Prayer from the Kentucky Council of Churches  

Lord, in the midst of our grief and the memory of our loss, we gather in your presence and remember: We have feared the terror of the night; we have seen the sacrifices of the brave; we have cried the tears of the lost, and we have clenched our fists and raged against the pain and damage. We have wept and mourned, lashed out and retaliated, we have healed and hoped. Now we gather in your presence to be whole and to walk humbly with our God as the years unfold.

For the families of the many victims we pray that by your mercy life may rise even from ashes. We pray especially for those whose lives are still broken by the tragedies of that day, and ask that by your grace and mercy tattered hearts may know your touch, healing their shattered spirits, reknitting for them a world of hope, and granting them rest from the fury and frustration unjustly imposed upon them.

In the many heroes who sacrificed themselves for others we see the face of Christ. Strengthen those who hold their memory sacred in their needs as you have strengthened all who lay down their lives for their friends.

We pray also for our enemies, Lord. And what we pray for our enemies you have also taught us to pray for ourselves: that they, we, and all of your creation may be free from the powers that turn blessing into burning; free us and them from all that warps our minds and turns to hate the love you intend for all.

Holy one, you are our God in trial and rejoicing. As we remember past tragedy, we seek your wisdom that we may proffer future blessings in your name. Now and in the years to come, help us to place our trust solely in your word and way, and not in imperfect paths of our own design. Our hope is not in the towers we build, or in the roar of war, or in the fervor with which we proclaim our outrage or our piety. Our salvation is in the way of your Christ, in your mercy, and in our kinship with you. Though we mourn and are poor in spirit, may we yet find your kingdom and be blessed.

Thus bless those who gather and remember this day. Bless those who seek the healing after the hurt, and grant us the wisdom we need in this year and all that follow: that we may reap what is of life even in the midst of death. In every circumstance, Lord, bless your people and your world that we may rest and rise, live and die and be reborn in the compassion of Christ. In so doing, may we live always as sisters and brothers at peace, healing a broken world.  

Amen.

Written by the Rev. Kent H. Gilbert

Pastor, Union Church, Berea, KY

for the Kentucky Council of Churches 

 9/11 services and other observances 

Bishop will preside at service 

Concert and Evensong for Peace Sunday at the cathedral 

Requiem Eucharist at Calvary Sunday  

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001, Calvary Episcopal Church, 821 S. Fourth St., in Louisville, will present a special Requiem Eucharist at 11 a.m. (EDT) this Sunday (September 11).

The Calvary Choir, conducted by Melvin Dickinson, will sing movements of the Requiem composed by Englishman John Rutter. Created in 1985, the Requiem aeternam and Kyrie, Pie Jesu, Sanctus, Psalm 23, and Lux aeterna will be sung at the appointed places as the Holy Eucharist is celebrated. 

Ecumenical service in Anchorage Sunday afternoon 

Three Anchorage Covenant Churches, including St. Luke's Episcopal Church, will commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with a  "A Day of Memory and Hope" this Sunday afternoon (September 11).  

The gathering will begin at 3:45 p.m. (EDT) in the parking lot of the (Roman) Catholic Church of the Epiphany, 914 Old Harrods Creek Road. The worshipers will be taken by bus to St. Luke's, 1206 Maple Lane.  

At St. Luke's, after light refreshments, the group enter the church for the first part of their shared worship. A wreath will be placed at the alter in memory of those who lost their lives in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.  A bagpiper will provide part of the music.

Worshipers will then go to Anchorage Presbyterian Church, 11403 Park Road, where the bagpiper will then lead them into the church for the middle portion of worship. Scripture will be read; the sermon will follow, and the Apostlesʼ Creed, common to all of the covenant partners, will be recited.

The group will return to Epiphany, where the sacrament of baptism (another shared

practice) will be reaffirmed.  The event will conclude with refreshments and fellowship. 

Interfaith panel discussion in Elizabethtown on Saturday 

Three distinguished speakers representing the Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions will be hosted at a special educational program on Saturday, September 10, in Elizabethtown. The program is sponsored by the North Central Education Foundation and the Joyce and Marvin Benjamin Endowment.

The panel, moderated by a member of the sponsoring foundation, will be held from 10 a.m. to noon (EDT) at TK Stone Middle School, 323 Morningside Drive, Elizabethtown. The moderator will ask questions for the first hour and the second hour will be reserved for questions from the audience. Refreshments will be served, beginning at at 9:30.

The focus on the seminar will be on our ever increasing diversity in our area and how we can better understand each other, be more respectful of each other, and find unity in our diversity.

The speakers come from very diverse backgrounds. Dr. Aziz Sachedina is a professor of world religions and currently teaching at Victoria College in Toronto. He formerly was the department head of the University of Virginia and is a renowned scholar. The Rev. Dr. William Gafkjen, currently serving as the bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has been very active in ecumenical affairs as well as companion synods in Chile and Indonesia. Harry Schulman is a Jewish lay leader, a retired lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Air Force and a graduate of the Florence Melton School at the Hebrew University. 

Interfaith concert and walk Sunday   

Remembrance service Sunday at St. James, Shelbyville    

9/11 reflections  

From one we know 

Spirituality forged in smoke and fire    

Two Excerpts

Read more 

More reflections 

Video reflections by Episcopalians about Ground Zero   

The Rev. Gail Bennett, a deacon from the Diocese of New Jersey who was a chaplain in the mortuary at Ground Zero.

The Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, a priest from the Diocese of Central New York.

The Rt. Rev. Frank Griswold, who was the presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church in 2001. 

View them 

Diocese invited 

St. Alban's to celebrate 50 years next week

Planning underway for Cursillo 44   

Time for St. George's 

Plan to spend your time and more  

Worship, workshops, music  

and more

Messiah-Trinity to hold an 'Olde Tyme' carnival 

By Pat Case, Messiah Trinity Church 

Save the date: Sept. 24, 2011   

Plan now for the Fall Acolyte Festival  

Save the dates: October 21-23    

St. Matthew's hosts Jesus scholar Marcus Borg