Dear Caldwell,
Without a doubt, the world will be sharpening its focus over the next two weeks on the 10th Anniversary of what we have come to call “9-11.” That day is a Sunday and I want your input and help as we think about how we share that day together, in worship and any other activities you may want your church community to consider.
We all have strong memories and mixed emotions about that day, which has shaped the experience of multiple generations of Americans.
What are your thoughts about how we might worship God that day? Are there scripture passages or other perspectives that have been important to you as you have tried to make sense of the events of that day and how they changed our world? Are there lingering questions that derserve our shared thinking? Has your faith and sense of the Christian life been changed over the years since?
I invite your input. There is a ‘reply’ option below to all my blog inputs. I’d love to hear what’s on your mind and your heart as this important occassion draws near.
Thanks to all who worshipped with us yesterday. May God be with you as you make the Sunday-to-Monday shift and as we all seek to become stronger disciples of our Lord.
See you soon,
In Christ,
John
ps – Please keep Bill and Eloise Hicks and their family in prayer. Bill’s mother, Anita Hicks, suffered a stroke yesterday morning (yet Bill still came to church to sing in our Men’s Chorus).
One of my favorite scriptures is Jesus’ words to his disciples of “in this world you will have troubles, but, take heart, I have overcome the world.”
A few ideas about what to incorporate in the sermon/music/other aspects of the service:
– to live in a state of gratitude – to make a point of thanking God upon arising each morning
– to live our own lives as much as possible with peace, kindness, acceptance of others
– to not stereotype others or lump members of other religions into one big group
– to remember each morning how precious and fragile life is
– Jesus’ actions and words remind us of the value of the individual, whether that person is like “us” or not; to realize that God is the God of us all
– to do whatever we can, wherever we can, to bring about peace and justice
– to raise our voices when we see injustice
– to acknowledge God’s ultimate power and presence
– to strive to be understanding of different cultures
– Any music that speaks of love, of God’s creation, of foregiveness
– A time of silent prayer at the beginning of the service to pray for all of those who have been affected by loss from 9-11 and to offer our worship service in memory of those who died. (that may be too somber a way to begin our service – which is usually always upbeat, so it’s just a suggestion)
– rather than taking up the offering the way we usually do, perhaps people could come to the front to personally place on the altar their offering, being mindful of the work in missions that will result from those funds. A physical way to represent what we can individually do to help those in need, which ripples across the world.
Hello John, thanks for asking. I imagine you have considered these, but this is what comes to mind for me: How can we see the perspective of the Muslims that did this? How can we turn the other cheek regarding something so awful? How might we better understand their religion and not feel anger towards all? Why are wars and terrorist acts driven in the name of “I AM”? What valuable lessons have we learned? Have we made the decision to better serve Christ because of these events or has it diminished the light in some? I obvisouly don’t have many answers and suppose we are all mixed -up about this! I was going to suggest a Muslim speaker for after lunch, but just read about the Mulsim pres-school at Caldwell in 2006 and it apparantly did not go so well. ALSO: I would like to suggest that we put 250 small American flags in the front lawn. It would look great and we could enourage everyone to take one home when they leave the church. If there is no money in the budget, The Traveling Circus will take care of it and I will coordinate everything. Let me know how you feel about this, as I would need to order ASAP. Thanks and love. Johnny
I was on United FLT 1460 @6:15am on Sept 11th. Luckily, we were not airborne. When I exited the plane, I looked for a TV monitor. Then I started calling family and friends who were just awakening to the horror. As I drove home I was stuck by the American flags that were sprouting up all over the landscape. It never occurred to me that I did NOT wait to retrieve my luggage nor did I take a stack of personal paperwork from the seat back of my place on the plane! I was numb. I just wanted to go home and be with family and friends. Psalm 23 went through my head over the next months. When I returned to frequent business travel I bought a gold cross to wear. I realized that I had been a “closet Christian”. Today I continue to wear the same cross when I travel so that should there ever be another 9-11 the enemy will KNOW that they are killing a Soldier for Christ. “Eternal Father” is a hymn I would like to hear.
I have often wondered how different our world would be if the U.S., with better leadership, had followed the example of Jesus by refusing revenge and acting peaceably instead. Just after the attacks in New York, our nation had the sympathies of almost every country in the world–even most Muslim nations. If, instead of increasing the carnage, we had asked the help of those nations in apprehending and LEGALLY dealing with those responsible for 9-11, would it not have been much better? I think of the thousands (many thousands more than those killed in New York), including our own young men and women, the young men and women of other nations involved in the war on both sides, and innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan who have died in wars that were unnecessary and that have only made our world more hate-filled and dangerous. Jesus’ words, “Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you…,” it seems to me, make sense not only in our individual lives, but in this case, as public policy.