May 27, 2011

CHICAGO – As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States approaches, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), invited members to reach out to ecumenical partners, as well as Muslim and Jewish partners, in planning commemorations. Hanson wrote in a May 24 letter that he prays members focus on "peace, justice and interfaith encounter."

The presiding bishop's invitation was also accompanied by a series of resources for congregations to use as they discuss and prepare for the 10th anniversary. The resources will continue to be updated as the anniversary date approaches.

Hanson wrote that the ELCA can show the world that dialogue is possible and "there is room for voices that represent faith without rushing to judgment and closing off discussion," he said.

But while focusing on the future, Hanson reminded members that the losses experienced on Sept. 11, 2001, are deeply personal for those most directly affected. "Our words of healing must speak to the grief that still remains," he said.

The ELCA presiding bishop noted that on Sept. 11, President Barack Obama will dedicate a national memorial to those who died in the attacks. The memorial was made possible by the Association of Victim's Families, a group founded, funded and supported by the ELCA through Lutheran Disaster Response of New York.

"My prayer is that we dedicate ourselves to a common mission of reconciliation and restoration, focusing on the larger issues of peace, justice and interfaith encounter," Hanson wrote. "Our local communities can be places of healing. Thanks be to God that through our baptismal vocation we are freed in Christ to do God's work with our hands."

The full text of Presiding Bishop Hanson's message with accompanying resources is at http://www.ELCA.org/bishop/messages/, on the ELCA website.

ELCA News Service