CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran congregations near the site where
United Flight 93 crashed in 2001 will be involved in special
remembrances on Sept. 11, 2006, the fifth anniversary of the
tragedy.
United Flight 93 was hijacked by terrorists and eventually
forced down by passengers and crew near Shanksville, Pa., as the
plane was headed toward a target believed to be in Washington,
D.C. Other hijacked planes were crashed that day into the World
Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon in Arlington,
Va. Nearly 3,000 people died and thousands were injured as a
result of the attacks.
The Rev. Robert J. Way, pastor of St. Mark Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Shanksville, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church,
Buckstown, Pa., said he was asked to take part in a service Sept.
11 at the Flight 93 Memorial.
"Members from both (congregations) are integrally connected
with the service at the flight memorial, some as first
responders, others as property owners and still others as
ambassadors and task force members. Our involvement and
participation in the service at the crash site will be our main
focus again this year," he told the ELCA News Service.
Other south-central Pennsylvania congregations will host
special tributes in recognition of the fifth anniversary.
Trinity Lutheran Church, Somerset, Pa., will host a program Sept.
10 focusing attention on the crash of United Airlines Flight 93.
A multimedia musical dramatization, "Reverence for Life," will
feature the words of Albert Schweitzer and the music of Johann
Sebastian Bach.
On Sept. 11 Simpson-Temple United (Lutheran and Methodist)
Parish, Altoona, Pa., will present its annual patriotic musical
tribute, "This Land We Love," featuring music, drama and dance.
Participants will include the choirs of Simpson-Temple United
Parish and Bethany Lutheran Church, Altoona.
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Information about the Flight 93 Memorial is at
http://www.honorflight93.org on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
