| Area churches to commemorate Sept. 11 tragedy BY ERIK ALSGAARD UM CONNECTION STAFF As the one-year anniversary of the events of Sept. 11 approaches, United Methodist congregations in the Baltimore-Washington Conference plan to commemorate the day in a variety of ways. At Metropolitan Memorial UMC in Washington, D.C., a service of remembrance will be held on Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. Bishop Felton Edwin May will preach at that service, which will also feature several local church choirs. Bishop May said that he will be calling people to a deeper level of prayer and reflection. Are We Crisis-centered or Christ-centered? will be the theme of his sermon, he said. Bishop May is encouraging churches to look at the anniversary theologically, and to enter into prayerful dialogue about the event.  Senior pastor at Metropolitan Memorial UMC, the Rev. Frank Trotter, said the Sept. 11 worship service is an appropriate way to respond to the tragedy, echoing the bishops and the Cabinets commitment to speak to the American people. It is important for the church, in every time, to speak, Trotter said. To speak compassion for pain, hope for healing, and to call the communities of the world together to live in peace. It is highly appropriate that Bishop May and the United Methodist Church be at the forefront. At Towson UMC, the Rev. Judy Emerson reported that they will be holding a special worship service on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Titled Rays of Hope: A Service of Memory, Healing and Hope, the service is being sponsored by the Jewish, Christian and Muslim partnership in the area, and all three faith communities will participate. It will be a time for memory and healing and for offering hope, said Emerson. A large board of newsprint will be made available for worshippers to draw symbols of healing and hope, and children will light candles throughout the service. At the congregational level, Emerson said the Towson UMC has been drawn together on several occasions for prayer and remembrance since Sept. 11. The congregation has begun to appreciate more the need for a community of faith, she said. Were processing it spiritually and moving towards healing. Its not something that heals; its something we learn to live with. (Healing) is a slow process. The Rev. Clark Carr, Brunswick Cooperative Parish near Harpers Ferry, W. Va., is an Army chaplain and was called to active duty for 29 days following the tragedy. He provided support for people at the Pentagon, working 12-hour shifts most days. (Carrs story will be told nationally by UMTV, part of United Methodist Communications, a Web-based news service for secular TV stations. His story may be seen starting Sept. 4 at www.umtv.org and www.umc.org )  Sept. 11 has forced people to get to their roots of faith and civic patriotism, Carr said. People operate in a dual sense; we keep our faith separate from the rest of our lives. Nine-eleven did some work of synthesizing the two from the grass roots level. Christian life should be evident in every aspect of our living.
Carr said he is still seeing people who are afraid to fly and who dont want to travel too far from home. A bit of our innocence and navet has been stolen away, he said. Its been a year of living in Bosnia. When its your own backyard, its a different experience. A special community prayer service is being planned at Oakland UMC in the Charles Town, W.Va., area, according to Jill Schweitzer, secretary at the church. In addition, worship services on Sept. 8 will have Sept. 11 memorials as their theme. Asbury UMC in Washington, D.C., is encouraging its members to attend the service at Metropolitan. Their pastor, the Rev. Eugene Matthews, said that the events of Sept. 11 have challenged the depth of peoples faith. Sept. 11 has made people more aware of their concern for the nation and the world, he said. Most congregations before had a more parochial view. Today the concern of people seems to be outside the community. Matthews said that the congregation at Asbury has not had a retaliatory response, but have instead sought discernment from God, seeking Gods direction. First UMC in Hyattsville normally gathers for a time of staff prayer on Wednesday mornings. I know well be in the chapel praying on Sept.11, said Carol Bergman, minister of membership and pastoral care. The General Board of Church and Society holds regular weekly worship services on Wednesdays in the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill. Gretchen Hakola, GBCS assistant general secretary for communications, said that worship on Sept. 11 will start at noon and include participation from the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths. Ive sensed through this whole experience that faith has been questioned, not shaken, and a deeper sense of confidence (is emerging), said Asburys Matthews. The search continues. Where is God in all this? is still asked. We might not know where God is, but we know, God is. | 
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