Concerning the Loss of Life in New York, Washington D.C.,
and Pennsylvania as a Result of Terrorist Acts
Committed on
September 11, 2001
As we attempt to come to grips with the scope of the loss experienced by so
many thousands in our country, a terrible grief has over-shadowed many people
in our community, in our nation, and throughout the world. And while we in Belleville
are far-removed from the sites of this national tragedy, we are none-theless
joined in the spirit with those who are suffering terribly. It is therefore
appropriate that we gather in worship to express our feelings, to gather strength
from our faith, and to offer our prayers for consolation, healing, redemption
and peace.
As we have learned, grief tends to progress in five stages: Denial, Anger, Depression, Bargaining, and Acceptance. Our worship this evening will address each of these stages of grief. It is our hope that the scripture passages, prayers, and words we hear and say this night will be an ongoing resource for us all, as we face the ongoing struggle of facing God's future together in the days and weeks to come.
Invocation
Leader: O God, come to my assistance.
People: O Lord, make haste to help me.
Leader: O God, come to my assistance.
People: O Christ, make haste to help me.
Leader: O God, come to my assistance.
People: O Lord, make haste to help me.
The Lighting of a Candle
Leader: Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light no darkness can overcome.
Hymn: #267 Let There Be Peace on Earth
Denial: "How Can This Be Happening?"
Psalm 88:1-7, 17-19
1 O Lord, my God, my Savior, by day and night I cry to you. 2 Let my prayer enter into your presence; incline your ear to my lamentation. 3 For I am full of trouble; my life is at the brink of the grave. 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I have become like one who has no strength; 5 lost among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, 6 whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. 7 You have laid me in the depths of the pit, in dark places, and in the abyss.
17 Your blazing anger has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me; 18 they surround me all day long like a flood; they encompass me on every side. 19 My friend and my neighbor you have put away from me, and darkness is my only companion.
Reflection and Prayer - Pastor Bill McIntyre
Anger: "Repay Them, O Lord!"
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon - there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows there we hung up our harps. 3 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 4 How could we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! 6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem's fall, how they said, "Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!" 8 O daughter of Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! 9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!
Reflection and Prayer - Pastor Kurt Hansen
Depression: "How Long, O Lord?"
Psalm 62:1-9
1 For God alone my soul in silence waits; from God comes my salvation. 2 God alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold, so that I shall not be greatly shaken. 3 How long will you assail me to crush me, all of you together, as if you were a leaning fence, a toppling wall? 4 They seek only to bring me down from my place of honor; lies are their chief delight. 5 They bless with their lips, but in their hearts they curse. 6 For God alone my soul in silence waits; truly, my hope is in the Lord. 7 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken. 8 In God is my safety and my honor; God is my strong rock and my refuge. 9 Put your trust in Him always, O people, pour out your hearts before Him, for God is our refuge.
Psalm 121:1-2
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
Reflection and Prayer - Pastor Fid Sailor
Hymn: #262 Prayer of St. Francis
Bargaining: "What Can I Do, O Lord?"
Matthew 5:38-48
The words of our Lord Jesus: 38 "You have heard it said, 'An eye for
an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer.
But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;
40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well,
41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42 Give
to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow
from you.
43 "You have heard it said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have: Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Reflection and Prayer - Father Ken Klink
Acceptance: "I Am in Your Hands, Lord"
Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul and guides me along right pathways for His name's sake. 4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Reflection and Prayer - Pastor Don Nelson
Offering - In lieu of taking a monetary offering at this service, you are invited
to consider ways in which you might offer something of yourself to assist in
the relief and rebuilding efforts. Some suggestions: you might plan to donate
blood, perhaps more than once in the coming months. You might make a financial
contribution to the American Red Cross. And we should all offer our prayers
daily to God for the dead, for the survivors, for the families who have lost
loved ones, for our political leaders, and for the repentance and redemption
of those who planned and perpetrated these violent actions.
Bidding Prayers - Father Ken Klink
Lord's Prayer
Benediction - Pastor Kurt Hansen
Closing Hymn: "This Is My Song" (tune of Finlandia)
Verse 1
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar, and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
Verse 2
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
but other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.
Verse 3
This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth's kingdoms:
Thy kingdom come; on earth thy will be done.
Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him,
and hearts united learn to live as one.
O hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations;
myself I give thee; let thy will be done.
Participants
Pastor Kurt Hansen, Primrose Lutheran Church
Father Ken Klink, St. Mary of Lourdes Parish
Pastor Bill McIntyre, First United Church of Christ
Pastor Don Nelson, Zwingli United Church of Christ, Paoli
Pastor Fid Sailor, Grace United Methodist Church