This is what Bishop Wayne P Wright has written in our weekly eblast newsletter this week.
This coming Sunday is September 11th– the tenth anniversary of a day that none of us will ever forget. For weeks, even months, we have been preparing. I am impressed by the many observances taking place in our churches and schools. They are obviously the fruit of much reflection, study, and prayer. Each carries the potential to invite healing, deepen faith, and strengthen love. Our hope is always that the future may learn from the past. Thank you.
I have been reading about the events happening this weekend at Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel in lower Manhattan. Trinity is only a few hundred yards away from Ground Zero. St. Paul’s, just across the street from the World Trade Center, became a place of rest and respite for rescue and recovery workers in the days following the attacks. Our Presiding Bishop will preach at St. Paul’s on Sunday morning. New York’s Bishop Mark Sisk will be the celebrant for the principal service. Many other events at Trinity and St. Paul’s will add to a week of commemoration and observance. You can read more on the website: www.trinitywallstreet.org
I was especially struck by the theme the parish has chosen to guide its anniversary observance: “Remember to Love.”
This phrase brings to mind Paul’s sturdy and deeply challenging admonition about Christian love: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21)
Before September 11, 2001 I am sure that I always took this passage too lightly. Seeing burning fragments from buildings and airplanes literally falling from the sky, I came to realize how seriously I had underestimated the need for what Martin Luther King, Jr. called “the strength to love.” By choosing the theme “Remember to Love,” the members of Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel have placed this challenge and an opportunity directly before us. It is important to remember the past. But, it is not enough simply to remember. My daily prayer will be for the Spirit of Christ to reconcile and heal us and for the love of Christ to make us instruments of his much needed peace.
Faithfully,
Wayne Wright,
Bishop of Delaware
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