ELCA NEWS SERVICE
September 10, 2004
ELCA Presiding Bishop's Letter Marks Sept. 11
04-168-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), sent a
letter Sept. 10 to Lutherans in the New York and Washington,
D.C., areas in commemoration of the third anniversary of
terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and
a third attack foiled when passengers forced their plane to crash
in Pennsylvania.
Hanson's letter was sent to the ELCA Metropolitan New York
Synod and the ELCA Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod -- two of
the church's 65 synods -- and posted at
http://www.elca.org/bishop/m_091104.html on the ELCA Web site.
"As we stop to remember the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001,
we are mindful of those for whom the painful realities of that
horrific day continue," Hanson wrote.
"We remember in prayer this day the countless family and
friends who mourn the deaths of loved ones; those whom the trauma
revisits in terrifying dreams; those who still experience the
haunting silences, the fear of separation, the absence of trust;
and those who live with the loss of income and the disintegration
of community. We pray for those who know the isolation of being
suspect simply by virtue of their ethnicity," the presiding
bishop wrote.
"With gratitude to God, we remember you who continue to
proclaim the Gospel, who work to heal fragile lives, and who have
been 'called the repairers of the breach, the restorers of
streets to live in,'" Hanson wrote, referring to the biblical
book of Isaiah.
The 5-million-member ELCA gathers for worship in more than
10,000 congregations the weekend of Sept. 11. "With you we are
joined in our resolve to build a world of justice and peace,"
Hanson wrote.
"May our merciful and loving God continue to bless you with
strength and courage in these days," he concluded.
-- -- --
Resources on remembering Sept. 11 are available at
http://www.elca.org/dcs/disaster/sept11index.html on the ELCA Web
site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
