ELCA Leaders Commemorate September 11 Anniversary

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On the first anniversary of the September 11 terrorists attacks on the United States, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said he hoped citizens of the United States "will take this moment not to isolate ourselves from the world or to try to dominate the world, but that we will stand in solidarity with the suffering in the world."
Hanson made the comments in Germany while attending the Council meeting of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition, based in Geneva, Switzerland. It has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing over 61.7 million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The ELCA is an LWF member.
"My hope -- and also a bit of my fear -- is that we have so singularly preoccupied ourselves with September 11 and the casualties of that act that we have not made this an occasion of solidarity with places of suffering in the world [since]," Hanson said.
"If we could rededicate ourselves to such solidarity as citizens of the United States, as we grieve, then we will be renewed in our commitment to be part of God's desire for a world of justice, mercy and peace," he said.
Hanson was in Lutherstadt (Luther's city) Wittenberg, Germany, attending the September 10-17 Council meeting. The day of meetings began with morning prayer at the Stadtkirche (City Church) where Reformer Martin Luther preached almost 500 years earlier.
As part of that prayer service, Hanson read from Luther's lecture on the first letter of St. John in the Christian New Testament, "If one believes in Christ, one has love. The more firmly one believes, the less trembling there is." The reading concluded, "For perfect or pure love springs from the confidence that constantly takes hold of God."
Hanson later met with an international panel of journalists present for the LWF Council meeting.
"September 11 is a day for prayer, a day of memory and hope, a day to rededicate our lives to working for peace and justice," he said. "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, to reconcile and set us free for a life of witness and service."
"In the U.S. culture we do not allow much time for grieving and healing," Hanson told the reporters. "The grieving that has occurred, especially in New York, is taking a long time to heal, so the Lutheran church, along with others, remains very present in New York City, working to bring healing and reconciliation to the lives of people who experienced this devastation very close up," he said. As examples, Hanson mention two programs: "Camp New Ground" to help children cope with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks and "Project LIFE" to assist adults with finding new jobs and dealing with the various emotions they are experiencing as a result of the tragedy. Both programs are offered through Lutheran Disaster Response-New York.
"It is a very somber day for the people of our country. It is a prayerful day. It is a day of patriotism, but, as some have said, 'Healthy patriotism is to allow one to love their country as much as one loves one's own country,'" said Hanson, citing American theologian, Joseph Sittler.
A September 11 statement adopted unanimously by the LWF Council, said dialogue among peoples, cultures and religions "is both the means and objective of a genuine and effective response to terrorism." Isolation and domination "is clearly not the answer" and "military means will not provide the security that we seek," the LWF Council statement said. The statement stressed that it is only through mutual understanding and solidarity, including active efforts to address social and economic inequities, that the root causes of terrorism can be removed. During a plenary session the same day, the council unanimously elected Hanson to the position of LWF vice president for North America, to complete the unexpired term of the former presiding bishop of the ELCA, the Rev. H. George Anderson. On the LWF Council, Hanson sits on the Program Committee for Theology and Studies.

ELCA SECRETARY OFFERS PRAYER AT NATIONAL CATHEDRAL SERVICE
The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, represented Hanson at an
interfaith service marking the September 11 anniversary at the National
Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Almen was one of several church leaders
who offered prayers during the service, attended by some 3,000 people.
Almen said, "Eternal God, you remind us from generation to
generation of your steadfast love and you summon the nations of the
earth to the paths of justice and peace: Speak again to us in this time
of your never-ending mercy and love, especially for those whose hearts
are still broken and those who dread today and fear tomorrow. Bless us
all anew with courage and strength for the journey of faith in each new
day, for you, O Lord, are the Great Shepherd of your flock, from ages
unto ages. Amen."
Others who participated in the interfaith service were South
African Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who preached; the
Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of
Christ
in the U.S.A.; and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who read aloud
several names of those who died in the attacks one year ago.
"God is the one who is right here, who was right there as the
planes were hitting their targets," Tutu said, according to a Religion
News Service report. "God was there as the buildings crumbled. ... God,
Emmanuel, is still here, God is with you, for God is the same,
yesterday, today and tomorrow, wiping away your tears, pouring balm on
your wounded souls."
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* Lutheran World Information is the information service of the
Lutheran World Federation.

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