A Service of Remembrance and Hope
Twentieth Anniversary of September 11th
September 11, 2021
Welcome
Greetings to you this day, this anniversary day, this day that may bring memories, that may stir up fears even now, a day that has made an indelible mark on our lives. There is an Irish saying that goes like this – “it is in the shadow of each other that the people live.” And on that day and those that followed we did indeed live in each other’s shadows didn’t we? We were comforted by others, we shed tears together, we silenced our car horns together, we experienced a time of kindness and compassion.
My prayer for each of us today is that we may remember that day and the days that followed, that we may tenderly hold that remembering, and then that the light of hope may shine in and through them and in our remembering that we again may live in the shelter of each other.
Call to Worship
Come
Come together
Together remember
Remember and hope
Together
Come
I was glad when they said on to me, let us go into the house of the Lord.
[Handbell Chime]
Poem Tuesday 09/11/2001 by Lucille Clifton
(Marty Lewis)
thunder and lightning and our world
is another place no day
will ever be the same no blood
untouched
they know this storm in otherwheres
israel ireland Palestine
but God has blessed America
we sing
and God has blessed America
to learn that no one is exempt
the world is one all fear
is one all life all death
all one
Music A Memorial Piece (Hubert Parry)
(David Cannistraci)
Poem The Names by Billy Collins
(Naomi Thomsen)
Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner --
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hiddenAs in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.
Remembering
Harold Wright
Naomi Thomsen
Pat Blanchette
Hymn In Deepest Night ELW 699
(Harold Wright)
In deepest night, in darkest days,
when harps are hung, no songs we raise,
when silence must suffice as praise,
yet sounding in us quietly
there is the song of God.
When friend was lost, when love deceived,
dear Jesus wept, God was bereaved;
so with us in our grief God grieves,
and round about us mournfully
there are the tears of God.
When through the waters winds our path,
around us pain, around us death:
deep calls to deep, a saving breath,
and found beside us faithfully
there is the love of God.
Scripture Isaiah 43:1-7, 18-19
(Mary Flekke)
1But now thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
4Because you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
6I will say to the north, "Give them up,"
and to the south, "Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth —
7everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."
18Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
19I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
Homily
(Pastor Pam)
Music Requium: Ingemisco (Verdi)
(Mark Thomsen)
I groan as one guilty,
my face blushes with guilt;
spare the suppliant, O God.
Thou who didsnt absolve Mary [Magdalen]
and hear the prayer of the thied
hast given me hope, too.
My prayers are not worthy,
but Thou, O good one, show mercy,
lest I burn in everlasting fire,
Give me a place among the sheep,
and separate me from the goats,
placing me on Thy right hand.
A Litany of Remembrance and Hope
In the name of the Triune God who is Father, Creator of heaven and earth, Son, who is the Redeemer of the whole world, and Holy Spirit, who is Sanctifier of the faithful. Amen.
God, the Father, have mercy upon us.
Christ, the Prince of Peace, have mercy upon us.
Holy Spirit who enlightens the nations, have mercy upon us.
Eternal God of Love, receive our prayer.
Remember us O Lord, the sheep of your hand, created by you, yet divided into many nations and tongues, deliver us from evil and establish your kingdom of peace.
From the pain of memories that foment hatred, good Lord, deliver us.
From the curse of war and hatred and animosity and all that cause them, good Lord, deliver us.
From arrogance and self-righteousness and dishonesty, good Lord, deliver us.
From our lust for wealth and power that breeds violence and domination, good Lord, deliver us.
From our condemnation and judgment of people of other faiths, good Lord, deliver us.
From the misplaced trust in weapons of every kind, good Lord, deliver us.
From every thought, word and deed that furthers the divisions among your people rather than the love you desire for us, good Lord, deliver us.
For comradery and cooperation among the nations of the world, we pray to you O God.
That people of all faiths may seek the best of their teachings and traditions and practice love and peace to all, we pray to you, O God.
That despite their differences, all whom you have created may seek to live in harmony and peace with one another, we pray to you, O God.
That all nations may seek first the common good that benefits all of your people, we pray to you, O God.
That the tears of grief and despair may be turned to prayers for peace and community, we pray to you, O God.
That the light of the hope that we have in you may shine across our land and the nations, we pray to you, O God.
Gracious and holy God, lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth. Lead us from despair to hope and from fear to trust. Lead us from hate to love, from war to peace. Let peace and hope fill our hearts, our world, our universe; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Scripture Revelation 22:1-6
(Deb Yates)
1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
6And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place."
Benediction
Life is short and we do not have much time
to gladden the hearts of those who make this pilgrimage with us
So, be swift to love
Make haste to show kindness
Shower abundant hospitality upon friend and stranger alike
Walk in justice that you may follow the path of mercy and love
Seek peace and pursue it
Live as people of hope
And may the blessing of God, who is Father, + Son and Holy Spirit be upon you and those you love now and forever. Amen.
Based upon the words of Henri-Frederic Amiel.
Postlude Dona Nobis Pacem
(Mary Flekke)
(Kaitlyn King, Emily King, Riley King)
Service Crafter Pastor Pam Smith
Technology Curator Marty Lewis
911 Image by Gertrude Mueller Nelson, used by permission
Tuesday 09/11/2001 by Lucille Clifton.
A Memorial Piece, Hubert Parry, 1848-1918, Public domain.
The Names by Billy Collins.
In Deepest Night, Text: Susan Palo Cherwien, b. 1953, Text © 1995 Susan Palo Cherwien, admin. Augsburg Fortress; Music: Thomas Pavlechko, b. 1962, Music © Selah Publishing Co. Inc., Text and music reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274. All rights reserved.
Requium: Ingemisco, Giuseppe Verdi, 1813-1901, Public domain.
A Litany of Remembrance and Hope, Adapted from a Litany for Peace in a Prayer Service in Response to Violence in France by the Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney, 2015. The closing petition is from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Other content by the Rev. Pamela Smith.
Liturgical Text from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, © 2006 and 2020 Augsburg Fortress, Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies License #SAS016761. All rights reserved.
Dona Nobis Pacem, Traditional, Public domain.
