith Group Proposes Inter-Religious Sanctuary at WTC Site

["Carol Fouke" <cfouke@ncccusa.org>]

For September 23 Release

Interfaith Group Seeks "Meaning Making Response," Proposes Inter-Religious
Sanctuary at WTC Site

September 23, 2004, New York City - A New York interfaith group that met for
dialogue on the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks is following up
with release today (Sept. 23) of a joint statement affirming a desire "to
stand together in a meaning making response."  

Specifically, the group is calling on the Lower Manhattan Development
Corporation to include representatives of religious communities in the
planning for the rehabilitation of the World Trade Center and to urge that
the site include "a hospitable inter-religious sanctuary or sacred space of
meditation that can reclaim the edifying and healing power of faith."

"We recognize that while terrorist acts and interpretations we give them may
draw some religious communities together, too often they tend to drive our
religious communities apart. It does not have to be this way," asserts the
group, which met on Sept. 11, 2004, in response to an invitation from the
National Council of Churches USA, Union Theological Seminary, The Interfaith
Center of New York, Religions for Peace USA and New York Disaster Interfaith
Services.

"We want to stand together in a meaning making response," signers say.	"We
want to see one another as our own best selves, even as we face and seek to
overcome our own worst selves as a human community."  While signers affirmed
their deep commitment to their particular religious traditions - Buddhist,
Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh - they say they also "reject
self-righteous and exclusive ways of thinking."

Specifically, they write, "We are glad to learn that our concern for the
inclusion of representatives of religious communities in the planning for the
rehabilitation of the World Trade Center site is being considered. 

"We affirm the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's recent effort to
include religious voices in the planning and encourage their continued
inclusion in the development of the site. This, we believe, will enable them
to address religious themes that are obvious in the 9/11 tragedy. We also
urge that a hospitable inter-religious sanctuary or sacred space of
meditation that can reclaim the edifying and healing power of faith be
included in the plans for the new site."

The group's statement builds on group members' Sept. 11, 2004, dialogue.  

There, keynote speaker the Rev. Lyndon Harris, an Episcopal priest who
achieved nationwide renown for his work at "Ground Zero," said that on this
third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, "we need to turn our attention to
meaning-making in the wake of public tragedy, to connecting with humility,
not hubris, with the suffering masses of the world who have been and are
victims of terrorism, and to tackling head-on the issue of religiously
related violence."  

The dialogue on "Religion-Related Violence and Resources for Healing from
Faith Communities" was "part of a search for alternative, multilateral ways
of addressing terror and to develop an ongoing agenda for continued
interfaith relationships in New York," said National Council of Churches
Interfaith Relations Director the Rev. Shanta Premawardhana, a Baptist
minister.

"Participants' houses of worship continue to provide spiritual resources to
help New Yorkers heal from the terror attacks of September 11, 2001," the
Rev. Premawardhana said, "and interfaith organizations continue to provide
direct services such as grief counseling, health services and training for
disaster preparedness, as well as opportunities for religious leaders to
build personal and institutional relationships through interfaith dialogue."

The Rev. Harris was recruited to St. Paul's Chapel, just across the street
from the World Trade Center, in 2001 to begin a new ministry to young people
at the 18th-century chapel, but the 9/11 attacks a week before the formal
launch of the ministry forced the cancellation of the plans.  St. Paul's was
closed to the public and opened to rescue and recovery workers, serving for
eight months as a refuge from Ground Zero and offering meals, counseling and
health services.

After telling his story of 9/11 and its aftermath, the Rev. Harris challenged
the faith community not to squander "this rare singular moment in history
that the post-9/11 context presents to build better relations among faiths
and communities."  For his own part, the Rev. Harris has left St. Paul's
Chapel to direct a new project, the Sacred City Project, which describes
itself as "an interfaith effort to engage the diverse faith communities of
New York City in the effort to rebuild the city in the wake of 9/11 and to
strengthen its sense of community."

Respondents to the Rev. Harris' keynote address included:

- Rabbi Craig Miller, a project director at the Jewish Community Relations
Council of New York, who pretaped his comments given that the 9/11
anniversary fell on the Jewish Sabbath.  He said a lot of "spiritual capital"
was created as people from many faiths worked together in the relief phase,
and people of faith need to use that capital as a basis for rebuilding the
city in new and different ways.  "We can use tragedy as an opportunity to be
repairers of the world," he said.

- Ms Nurah Jeter Ammat'ullah, founder/director of the Muslim Women's
Institute for Research and Development.  She noted the high price that
Muslims have paid in the 9/11 attacks themselves, in Afghanistan and Iraq, in
detention and other oppressions.  She commented that while the public face of
Islam is male, "in disasters generally women have worked across faith lines
to alleviate suffering" - something that is important to remember as we move
forward.

- The Rev. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki, head resident minister of the New York
Buddhist Church - Jodo Shin Shu (Shin Buddhist Temple).  He said 9/11
impelled the Buddhist community - one not much prone to making public
statements - to work more closely together to get out their message of
non-violence.  

- Dr. Gurucharan Singh, professor emeritus, Marymount Manhattan College, a
Sikh, who encouraged the faith community to consider the adoption of a common
mission statement for building bridges across the religious fault lines,
saying "as the Sikh religion teaches, religious conflicts are due to a lack
of appreciation of God's own design in religious diversity."

The full text of the interfaith dialogue group's statement follows.

*  *  *  *

"Interfaith Dialogue Counters Violence in the Name of Religion"
A Statement by Religious Leaders Gathered on the Third Anniversary of 9/11

On the Third Anniversary of the tragic events that occurred on September 11,
2001, leaders and members of several religious communities gathered at the
James Chapel of Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

The pain and agony of that horrific day are still with us. Our faith
communities continue to provide spiritual resources to help the people of our
city heal. Interfaith organizations continue to provide direct services such
as grief counseling, health services, and training for disaster preparedness.
In addition, they have made opportunities for religious people to build
personal and institutional relationships through interfaith dialogue. 

We recognize that while terrorist acts and interpretations we give them may
draw some religious communities together, too often they tend to drive our
religious communities apart. It does not have to be this way. We want to
stand together in a meaning making response. We want to see one another as
our own best selves, even as we face and seek to overcome our own worst
selves as a human community.

We are people of faith, representing Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and
Sikh traditions. While we are each deeply committed to our particular
religious traditions, we reject self-righteous and exclusive ways of
thinking. In an atmosphere of deep respect and reverence, we have listened to
each other's concerns and agreed on common questions and agenda items for
continuing our conversations. We want to demonstrate that through
multilateral dialogue hatred can be overcome.

We are glad to learn that our concern for the inclusion of representatives of
religious communities in the planning for the rehabilitation of the World
Trade Center site is being considered. We affirm the Lower Manhattan
Development Corporation's recent effort to include religious voices in the
planning and encourage their continued inclusion in the development of the
site. This, we believe, will enable them to address religious themes that are
obvious in the 9/11 tragedy. We also urge that a hospitable inter-religious
sanctuary or sacred space of meditation that can reclaim the edifying and
healing power of faith be included in the plans for the new site.

Signed by,

(Religious affiliations and institutions are listed for identification
purposes only and do not imply institutional endorsement.)

Rev. Dr. Frances Adeney,  Presbyterian Church USA
Ms. Nurah Jeter Ammat'ullah, Muslim Women's Institute for Research &
Development 
Rev. Williard Bass, Alliance of Baptists
Rev. Stanley Bhasker, Presbyterian Church USA
Dr. Michael Birkel, Society of Friends
Rev. Pedro Bravo-Guzman, Association of Independent Evangelical Lutheran
Churches 
Juanita Bryant, Esq., Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Mr. Adem Carroll, Islamic Circle of North America Relief
Rev. Dr. Robert Cathey, McCormick Theological Seminary
Rev. Rothangliani Chhangte, American Baptist Churches in the USA
Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, National Council of Churches USA
Ms. Dhilanthi Fernando, Alliance of Baptists
Ms. Alice Fisher, Congregation B'nai Jeshurun
Mr. Peter Gudaitis, NY Disaster Interfaith Services
Rev. Lyndon Harris, Sacred City Project
Mr. Tom Hartman 	
Rev. Bud Heckman, Religions for Peace USA
Rev. Dr. Joe Hough, Union Theological Seminary
Ms. Moushumi Khan	
Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, National Council of Churches USA
Ms. Sue Kopp	
Ms. Deidre Lee, National Council of Churches USA
Rev. N.J. L'Heureux, Jr., Queens Federation of Churches
Rev. Susan Lockwood, NY Disaster Interfaith Services
Ms. Christy Lohr	 
Rev. Dr. Peter Makari, United Church of Christ/Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ)
Ms. Marjorie Markus
Ms. Bridget Moix, Friends Committee on National Legislation
Dr. Lucinda Mosher, The Episcopal Church
Rev. T.K. Nakagaki, New York Buddhist Church
Dr. Eric Nelson, The Thich Nhat Hanh United Buddhist Church 
Sister Betty Obal, Loretto Community
Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, National Council of Churches USA
Rev. Dr. Tony Richie, Society for Pentecostal Studies
Ms. Joey Rodger, Quaker
Dr. Gurucharan Singh	
Ms. Stacy Smith, Union Theological Seminary
Ms. Jessica Stammen
Rev. Max B. Surjadinata, United Church of Christ
Mr. Josh Thomas, Union Theological Seminary
Dr. Christiane Tietz-Steiding, Union Theological Seminary 
Mr. Harpreet Singh Toor, The Sikh Cultural Society, Inc.
Ms. Sarah Vilankulu, National Council of Churches USA
Mr. Moise Waltner, Interfaith Center of New York
Rev. David Waugh, Metro Baptist Church, New York
Rev. Marcel Welty, National Council of Churches USA
Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Zikmund, National Council of Churches Interfaith
Relations Commission

-end-

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