About a month ago, I remembered the coincidence that the anniversary was going to be on a Sunday and began asking clergy peers what they were doing. At the time, I thought that the Sunday was going to be huge and that I really needed to prepare. We exchanged different prayers and music selections and so on.
But as last Sunday approached, I swung in the other direction. Starting last Monday, I started to feel like everywhere I turned there was some sort of 9/11 remembrance or story. Might it be the case that by the time we get to church on the actual date it will have played itself out? Would it end up being sort of like the Easter Egg hunt we always offer- appropriate but we've already been through eight of them?
As it turned out, I think we got it about right. There weren't special prayers, but there was one extra petition for the repose of the souls of the victims and for strength and comfort for their families and friends. The music at the later service was chosen carefully- the Barber Adagio, A Mighty Fortress is Our God and so on, yet there wee no special announcements. My sermon was the most explicit and extended, yet even there I made sure to put it in the context of our ongoing exploration of Genesis and Exodus.
Still, I was surprised by the power of my own emotions. At the early service, at the beginning of the sermon, I was telling the story of a sort of spontaneous church service that came together at Trinity Wall Street. I mentioned that here was no assigned leader, but someone began a ritual of reading aloud the Beatitudes from Matthew 5. Blessed are the poor... Blessed are the meek... Blessed are the peacemakers. And as I read them I got choked up and could barely continue.
The motions of that day are still very much with us. The blessing for me this past Sunday was to share them with so many of you in the context of our Sacred Space. I would love to know your experiences and thoughts.
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