A Fitting September 11th Observance

Though I should not be surprised, I was caught a bit off-guard when our local news station began Monday's newscast with about seven minutes worth of stories relating to Sept. 11th. They then direct folks to their website and assure us that they will offer "continuing coverage" regarding the World Trade Center attacks all week long. And so we jump headlong into media saturation of an event that occurred ten years ago. We set up markers for ourselves, usually in multiples of five, to commemorate significant events. For some reason, ten seems much bigger as it relates to September 11th than did the fifth anniversary. I must offer a disclaimer here and admit that, for my family, September 11th is a day of mixed blessings which count more for us on a personal level that does commemorating the World Trade Center attacks. Our son was born on September 11th, and from that time forward it has always been an immensely joyful day around our house. Our children are our greatest gift, and so their observances come first. Conversely, my father died on September 11th, on our son's eighteenth birthday. So, for me, the day is about blessing and loss on a most personal level. Nonetheless, I realize the magnitude of the day for the general population. For that reason, I knew that I would plan an interfaith worship service for that day, since this will be the tenth anniversary. The service is full of readings from diverse religious traditions, affirmations of faith and prayers for peace. Only for a moment, at the beginning of the service will we look backwards, and remember. After that, we will give thanks for the tapestry of people and religious traditions that compose our campus community. I have taught a course on death, dying and bereavement for many years, so I know well the various ways in which people grieve, both individually, and corporately. Some folks will arrive at some kind of closure regarding personal losses, others will find it much more difficult. My discomfort with the various ways in which the media will play and replay the images from September 11, 2001 is that it will serve mostly to remind us of our differences, and of those responsible for the attacks. I hope I am wrong and that the coverage shows, instead, the ways in which the survivors have grown over the years and have used their tragic losses as an energizing force to work for understanding. If one remembers the hoopla made a couple of years ago about the mosque that was planned for a site several blocks from, and not even within the sight of, Ground Zero, one knows that we have a long way to go in ceasing to marginalize those whose beliefs and dress may be different from our own. I pray that this tenth anniversary will cause all of us to stop and reflect and to give thanks to a faithful God who does not desert us in our grief and anger, but points us to new avenues of understanding and service.