Worship Service Commemorating 9/11/01

Worship Service Commemorating 9/11/01 The 10th year anniversary of 9/11/01 provides the followers of Jesus with the opportunity to look back, to examine our response to the events of that day and its aftermath in the light of His love and mercy, and to commit or recommit ourselves to the reconciliation and shalom that is so much a part of the Good News. This sample worship service may be used on September 11th as it is written, or adapted to suit specific congregations. May our worship bring us to our knees in repentance and to our feet in praise, and lead us to faithful action. (Anne M. Yoder, for the Eastern District & Franconia Mennonite Conferences Peace and Justice Committee)

CALL TO WORSHIP Sisters and brothers, today we meet to recommit ourselves to God and to each other as the people of God. We meet to worship, to reflect, to confess, to support each other, to pray for ourselves and our world. Come to this time with all of who you are, your praises and your laments, your joys and your concerns, your emotions and your intellect. May you experience God’s love, the grace of our Lord Jesus, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

SINGING “Be Thou My Vision” (Hymnal Worship Book 545)

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 46: 1-3, 8-10; 62:1-2, 5-8, 11 [New Jerusalem Bible] Note to worship leader: These texts speak of God’s vision for the world, as well as where we can find our true security. “God is our shelter and strength, ever ready to help in time of trouble, so we shall not be afraid when the earth gives way, when mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, and its waters roar and seethe, the mountains tottering as it heaves. Come, think of Yahweh’s marvels, the astounding things done in the world; all over the world Yahweh puts an end to wars, breaks the bow, snaps the spear, gives shields to the flames. ‘Pause a while and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted over the earth!’” [pause for silent reflection] “In God alone there is rest for my soul, from whom comes my safety; with God alone for my rock, my safety, my fortress, I can never fall. Rest in God alone, my soul! God is the source of my hope; with God alone for my rock, my safety, my fortress, I can never fall; rest in God, my safety, my glory, the rock of my strength. In God I find shelter; rely on God, oh people, at all times. Unburden your hearts to God, who is a shelter for us. God has spoken once; twice I have heard this: it is for God to be strong, for you, Lord, to be loving.” [pause for silent reflection]

SINGING “In the Rifted Rock” (Hymnal Worship Book 526)

PRAYER OF CONFESSION We confess with joy that we have learned, at least in part, what it means to find our shelter, our strength, our safety, our security in you, God. We have known the blessings of your everlasting love and the riches of your grace. We have worshipped you for your awesome greatness and committed our lives to following Jesus, our Lord. We confess with sorrow that we have missed, at least in part, the opportunities to end war, to break the weapons of war, to love our enemies in more than our theology. We are too tolerant of words and actions that denigrate and kill others in our own neighborhoods and around the world. We thank you for being with us and teaching us your ways. We ask for your forgiveness when we have failed to be ministers of peace and reconciliation.

SINGING / OFFERING “O God Our Help In Ages Past” (Hymnal Worship Book 328)

CHILDREN’S TIME Notes for children’s time leader: Help the children to think about peace and reconciliation as more than just nice-sounding words that we use only in church. Being a peacemaker means caring about others; trying to get inside their skin, as it were, to understand them; not making fun of them; inviting them to be part of our friendship circle or asking if we may be part of theirs. Children are often already good models of this. Ask them about when they’ve seen someone hurt by unkindness. What did they do in response? When has someone been kind to them? A good book for illustrating this concept is Enemy Pie. Another excellent book, Four Feet, Two Sandals, is about two Afghani girls who have been forced into a refugee camp by the war in their country, and how they share a pair of sandals together. These books can be borrowed through interlibrary loan via your local library.

SHARING & PRAYER Notes for worship leader: Ask the congregation to speak its joys and concerns, perhaps including those related to 9/11. In response, sing Hymnal Worship Book 152. The leader names one of the things spoken, and the congregation sings: “Kyrie Eleison” [Lord, have mercy] while holding their hands over their hearts, to symbolize solidarity, immediately followed by singing “Christe Eleison” [Christ, have mercy] while holding their hands up, offering it all to God. Repeat until all the joys and concerns have been named.

MEDITATION Notes for preacher: For most Americans, the numbers 9/11 bring back horrific memories. As our country was attacked by foreign terrorists, we understood, for the first time in many years, what it is like to be on the receiving end of skilled destruction, fueled by hatred. It felt like the end of the world as we knew it. Some of us, though raised in a peace tradition, believed that we could only hate our enemies in return -- no turning the other cheek for us. We were glad when our country went to war against Iraqis and Afghanis. Others wept over the terrible events, but did not feel justified in returning hatred for hatred. The gospel lectionary reading for September 11, 2011 is Matthew 18:21-35, which begins: “Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive someone who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” Americans vowed to never forget the events of 9/11, using it as emotional fuel to go to war. No one who lived through the events of that day, or whose heart was broken by those who died or lost loved ones then, can forget it. But we are not called to live by secular standards. What does the kind of limitless forgiveness that Jesus commanded lead us to instead? The aggression against the United States on 9/11 killed 2,976 Americans and foreigners. The war in Iraq alone from 2003 has killed over 101,900 civilians [see www.iraqbodycount.org/]. We are so used to the idea of war that we barely think about it, and yet it is a terrible reality for Iraqis and Afghanis. They too will “never forget.” Proverbs 3:31 is part of a long list for how to acquire Godly wisdom. It reads: “Do not emulate the violent; never model your conduct on theirs.” On whom should we model our conduct then? The obvious answer is Jesus, but we do not always agree on what that means. It does seem, though, that if he had wanted us to hate and kill our enemies, if this was the purpose of his mission to earth, then he would have spent his time here in teaching and leading those things. Instead, he talked about loving enemies, and no longer living by the “eye for an eye” principle; he got angry at hypocrites and moneylenders and pushed them out of the holy temple, but did so without injuring or killing them; he healed, and forgave sin, and went to the cross to bring about reconciliation. There does not seem to be any ending time on these words and actions; they still matter for us today. If Jesus is really our Lord and Master, we HAVE to take these things seriously. For further sermon helps go to the Peace and Justice Support Network (http://peace.mennolink.org/resources/psunday11/index.html) or to Preaching Peace (http://www.preaching peace.com).

SINGING Choose 1 or 2 songs: “Gentle God, When We Are Driven” (Sing the Story 39) “O Hear, My People” (Sing the Journey 68) “Beauty for Brokenness” (Sing the Journey 115) “We Are People of God’s Peace” (Hymnal Worship Book 407)

CANDLE-LIGHTING CEREMONY / PRAYERS Include a number of unlit tea lights on altar table; light first one from lit pillar candles on table or from matches. Invite congregation forward to light the tea lights after reading the following: Leader: Light a light for those you want to remember. Light a light for hope. Light a light as a prayer beyond words. Light a candle for those you need, in whatever way, to let go. Light a candle for God’s enfolding arms to surround those who suffer because of violence and war. Light a candle as a commitment to peace in whatever form God calls you to. Read one or more prayers as the congregation files forward to light candles. Intersperse with instrumental music. Open. / Open us. / Open us to grace. Open us to your grace, O God, so that we may sense your abiding presence dwelling in and with us. Open. / Open us. / Open us to vision. Open us to your vision, O God, so that we may have the same divine imagination that sent to a hurting world a baby, not a bomb; so that we too may envision alternatives to violence. Open. / Open us. / Open us to peace. Open us to your peace, O God, so that our hearts will be disarmed; so that we will work for the shalom of our communities, our nations, and our world. Open. / Open us. / Open us to you, Immanuel. [Anne Yoder]

To the ice of hate may I be an axe of love / to frostbitten injury the salve of pardon / to cold waters of doubt a bridge of faith / to the dark soil of despair a seed of hope / to the snowstorm of sadness a shelter of joy / to long nights of darkness a lantern of light. [Mary Palmer]

SINGING Choose 1 song: “My Soul Cries Out” (Sing the Story 124) “Come, Come Ye Saints” (Hymnal Worship Book 425)

BENEDICTION “Now may the God of Peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing God’s will, and work in us what is pleasing to God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love” [Hebrews 13:19-21; Ephesians 6:24].