Interfaith Service September 11, 2010

Transcription

1 Interfaith Service September 11, 2010 Northlake UU Church with IMAN Northlake Sanctuary ~ 6:00pm Gathering: (#188) Come, Come, Whoever You Are words adapted from Rumi - Susan Welcome Marian Lighting of the Chalice Prayer - Jawad Time of Remembrance Marian Moment of Silence Responsive Reading: (#584) A Network of Mutuality by Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading from the Bible: I Corinthians 13 Reflection - Marian Readings from the Qur an Jawad and IMAN readers Prayer - Marian Benediction: (#602) If There Is to Be Peace by Lao-Tse Reception 1

2 GATHERING (#188) Come, Come, Whoever You Are words adapted from Rumi Come, come, whoever you are, wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. Ours is no caravan of despair. Come, yet again come. WELCOME Come, come, whoever you are Christian, Muslim, Jew Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain Pagan, Agnostic, Atheist Catholic, Protestant, Unity, Quaker, Mormon, Baha i Humanist, Sufi, Mystic Unitarian Universalist Churched and un-churched Black, white, yellow, brown Rich and poor Those with shelter and food and those without Employed, unemployed retired, and in transition Young and old Able bodied and challenged Come, come, whoever you are Come, come, whoever you are Liberal, Conservative Democrat, Republican Tea Party, Coffee Party, and those who abstain Straight, gay, bi, trans We are a cross-section of humanity A sampling of all creation Gathering here to form sacred community Come, you are welcome here into this sanctuary of faith, hope and love 2

3 LIGHTING OF THE CHALICE The flaming chalice is a symbol of Unitarian Universalism. It was first used by members and friends of the Unitarian Service Committee during World War II as they helped as many as possible escape the horrors of the Holocaust. It continues to be a beacon of justice, hope and freedom. We light this chalice today, as a symbol of religious freedom. We come to this sanctuary as a people of many faiths We come with spirits of hope but most of all, we come to witness the transforming power of love. PRAYER Muslim opening prayer in Arabic, English 3

4 TIME OF REMEMBRANCE We have gathered here to commemorate the tragedy that occurred nine years ago on this day. Violence took the lives of ordinary people in a field in Pennsylvania, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. At ground zero, the initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, the numbers ripple out. Total number killed in attacks (official figure as of 9/5/02): 2,819 Number of firefighters, paramedics, police and Port Authority officers killed: 383 Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115 Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051 Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20 Total number of hate crimes reported to the Council on American- Islamic Relations nationwide since 9/11: 1,714 (nymag.com/news/articles/wtc/1year/numbers.htm) MOMENT OF SILENCE May we always remember the victims, living and dead. May our grief be shared and our burdens lightened. May the peace that goes beyond all understanding be in us and with us. May we be filled with grace and love. Blessed be and amen. 4

5 RESPONSIVE READING (#584) There are teachers and prophets in every age. Let us read responsively the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. There are some things in our social system to which all of us ought to be maladjusted. Hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear, only love can do that. We must evolve for all human conflict, a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. Before it is too late, we must narrow the gaping chasm between our proclamations of peace and our lowly deeds, which precipitate and perpetuate war. One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. We shall hew out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope. 5

6 READING FROM THE BIBLE 1Corinthians 13 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 6

7 REFLECTION Where were you on 9/11? I was in North Carolina, in my office downtown, sitting in front of my computer beginning the day s work. The radio, tuned to the local NPR station, was barely audible in the background. Then the phone rang, alerts blasted across the screen, NPR broke into its morning programming. I sat in stunned silence as I listened to reporters give minute to minute details of the unfolding horror. I raced home and turned on the television. Images filled the screen of a damaged Pentagon in Washington, and the twin towers in New York, flaming, then falling. People running, screaming, flooding the streets. Emergency vehicles racing into the chaos, smoke rising black and thick. I was a few hundred miles away from the action, but the live images being broadcast into my living room shocked me beyond any comprehension of the world that I knew. I wandered aimlessly outside into a stone cold silence that was eerily still. I met neighbors with blank stares and ashen faces, all sharing the experience of trying to comprehend the tragedy. For days after 9/11, nothing else mattered. We were a country thrown abruptly into grief; this nation of millions of people, all in tears, all sharing a sense of great sorrow. There are only a handful of events in our history that we can ask, Where were you on that day? and be understood. We will always remember. On that fateful day, Americans were also shaken from a sure-footed, and sometimes arrogant, sense of security, to a raw homeland vulnerability. Attacks on the most visible structures representing the defense of our country and the trading centers of 7

8 capitalism, were well-aimed. The use of planes fully loaded with ordinary citizens, brought the magnitude of vulnerability to a personal scale. No segment or individual in our society remained untouched. Each anniversary that has followed, there have been services, memorials, and rituals to remind us of the events of September 11, Slowly, the pain is ebbing, and perhaps even more slowly, we are learning the realities of living in a world that is filled with inequality, injustice and terror. All of us would much rather live in a world filled with peace. Individuals, families, and congregations have worked hard to build bridges across our diversities. We have shared meals, joined efforts to build houses for the poor, stocked and staffed food banks, opened our doors at home, work and church to a wider diversity, and shown more compassion to those who are different from ourselves. But every country and every religion has citizens or followers who harbor thoughts and plan actions that do not benefit the common good. A prime example is Pastor Jones in Gainesville, Florida. In the name of Christianity, he has planted seeds of intolerance and hatred on church grounds. The local and national media, which feed on our unending appetite for sensationalism, have propelled Pastor Jones idea of burning copies of the Kor an on this anniversary of 9/11, into an international spectacle. As his moment of fame spreads far beyond his 50-member congregation, reaction to his willingness to defile the sacred book of Islam has sparked protests and riots around the world from people of every faith. Already one person has died and scores wounded in street gatherings. Even if the torch is not lit today, the spark of violence and retribution has been ignited. My friends, this has to stop. We are better than this. There will always be extremists in every corner, secular and religious. If Pastor Jones steps away, others will fill the 8

9 gap. It is up to us, to speak, to act and to live more boldly and loudly than the voices of fear and destruction. We must step outside our comfort zone and speak out when we witness offensives against our neighbors, whether it be in print, broadcast on TV, uttered at work, church or home. Edmund Burke once said, All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good [people] to do nothing. This is not the first time in human history that the need to speak loudly for the sake of peace has arisen. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, countries were busy establishing national religions. It was bloody time of terror as religions fought for survival and dominance. Exhausted from the struggle and appalled at the violence, King John of Hungary a Unitarian - issued an edict of religious tolerance in This was the first such proclamation to use language that was universal, and it set the stage for religious freedom in the region. It was directed toward freedom of the pulpit, but it also implored the people to judge for themselves if the words being spoken found affirmation in their soul. The values expressed religious freedom, reason, respect are the foundation of today s Unitarian Universalist faith. The words of King John in Note that the term Diet in this proclamation means meeting. In this instance, the Diet was a conference of political powers. His majesty, our Lord, in what manner he together with his realm legislated in the matter of religion at the previous Diets, in the same matter now, in this Diet, reaffirms that in every place the preachers shall preach and explain the Gospel each according to his understanding of it, and if the congregation like it, well. If not, no one shall compel them for their souls would not be satisfied, but they shall be permitted to keep a preacher whose teaching they approve. Therefore none of the superintendents or others shall abuse the preachers, no one shall be reviled for 9

10 his religion by anyone, according to the previous statutes, and it is not permitted that anyone should threaten anyone else by imprisonment or by removal from his post for his teaching. For faith is the gift of God and this comes from hearing, which hearings is by the word of God. Further east, King Akbar was reigning over the Moghul Empire in what is present day India and Pakistan. In a region of very complex and ancient religious practices, Akbar spoke these words, It has become clear to me that it cannot be wisdom to assert the truth of one faith over another. In our troubled world so full of contradictions, the wise person makes justice his guide and learns from all. Perhaps in this way the door may be opened again whose key has been lost. My friends, once again the time for being silent has passed. We must be leaders, citizens and religious people who value freedom, even if it means toleration of those who are different than ourselves. We must act with justice wedded with compassion. It is time to stand on the side of love. I am reminded of the words of playwright and poet Sonia Sanchez. In response to Zora Neale Hurston s observation that fear is the greatest emotion, Sanchez responded, No my dear sister. Fear will make us move to save our own skins. Love also makes us save ourselves, but it will make us move to save others as well. Where were you when you it was time to stand on the side of love? Blessed be and amen. 10

11 READINGS FROM THE QUR AN PRAYER In the spirit of faith, hope and love, I offer these sacred words, which are prayed by Christians around the world. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. 11

12 RESPONSIVE BENEDICTION (#602) If There Is to Be Peace by Lao-Tse If there is to be peace in the world, There must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, There must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, There must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, There must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart. BENEDICTION Come build a land where sisters and brothers, anointed by God, may then create peace: where justice shall roll down like waters, and peace like an ever flowing stream. (#121 We ll Build a Land by Carolyn McDade) Let our words and our actions be filled with justice, compassion and love. May we always have room in our religions and in our hearts for those who are different than ourselves. May we rejoice in the diversity of creation, and affirm all that is good. Go now in peace. Greet your neighbor. Stand on the side of love. 12