Words fail me
Unspeakable horrific death and dying, loss and grief
A place of Calvary
Yet overwhelming generosity, selflessness, and heroism
New Life and Resurrection
Who is my family?
Faith and action helps us see we are one family together across faith traditions. We are all sisters and brothers. We belong to each other.
We are one Body, One Body in Christ
Jeannie Anderson-West
Roman Catholic
1st VP, Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento
>O Lord God, Your Holy Spirit intercedes for us even when we do not have the words. Now is one of those times when words fail us and we do not know how to pray. Send Your Spirit now to comfort us in these days of need and loss, and help us to commend:
• all of the innocent who have died in these horrible attacks
• all those who grieve • all the children whose parents never came home yesterday
• all those who continue the work of search and rescue
• all the medical and emergency personnel who have put their lives on the line for the sake of others we commend them all into your care.
You teach us to love our enemies and pray for those who hate us, but those words seem so far from our imagination. On our own, Lord, we don’t know how to love our enemies. On our own, we might seek vengeance and revenge. But vengeance is not justice, and revenge will not put out the fires of anger within us. Lord, more than ever, we need You. We need You to touch us with your grace, to fill us with your compassion, and to remind us that we are all, all of us, are your precious children.
In the midst of things we cannot understand, send us what we need most . . . Your peace, Your comfort, and the assurance of Your never failing love.—AMEN.
Scot Sorensen
St Johns Lutheran Church
Utter and complete horror and sadness at what happened on the morning of 9/11, was my first response that day to the twin towers falling. A huge outpouring of love, love for those that had lost their lives, love for those who had barely escaped, love for those who were climbing the stairs as the towers fell, and love for those sifting through the rubble for possible survivors, was my second reaction.
In the days that followed, there were those that were angry and wanted revenge and to retaliate, and there were those that wanted to come together in love, in friendship, to try to understand and to grieve together.
The Interfaith Service Bureau, now ICGS, was there, to bring people together, to share, to express their grief and their love for all mankind.
Let us continue those ideals far into the 21st century, to continue to bring people together, to continue to learn and share and love all mankind so that in the future, we will have “peace on earth as it is in Heaven”.
“I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love.”
“So let us try, as an experiment, peace, and if the results of peace are bad, then we can choose if it would be better to go back to the old state of war! Let us in any case make the experiment. If we see that unity brings Light we shall continue it.” Baha’i Faith
Serene Erby
President
Remarks by Attorney General Garland honoring the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. this morning – Check it out here.