Religious leaders pause to reflect on 9/11

-12/09/06

Religious leaders yesterday paused


Religious leaders pause to reflect on 9/11

-12/09/06

Religious leaders yesterday paused to reflect on the day five years ago when more than 2,750 people perished after the terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, reports the Episcopal News Service (ENS).

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, recalled the day in a reflection on BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day.

Williams was at Trinity Church, Wall Street, two blocks away from the World Trade Centre, at 8:45 a.m. on September 11, 2001, when the first plane struck the north tower.

“Desperate tragedy, trauma and shock bring us close to strangers,” Williams said. “That doesn’t make what happens good or explainable, it doesn’t take away the responsibility of those who did the damage or heal the grief of the bereaved.

“But for the rest of us, the connection is made, with our own humanity and the humanity of others. And the question for all of us is: ‘what do we need, to help us build on those moments of reconnection, so that we don’t lose sight of that naked vulnerability we share as human beings, so that we don’t forget about what we finally have in common with each other?'”

Presiding Episcopal Bishop Frank T. Griswold called on all people to commit to “a future in which the events of that day will not be repeated.”

In a video statement, Griswold said: “I can think of no better way to observe the passage of five years since the horrific events of September 11, 2001 than to commit ourselves, individually, as a church, and as a nation to looking for new ways to pursue healing and restoration in the world God so loves.”

The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches (NCC), said that the horror of 9/11 “still stings” and insisted that “we must take a higher road, breaking cycles of violence and pursuing peace. In this way we will truly honour the memory of those who died on September 11, 2001.”

President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, attended a September 10 memorial service at St. Paul’s Chapel, the historic Episcopal church located near Ground Zero that operated a volunteer-driven relief effort in the months following the tragic events of September 11.


Religious leaders pause to reflect on 9/11

-12/09/06

Religious leaders yesterday paused to reflect on the day five years ago when more than 2,750 people perished after the terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, reports the Episcopal News Service (ENS).

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, recalled the day in a reflection on BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day.

Williams was at Trinity Church, Wall Street, two blocks away from the World Trade Centre, at 8:45 a.m. on September 11, 2001, when the first plane struck the north tower.

“Desperate tragedy, trauma and shock bring us close to strangers,” Williams said. “That doesn’t make what happens good or explainable, it doesn’t take away the responsibility of those who did the damage or heal the grief of the bereaved.

“But for the rest of us, the connection is made, with our own humanity and the humanity of others. And the question for all of us is: ‘what do we need, to help us build on those moments of reconnection, so that we don’t lose sight of that naked vulnerability we share as human beings, so that we don’t forget about what we finally have in common with each other?'”

Presiding Episcopal Bishop Frank T. Griswold called on all people to commit to “a future in which the events of that day will not be repeated.”

In a video statement, Griswold said: “I can think of no better way to observe the passage of five years since the horrific events of September 11, 2001 than to commit ourselves, individually, as a church, and as a nation to looking for new ways to pursue healing and restoration in the world God so loves.”

The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches (NCC), said that the horror of 9/11 “still stings” and insisted that “we must take a higher road, breaking cycles of violence and pursuing peace. In this way we will truly honour the memory of those who died on September 11, 2001.”

President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, attended a September 10 memorial service at St. Paul’s Chapel, the historic Episcopal church located near Ground Zero that operated a volunteer-driven relief effort in the months following the tragic events of September 11.