Service of Remembrance and Peace
Brethren Service Center
September 11, 2002

Calling Us Together

Opening Hymn #368 O God of love, O Power of peace

Words of Remembrance*

All:	We light a candle of remembrance for all those who suffered and died on September 11th in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. We light a candle to remember those who still live and who suffer because of the events of that day.
Time of silence
Stan:	When we remember the stockbrokers, office workers, maintenance workers, bystanders, window-washers and all the others who worked together so valiantly to help each other,
Judy:	We remember great courage.
Barb:	When we recall the firefighters who rushed upstairs as most everyone else was racing out,
Judy:	We remember selfless service.
Stan:	When we recall the police officers who stood to protect and defend the people and performed their duties until the towers came crashing down on top of them,
Judy:	We remember selfless sacrifice for the safety of others.
Barb:	When we recall the thousands of workers, women and men, old and young, single and married, American-born and those born in countries around the world who did not escape the buildings,
Judy:	We remember the loss of human life.
Barb:	When we recall those citizens who rushed to help, did all they could to help,
Judy:	We remember and give thanks for dutiful commitment to those in distress.
Stan:	When we recall the people who stood in line at the nation's blood banks to make living donations from their very bodies,
Judy:	We give thanks for those who live on to pass on life and love.
Stan:	When we remember the millions of Americans who gave so generously of their life and labor to endow funds to help the survivors and their families recover from their losses,
Judy:	We are grateful for generosity.

Prayer of Peace and Remembrance**

All:	May we be in prayer for all those who lost loved ones at work in the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon and all those on the four highjacked aircraft on September 11. We especially remember those who lost their lives in their dedication to saving others' lives. May God grant comfort, love and guidance to all their children and families, who are missing them.
Time of silence
Judy:	Remembrance begins with deep, personal identification. It begins with remembering the affliction of our brothers and sisters, and marking their pain as our own. Remembrance is a sacred moment when we raise up and hold to the light of the eternal moment, the good who have passed.

Words of Penitence*

Barb:	We light a candle, in penitence, recognizing that we have not done enough to address the sources of anger, hate, dehumanization, rage and indignation that lead to acts of violence.
Stan:	In our sadness, horror and shock we acknowledge that our own fears turned murderous and we have sought revenge, sometimes against even the innocent.
Judy:	We confess and regret our own anger and recognize its dangers to our spirits, our health, our community, and others.

Prayer of Peace for Afghanistan**

All:	May we be in prayer for the Afghan civilians who lost their lives in the ensuing bombing campaigns, and for their families who miss them just as deeply. May God grant them and their nation peace, equality and stability in the years to come.

Time of silence

Words of Penitence*

Stan:	In the midst of the aftermath of the events of September 11th, 2001 we have been tempted to seek only our own good, hear only our own truth, acknowledge only our own suffering.
Judy:	We know that peace will come to us and to our children only when the concerns of justice anywhere become the subject of political and social will everywhere, and that no justice leads to no peace.

Prayer of Peace for Israel and Palestine**

All:

May we be in prayer for all those living in Israel. We pray for their safety and for the desire to live with their neighbors in peace. May we be in prayer for the Palestinian people, that all persons would desire and work for a just and lasting settlement for a homeland, which would provide them with hope and a stable future.

Time of silence

Words of Penitence*

Barb:	In striving for national security and domestic peace we run the risk of confusing might for right and participating in the very behaviors we condemn.
Judy:	Guide our country that in our search for security we may not trample the rights of the innocent nor disregard the rule of law. Let us not confuse leadership within the global community as the voice for the whole community.
Stan:	Repentance means to turn away from wrong deeds. Repentance means choosing instead deeds which require moral restraint, and are more beneficial to all persons who suffer.

Prayer of Peace for Iraq**

All:

May we be in prayer for the citizens of Iraq, who have suffered for so long under war, persecution, bombing and sanctions, lacking even the essentials for life and health. We pray for all of our leaders for the wisdom and the desire to seek life, so that all of us and our children might live in peace. We light a candle (Judy) to light the way to a better world for our children and our children's children, and all the children of God.

Time of silence

Words of Hope*

Judy:	We recall with joy the unity we felt in the outpouring of help, kindness, thoughtful words and deeds from at home and around the world.
Barb:	We must hold firmly to our unity, borne forward now not of tragedy but of loving kindness.
Stan:	We place fresh confidence in international organizations and conversations that bring the diverse gifts of the world to the problems of poverty, injustice, terror and strife.
Barb:	We long for wise policies that forego short term gain for long term stability, justice and peace.
Judy:	In a year filled with tragedy we dare to hope for an era yet to come in which the slaughter of innocents, greed, the ambitions of power, and cultural, racial and religious bigotries are but memories of a dim and unenlightened past.

Song of remembrance, penitence, hope, and peace Rain Come Down by Shawn Kirchner***

Prayer of Benediction*

All:

God of the ages, before your eyes all empires rise and fall yet you are changeless. Be near us in this age of terror and in these moments of remembrance. Uphold those who work and watch and wait and weep and love. By your Spirit give rise in us to broad sympathy for all the peoples of your earth. Strengthen us to comfort those who mourn and work in large ways and small for those things that make for peace. Bless the people and leaders of this nation and all nations so that warfare, like slavery before it, may become only a historic memory. We pray in the strong name of the Prince of Peace. Amen.

Time of silence

*Liturgy by Rev. Eileen W. Lindner and Rev. Marcel A. Welty, National Council of Churches
**Prayers from the Ivester Church of the Brethren, Grundy Center, Iowa
***Taken from Spark the Fire by Kindling

Interfaith service of remembrance and friendship
Sept. 11, 2002

Gathering of the community

Prelude

Welcome and greetings

Leader:	For cities and towns, factories and farms, flowers and trees, sea and sky—
People:	Lord we praise You for the world and its beauty.
Leader:	For family and friends, neighbors and cousins—
People:	Lord, we thank You for friendship and love.
Leader:	For kind hearts, smiling faces, and helping hands—
People:	Lord, we praise You for those who care for others.
Leader:	For instructions that teach us how to live—
People:	Lord, we thank You for those who help us to understand your love.
Leader:	And for making us one family on earth, the children of God—
People:	Lord we praise You, who made all people different, yet alike.

Song: "Let There Be Peace on Earth"

Litany of remembrance

	The one:	When we remember the stockbrokers and window-washers who worked together so valiantly and helped each other to escape, we can say together,
	The many:	We remember your courage.
	The one:	When we remember the firefighters who rushed upstairs as everyone else was racing down, we can say together,
	The many:	We remember the risks you took.
	The one:	When we remember the police officers who performed their duties until the towers came crashing down on top of them, we can say together,
	The many:	We remember your unselfish regard for the safety of others.
	The one:	When we remember the thousands of workers, men and women, young and old, married and single, American and international, who could not escape the buildings, we can say together,
	The many:	We grieve over the loss of life.
	The one:	When we remember the citizens who rushed to the scene and did whatever they could to help, we can say together,
	The many:	We remember and thank you for your unselfish commitment.
	The one:	When we remember the people who poured into blood banks to make donations, we can say together,
	The many:	We thank you for your compassion.
	The one:	When we remember the millions of Americans who gave so generously to funds designed to help survivors and their families, we can say together,
	The many:	We are grateful for your generosity.

Prayer

Silent (each in their own way) (In unison) O God, we are one with you. You have made us one with you. You have taught us that if we are open to one another, you dwell in us. Help us to preserve this openness and to fight for it with all our hearts. Help us to realize that there can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection. O God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly, fully, completely, we accept you, and we thank you, and we adore you, and we love you with our whole being, because our being is your being, our spirit is rooted in your spirit. Fill us then with love, and let us be bound together with love as we go our diverse ways, united in this one spirit which makes you present in the world, and which makes you witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious. Amen.

Anthem

Meditations (brief selection from various faith traditions which all will understand)

Prayers for peace

Silent (Each in their own way) Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; and Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive— It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. So be it.

Prayers of love

Silent (each in their own way) O Lord, grant us to love Thee; grant that we may love those that love Thee; grant that we may do the deeds that win Thy love. Make the love of Thee be dearer to us than ourselves, than our families, than wealth, and even than cool water.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Silent (each in their own way) In the spirit of humility we give thanks for all that is. We thank the great spiritual beings who have shared their wisdom. We thank our ancestors who brought us to where we are now. We are grateful for the opportunity to walk this planet, to breathe the air, to taste the food, to experience sensations of a human body and mind, to share in this wonder that is life. We are grateful for the natural world that supports us, for the community of humankind that enables us to do many wondrous things. We are grateful that we are conscious, that as intelligent beings we can reflect upon the many gifts we have been given.

Song: "God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale"

Feast of friendship

This interfaith worship service from Unity in Community, an organization in Northern Virginia, was submitted by Illana Naylor of the Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren.