Lutherans Mark Anniversary of Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks

CHICAGO (ELCA) Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will mark the anniversary of last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States with special services and remembrances during Sunday worship Sept. 8.
In an Aug. 22 statement to the church, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, 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 Sept. 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 Sept. 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 Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and I have signed a declaration to commemorate Lutheran Disaster Response's ministry since the Sept. 11 acts of terrorism," Hanson wrote in an Aug. 15 letter to the 10,766 congregations of the ELCA.
"In both of our churches, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2002, will 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 the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, a list of ELCA publications that offer assistance to congregations commemorating the Sept. 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."

ELCA AND LCMS WORK TOGETHER
The Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director, Lutheran Disaster Response, said Lutherans on Sept. 8 will not only remember the sorrow of last September but remember the work that the ELCA and LCMS do together.
"The purpose of the commemoration is for our members and congregations, as they remember people who have been affected by natural and human-caused disasters, first of all to remember that in the midst of all these things, God doesn't abandon us but is present with sustaining grace, and that also in the midst of them God works directly in our lives through God's people and the people of our Lutheran congregations and Christians people throughout the world," Furst said in an interview.
The anniversary of Sept. 11 "will stir many feelings," Bouman said in a pastoral message to the ELCA. People will experience "ongoing grief over the loss of loved ones; a lingering depression as we find it hard to 'move on'; heightened patriotism as well as anxiety about the continuing conflict; anger and a continuing hunger for revenge. Some who lost loves ones are still too numb to be able to attend any remembrance ceremonies at all. And, lingering over all of it is the question of God. My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, 'Where is your God?' How shall we remember?"
Bouman offered four images for remembrance: an open window; a lit candle; bowed heads and silence at 'ground zero'; and a phone card, metro (subway) card and food voucher.
"How will we remember? An open window reminds us of our global solidarity and vocations as peace makers. Bowed heads and silence at ground zero remind us of the heroes and of the selfless service and sacrifice of so many, including our own. A lit candle reminds us of our connection and conversation to the world's spiritual hunger, and the witness of the Church to the death and resurrection of Jesus. A phone card, metro card and food voucher remind us of the day-to-day discipleship of compassion and ministry as we continue to attend to our wounded metropolis," Bouman said.
Bouman is scheduled to preach at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Manhattan, N.Y., Sept. 8. The Rev. Elisa Buberwa, bishop of the Northwest Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, will preside. Holy Eucharist with Anointing and Laying on of Hands for Healing will be part of the service. Bouman will also preach during an ecumenical service on Sept. 10 at the Interchurch Center, Manhattan.
The Rev. David Benke, president, LCMS Atlantic District, will preach at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, N.Y., Sept. 10. Festival Memorial Vespers will take place at Holy Trinity Church, Manhattan, Sept. 15.
The Rev. Theodore F. Schneider, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod, will attend an interfaith "Service of Remembrance" at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11. Later that day, Schneider will preach at Hope Lutheran Church, Annandale, Va.
Members of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Shanksville, Pa., and St. Paul Lutheran Church, Buckstown, Pa., together known as the Good Shepherd Cooperative Lutheran Ministry, will hold a Service of Remembrance on Sept. 11 in Buckstown. Both congregations were within four miles of the United Flight 93 crash site.

ELCA OFFERS WORSHIP RESOURCES
To guide congregations and worship leaders observing the one- year anniversary during worship, staff of the ELCA worship team, Division for Congregational Ministries, has provided a list of hymns, prayer and Scripture for incorporation into the various forms of worship, including services of Holy Communion, Morning and Evening Prayer, Service of the Word, and ecumenical worship services. The resources are available at http://www.elca.org/dcm/worship/911 on the Internet.
"The resources are intended to reinforce for us, as Lutherans, that we are certain about hope. They are designed to draw people together" with the understanding that "in the face of anything, we continue to have profound hope in the God we have come to know through Jesus Christ," said the Rev. Michael Burk, ELCA director for worship.
Burk said the approach taken to put together hymns, prayer and Scripture for Sept. 11 observance during worship derived from the perspective that people of the church are most interested on "how we continue to be faithful in our worship. There's a temptation to think that we need a brand new liturgy. The approach we've taken is that we've got the liturgy. What we need are the words to wrap our mouths around. It's about saying, 'It's time to be together as a people of God,'" he said. -- -- --
ELCA Domestic Disaster Response compiled links at http://www.elca.org/DCS/disaster/sept11index.html to resources for commemorating the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

For information c