Aloha my dear Siblings in Christ,

I distinctly remember the feeling of deep sadness as these words were sung in the Cathedral during the first public liturgy immediately after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. The years following have been marked by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We have had to adapt to increased security in our everyday lives. Our sense of personal security was shaken. We have mourned lives lost. Life was changed.

It has now been twenty years since that fateful day. I hope everyone will take the time to reflect this week on our call to be servants of God’s peace (Matthew 5:9): “Happy are people who make peace, because they will be called God’s children.” As we remember those died and the changes that day have brought to our lives, we can hold fast to the vision of Isaiah 2:4: “God will judge between the nations, and settle disputes of mighty nations. Then they will beat their swords into iron plows and their spears into pruning tools. Nation will not take up sword against nation; they will no longer learn how to make war.”

While the Church will be observing the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19) on this coming Sunday, September 12, I hope our congregations will include special prayers in remembrance of this difficult anniversary. Here are some possible prayers that might be offered with the prescribed Collect of the Day and the other prayers of the day during the liturgy (I particularly call your attention to the Prayers of the People from the Diocese of New York), or during your own personal pray time this week:

O Almighty God, who brings good out of evil and turns even the wrath of your children towards your promised peace: Hear our prayers this day as we remember those of many nations and differing faiths whose lives were cut short by the fierce flames of anger and hatred. Hasten the time when the menace of war shall be removed. Cleanse both us and those perceived to be our enemies of all hatred and distrust. Pour out the spirit of peace on all the rulers of our world that we may be brought through strife to the lasting peace of the kingdom of your Son; Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis (BCP, p. 833)

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let us sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is discord, union;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

With all our heart and all our mind, we pray to you, O Lord.

For the peace of the world, that a spirit of respect and forbearance may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, O Lord:

For our enemies and those who wish us harm, especially those led to acts of terror; that in the aftermath of the destruction of September 11, 2001, we may grow ever more deeply in your spirit of justice and peace, we pray to you, O Lord:

For all who believe in you, Lord Christ, and all whose faith is known to you alone, that they may be delivered from the darkness of fanaticism that arises from poverty and oppression, and from the pride that arises from wealth and comfort, and brought into your light, we pray to you, O Lord:

For those who have lost their faith in you, for those who continue to mourn those who died on that terrible day, that your Church may give comfort and hope in this time of remembrance, we pray to you, O Lord:

For all those whose spirit has been broken and whose lives have been disrupted by the violence of that day and its aftermath, we offer our prayers along with the persecuted, the lonely, and the sick, and those who have bid our prayers today, that they may be relieved and protected. Especially we pray for those whose names appear on the Peace Altar. For these and for those whose need we do not know, we pray to you, O Lord:

For the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church, especially in the Diocese of Hawaiʻi; that we may hear the Gospel and proclaim it in word and action to build up your kingdom here on earth, we pray to you, O Lord:

For all who died in the terror of September 2001 and for those others whom we remember today, (especially _______________); for those who believed in your resurrection and those who did not know your promise of eternal life, in trust that they have been found by you and are at rest in your holy habitation, we pray to you, O Lord:

We pray for the concerns of our congregation; especially giving thanks for those who celebrate birthdays this week: _____________. (Silence)

And we pray for the forgiveness of our sins.

Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved as to love.

Take heart, in Christ we have been reconciled to God.

Your Brother in Christ Jesus

+Bob

The Right Reverend Robert L. Fitzpatrick

 (Pronouns: he, him, his)

Bishop Diocesan

The Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i

229 Queen Emma Square

Honolulu, HI 96813-2304

Bishop-in-Charge

The Episcopal Church in Micronesia

911 North Marine Corps Drive

Upper Tumon, Guam 96913