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As people in a nation founded on freedom of religion we gather
tonight -
Muslims, Jews, Christians, and others - to exercise that freedom in
a spirit
of mutual respect. We do not intend to give the impression that all
religions are basically the same or that there are really no
differences
among us. We have differences and they are profound and
complex. While our
differences may prevent us from praying together, they do not
prevent us
from gathering together to pray. We share a common vision for
a world in
which murder and hatred in the name of religion must be no more.
May our presence together here tonight be a sign to the world of a
different
way from the way we witnessed to our horror on September 11, 2001.
May our presence together here tonight be a sign to the world of a
future in
which people of different religions and nationalities allow one
another the
freedom and dignity to exist, to worship, and to pray without threat
of
violence, hatred, or revenge.
GATHERING MUSIC:
WELCOME:
Rev. Joseph Cunningham
Dean of the Chapel of the Resurrection
Statements of tradition for the Jewish and Christian traditions are
found in
written from in the program
STATEMENT OF TRADITION - MUSLIM
PERSPECTIVE:
Dr. Akram Kholoki, Assistant Iman, Northwest Indiana Islamic Center
CALL TO PRAYER:
Each tradition offers its "call to prayer" as we begin our
time of remembrance and personal prayer.
RABBI STANLEY HALPERN, TEMPLE ISRAEL, GARY,
INDIANA
Praise the Lord, to whom our praise is due!
Praise the Lord, to whom our praise is due, now and forever!
ASSISTANT IMAN AKRAM KHOLOKI
Allah is great, I bear witness that there is not god apart from
Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah's messenger
Come to prayer - Come to Salvation
Allah is great. There is not god apart from Allah.
REV. JOSEPH CUNNINGHAM
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amer.
Alleluia, Alleluia. Give glory to God, our light and our life.
Oh, come, let us worship God.
STATEMENT OF TRADITION - JEWISH
PERSPECTIVE:
In the Jewish tradition, the Yahrzeit, the yearly anniversary of
death holds
a special place. It says that those who have died will never
truly be gone
as long as they live on in our memory. It says that we honor
the dead most
when we live our lives as our beloved would have, in their highest
moments,
wished to live their lives. And it says that the spark of the
Divine,
implanted by the Eternal Creator with in us, is indeed immortal.
But how do we reconcile the Loving Source of all life with the paths
of evil
and destruction that we visit upon each other. How do we
answer the
question "Where was God?".
To find the answer, all we need do is look around us...at a world
still
filled with order and beauty, still filled with the love of parents
for
children and the caring of one for another, still filled with the
resiliency
of the human spirit which refused to let the pure evil of hatred and
destruction debase our nobility.
God was with us the...is with us now...and has given us the choice.
We can
choose good and life and the blessings that flow from that, or we
can choose
evil and death and the curses that flow from that. We can let
the events of
the recent past make us suspicious and hateful, or we can grow in
caring and
compassion.
May it be God's will that with each coming anniversary of the tragic
events
of September 11th we find the Flame of God burning more brightly
within
us -- a light illumining the entire world.
Rabbi Stanley Helpern
Temple Israel -- Gary, Indiana
STATEMENT OF TRADITION - CHRISTIAN
PERSPECTIVE:
At Dachau and Auschwitz there are monuments that proclaim in may
languages,
"Never Again." Never again shall the human race
countenance or endure a
holocaust...the complete and utter annihilation of life...usually be
fire.
At the end of the Nazi exterminations of Jews and Gypsies,
homosexuals and
the retarded, Catholics and Lutherans and many others, the world in
shock
said, "Never Again!" But we have lived to witness
holocaust in Russia and
Cambodia, Africa and New York.
"Why does God allow such evil?" "Why doesn't
God intervene." These are the
wrong questions. God has not caused or allowed the evils of
hatred and
genocide. Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy and he
are us!"
We! We humans have done unspeakable things....continue to do
unspeakable
things.
Christianity proclaims that God has intervened! He has become
incarnate...taken on our poor flesh to take upon himself the very
worst that
human beings can do. Our understanding of the story of Jesus
is that he is
the incarnation of Father God...and in His dying and rising from the
dead,
he has forgiven all human beings for the very worst that we can
conceive or
do.
Thus Christians freely borrow the words of the prophet Isaiah and
ascribe to
the risen Jesus the title, "Prince of Peace." He
comes to offer us peace
where there is hatred and violence. By His Spirit we are
empowered to walk
in the light of mercy and grace and to dispel the darkness of our
natural
hearts and minds.
Like all of our brothers and sisters in the world we fail...often
miserably...in the proclamation of peace, but that does not
undermine or
destroy the gift God wants to give.
We are mindful that the faithful in other religious traditions peak
a word
of peace with us...and tonight we rejoice to be here so that
together we
pray for peace and the world that God intends.
The Rev. Donald H. Williams
Immanuel Lutheran Church
PROCESSION:
"Kaddish": - M. Ravel Sung by
Ralph Klapis -Kimberly Beasley, Accompanist
Let the glory of God be extolled, let His great name be hallowed in
the
world whose creation He willed. May His kingdom soon prevail,
in our own
day, our own lives, and the life of all Israel, and let us say:
Amen.
Let His great name be blessed for ever and ever.
Let the name of the Holy One, blessed is He, be glorified, exalted
and
honored, though he is beyond all the praises, songs, and adorations
that we
can utter; and let us say:
Amen.
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REMEMBRANCE
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READING FROM THE QUR'AN:
1:1-7 - Sung in Arabic
Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe, the Compassionate, the
Merciful.
Master of the Day of Judgment. You alone we ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path.
The path of those whom you have favored
Not of those who have incurred Your wrath,
Nor of those who have gone astray.
PRAYER OF REFLECTION:
Native American - Micmac - by Alycia Longriver, 1995
PSALM 23 - "Shepherd Me, O God" - Marty Haugen
(The choir sings the verses of the psalms. All join in singing
the refrain.)
REFRAIN:
Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my wants, from death
into life.
God is my shepherd, so nothing shall I want, I rest in the meadows
of
faithfulness and love. I walk by the quiet waters of peace.
(All sing the refrain)
Gently you raise me and heal my weary soul, you lead me by pathways
of
righteousness and truth, my spirit shall sing the music of your
name. (All sing the refrain)
Though I should wander the valley of death, I fear no evil, for you
are at
my side, your rod and your staff, my comfort and my hope. (All sing
the refrain)
You have set me a banquet of love in the face of hatred, crowning me
with
love beyond my pow'r to hold. (All sing the refrain)
SILENCE FOR PRAYER
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REPENTANCE
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READING FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Isaiah 57:15-19
PRAYER OF REFLECTION::
Muslim Tradition - Sung in Arabic
Lord, take us not to task if we forget or lapse into error.
Lord, do not lay on us the burden You laid on those before us.
Lord, do not charge us with more than we can bear.
Pardon us, forgive our sins, and have mercy upon us.
You alone are our Protector.
Give us victory over the deniers. Qur-an 2:286
PSALM 27:
Translation by Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub
SILENCE FOR PRAYER
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RENEWAL & UNITY
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READING FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT:
Romans 14:7-12
PRAYER OF RENEWAL AND HOPE:
Sung by the Choir
Within our darkest night, you kindle the fire that never dies away.
REFLECTIONS:
His holiness Pope John Paul II - 1.24.2002
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - 11.17.1957
PRAYER FOR PEACE:
Excerpt from a "Muslim Prayer for
Peace"
PSALM 61:
Sung by the Choir
BIDDING PRAYER FOR PEACE, UNITY AND RENEWAL:
You may kneel or remain seated for personal prayer.
L: Let us remember before God those who were died in the
tragic events of September September 11, 2001. - Silence for prayer
L: Let us pray for those who mourn the loss of their loved
ones that they may know comfort and peace. - Silence for prayer.
L: Let us pray for those who have been injured by the violence
of terrorism. - Silence for prayer.
L: Let us pray for those who have given their lives for others
- Silence for prayer
L: Let us pray for those who continue to work to serve the
victims of these tragedies - Silence for prayer
L: Let us pray for justice in a world of violence - Silence
for prayer
L: Let us pray for our nation and all nations of the world,
their leaders and all in authority, that peace may reign - Silence
for prayer
L: Let us pray for forgiveness in a time of hate - Silence for
prayer
L: Let us pray for those who find themselves in despair -
Silence for prayer
L: Let us pray for those who work to preserve peace in the
midst of unrest - Silence for prayer
PRAYER FOR PEACE:
Sung by Tracy Reff, Temple Israel, Valparaiso,
Indiana 14 year old Freshman at Valparaiso High School
Grant us peace, Your most precious gift, O Eternal Source of peace,
And give us the will to proclaim its message to all the peoples of
the earth.
Bless our country, that it may always be a stronghold of peace, and
its advocate among the nations.
May contentment reign within its borders, health and happiness
within its homes.
Strengthen the bonds of friendship among the inhabitants of all
lands,
and may the love of Your name hallow every home and every heart.
Teach us, O God, to labor for righteousness,
and inscribe us in the Book of life, blessing, and peace.
Blessed is the Eternal God, the Source of peace.
INVITATION TO FELLOWSHIP AND DIALOGUE
IN PEACE WE GREET ONE ANOTHER
BLESSING OF PEACE
Blessings are given reflecting each tradition
RECESSIONAL:
"O God, Our Help in Ages Past":
Text: Isaac Watts - Please rise to sing
1. O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the story blast,
And our eternal home.
2. Under the shadow of your throne
Your saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is your arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
3.Before the hills in order stood
Or earth received its frame,
From everlasting you are God,
To endless years the same.
4. A thousand ages in your sight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
5.Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Soon bears us all away;
We fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op'ning day.
6. O God our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Still be our guard while troubles last
And our eternal home!
(A time of fellowship follows our gathering out side the chapel on
the plaza. All are invited to join in dialogue at the Union
beginning at 8:00 p.m.)
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READERS:
Dr. Akram Kholoki - representing the Muslim
voice
Dr. Barbara Parke - representing the Jewish
voice
Ben Leese and Nicole Unrath - representing the
Christian voice
ORGANIST:
Professor JB George - Valparaiso University Department of Music
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