Churches remember victims of 9/11

Churches across the UK are today remembering victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US with special services and prayers.

In London, Christians gathered this morning for a special service of remembrance at Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair – nicknamed the “American church” because of its proximity to the US embassy.

The service was joined by the Deputy US Ambassador to Britain, Barbara Stephenson, and survivors of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington DC.

Dr Courtney Cowart, Director of the Congregational Learning for the Fund for Theological Education in Atlanta, gave her reflection during the service.

She was with the Archbishop of Canterbury in Trinity Church Wall Street close to the Twin Towers when the planes struck.

She recalled having to run for her life with the Archbishop as the towers crumbled and returning four days later to Ground Zero to see a “crater of death”.

“We were dwarfed by the immense wreckage looming around us. It was like being in a lost world,” she said.

In the months that followed, Trinity Church became a natural destination for the grieving and bewildered, as Christians, Hindus, Muslims and people from all walks of life turned up at the church to mourn together and ask how they could help.

“Hordes of volunteers appeared,” she said. “Daily we manifested what can only be described as a power, a power so thick that it took your breath away … Living this way, more life was regenerated and people miraculously thrived.”

Reflecting on the lessons of those days, Dr Cowart told the congregation she and all the other thousands of people who gathered at the church following 9/11 had been “given a torch and now we have to go into the world where we belong and bring that torch with us”.

“We saw that the recovery was not the end but more the beginning,” she said.

The sermon was delivered by the Rev Nadim Nassar, Director of the Awareness Foundation, which was established earlier this year to promote peace and reconciliation, particularly among the faiths.

He said the tragic events of 9/11 had caused people to ask about the meaning of life.

He urged people not to respond to instances of violence with hatred, anger or bitterness but instead embrace the teaching of Jesus, who taught followers to love their enemy.

“Repay evil with an act of love,” he said.

“Every single relationship that is broken is an opportunity for evil to grow and it is our responsibility to heal this brokenness by living the faith.”

He added that faith was not about asking God to fix things when they go wrong but to “step forward and do something to heal what evil has broken”.

“We must match evil that destroys with love that heals and forgives.”

Another service is being held today at Westminster Abbey at 6:30pm.