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September 11, 2001 tragedy

Resources for prayer, worship, education, and reflection

Let us come together as a community to pray, in our grief and need for guidance;
and to search for peace, seeking God's wholeness and well-being for our hurting world.

We can take some assurance from God's word to Jeremiah many years ago when God's people were in exile in Babylon: "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me: if you seek me with all your heart." (Jer. 29:11)

9/11 Remembrance

This September 11 is a time to remember the things that have changed this past year, reflecting on the ways we have become more wise, more foolish, more anxious, more relaxed, and simply more aware. By remembering, we can help others and ourselves put broken pieces back together. Like Jesus we are called to bind up the broken-hearted and we do this by re-member-ing, not by committing acts of vengeance.
Read More...
Includes a prepared worship service: "To become as a watered garden…"

Other Mennonite Links

MCC Resources for worship, Commemorating the anniversary of September 11, 2001

Third Way Cafe: Peace Blend on Patriotism

Peace Flags

Similar to the popular "Pray for Peace" pins, these flags will invite conversation with

your friends and neighbors, publicly witness to an alternative way amid our climate of war, and remind us that prayer leads to action. ORDER NOW!

September 11 Resources

Bulletin Inserts		View All Bulletin Inserts
Title	Date	Author
Remembrance & Lamentation (PDF)	8/13/2006	by Leo Hartshorn
September 11, 2001 will be a date forever etched in the memory of Americans. It is a day of remembrance and lamentation. (70K .PDF)
Litanies		View All Litanies
Title	Date	Author
Litany for many voices (PDF)	8/15/2002	by Malinda Berry
Statement of faith following September 11, 2001. Litany and worship ideas for Sept 11 rememberance. (95K .PDF)
Call to Worship, Sept 11, by Jane Yoder-Short	9/11/2001	by Jane Yoder-Short
Sample call to worship after terrorist attacks.
A Litany for Sept 11	9/1/2001	by Leo Hartshorn
Our minds are preoccupied with death and destruction. Our nation mourns for those who have suffered loss. God is our refuge and strength, an everpresent help in times of trouble.
A Prayer, Sept 11	9/1/2001	by Esther Epp-Tiessen
A prayer for September 11.
A Litany for Sept 11	9/1/2001	by Doug Krehbiel
Litany for September 11. Peace to you my sisters and brothers on this tragic day of violence.
Past Programs		View All Past Programs
Title	Date	Author
September 11 remembrance	8/13/2001
Worship service and resources for remembering the events of September 11, one year later.
Prayers		View All Prayers
Title	Date	Author
A Prayer, Sept 11, Short	9/1/2001	by Esther Epp-Tiessen
A short prayer for September 11.
Programs		View All Programs
Title	Date	Author
September 11 remembrance	8/13/2006
Worship service and resources for remembering the events of September 11, one year later.
Resource Lists		View All Resource Lists
Title	Date	Author
Resource list for the anniversary of September 11, 2001	8/13/2006	by Susan Mark Landis

Statements		View All Statements
Title	Date	Author
Gatherings to discern a Mennonite response to September 11 and Pax Americana	1/30/2002
As members of Mennonite churches across the United States, we gathered to hear the voice of God’s Spirit in the wake of the horrific acts of violence on September 11 and the continuing violence of our own country in response. We were moved to confession, to a reaffirmation of our faith and identity as followers of Christ, and to action.
A call for action: (PDF)	10/15/2001	by Susan Mark Landis
A Call to Action: Statement and actions in the wake of September 11, 2001 From the Mennonite Church Peace and Justice Committee to our congregations. (63K .PDF)
A call to prayer and repentance	9/1/2001	by Jim Schrag
Open letter from the Executive Director, Mennonite Church USA.
Worship Ideas		View All Worship Ideas
Title	Date	Author
Second anniversary remembrance of September 11, 2001	9/5/2003	by Susan Mark Landis
Some members of our congregations may be grieving the events of September 11, 2001, and some may being focusing more on the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq, or the consequences of the war on terrorism.
To become as a watered garden…	8/12/2002	by Marlene Kropf
Now - a year later - we may want to listen again to Jeremiah's words of warning as well as his reminders of God's loving promise to liberate and renew our world, to transform it into "a watered garden."
Some Resources for Reflection and prayer	9/11/2001	by J. Daryl Byler
Ideas for reflection after terrorist attack and prayer by the Director of Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office.
Example Service for Sept 11 from AMBS	9/11/2001
Sample worship service for September 11.
Service of Prayer and Lamentation	9/1/2001	by Susan Mark Landis
Sample worship service for days following Septembe 11.
Writings		View All Writings
Title	Date	Author
Action responses on the anniversary of September 11, 2001	8/13/2006	by Susan Mark Landis
Many people re-examined their lives and made huge commitments and changes after the horrors our nation suffered five years ago. Some protested against war. Some searched for the truth and told it publicly.
What a difference five years can make	1/17/2006	by J. Daryl Byler
Children and young people can undergo dramatic change in just a few years, and so can a nation.
Dual Citizenship (PDF)	7/26/2005	by Keith Graber Miller
Christians living in the United States during a time of war are in a tough spot. How do we acknowledge our love for God and our gratitude for our country? Can we be both Christians and patriots? (45K .PDF)
September, 2002: Sparse Words from the Journey	9/5/2002	by Ronald S. Kraybill
Where can we begin, but with that which is lost? But let us also give thanks for the survival of much that is good.
Reflections on 9/11	8/10/2002	by Bob Williamson
During these past weeks I've felt significant stress as I've reviewed that stance toward violence. And I've been deciding again - yes.
Destroying Terrorists Weakens Our Security	11/9/2001	by Ron Kraybill
"We have allowed anger and misplaced confidence in military operations to distract us from the realistic analysis required to secure our future."
Just Because You are Attacked, Do Not Assume You are At War	9/30/2001
Here are five reasons not to describe the current crisis as a war:
The Challenge of Terror: A Traveling Essay	9/16/2001	by John Paul Lederach
Essay written by John Paul Lederach, professor of conflict studies at Eastern Mennonite University
A Letter to President Bush after Sept 11	9/14/2001	by James Schrag
Letter to President Bush by Jim Schrag,Executive Director,Mennonite Church USA
The American Religious Landscape	9/12/2001	by Marlin Jeschske
The reflection below was on the Goshen College FM station, WGCS. Marlin Jeschske taught philosophy and religion at GC for 30 plus years. In retirement he does a regular radio editorial on the station.
Trying to Cope	9/12/2001	by Susan Mark Landis
Coping with Terrorism
Perspectives on the September 11, 2001 Crisis	9/12/2001	by James M. Lapp
Prepared for Chapel at Christopher Dock High School
God is with us: Reflections for Children's time	9/11/2001	by Susan Mark Landis
Suggestions on how to talk to children after Terrorist attacks.
Conversation with Children after Sept 11		by Esther Epp-Tiessen
Suggestions for talking to children about terrorist attacks.
Mennonites and the Flag		by Susan Mark Landis
The Historical Context of Mennonites and Their Relationship to the State and the Flag. Where Our Freedoms of Religion Originated.
What Do Pacifists Believe?		by Anne Meyer Byler
I am a pacifist and am outraged at the actions of whoever was responsible for killing so many innocent people through the forced airplane crashes of September 11. The question we all face is: How do we respond? Sometimes people explicit criticize pacifism, but misrepresent it.