by Dr. Randolph Nugent

Dr. Randolph Nugent, who heads the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), the mission agency of The United Methodist Church, led a service of remembrance on September 11^th at The Interchurch Center Chapel. He was assisted by the Rev. Paul Dirdak, Deputy General Secretary of the Board who is assigned to the Health and Relief Unit and the Mission Volunteers Program Area.

Dr. Nugent gave stirring testimony on the tragedy of the loss of life on September 11, 2001, as well as since that time-the ensuing deaths that have occurred in relation to the events that took place a year ago-and he offered his vision of how the future must be faced.

Describing the somberness and sense of sadness that prevailed throughout New York City on the day, he noted the many memorial events which were underway there and around the world.

"I believe that many people are still suffering, and some who are alive are as though dead," he stated, " for they have not been able to come to grips with the loss of loved ones.

"More than 300 babies have been born to women whose husbands have perished in the tragic events. Many of the people who perished were young and at the height of their lives. For many people, today is a day of quietness and of remembrance and of worship, a day in which we reflect upon the past year.

"The events of September 11^th can well be understood as events which contain significant lessons for the entire world. The loss of life of people from nations around the world-for example, over three hundred from the United Kingdom as well the loss of life of people from over sixty two other nations-serves as indication of the scope and the reach of the tragic events. Through mass communications, the world was let in and became intimate with the intensity and profundity of that day and those to follow.

"There is need for people everywhere to examine our involvement and relationship to that event in order that we may become clear about the impact upon our life. Events of September 11^th changed the United States and the world forever.... It marks a day on which the hearts and minds of so many people are overwhelmed by emotion and will continue to be so.

"We know well the statistics of the impact of this day on our health and psychological well-being, our sociological understanding, and our economic health: anger, frustration, confusion, pain, fear, sadness, and the release of dangerous and unhealthy characteristics which play themselves out with concepts such as those found in the development of themes fashioned around cultural and racial superiority, leading to theories of domination and of subjugation-often thought to be available by means of a quick fix.

"While the 11^th continues to be a day of profound personal tragedy and of national consequence, it is also a day which has opened the feeling of unity and patriotism and at the same time spread a dust, which if not careful, may challenge the very things which have been of value to this nation and the world....

"There are those who are yet incredulous about the impact of the events of this day and of the aftermath. People, nations, and religions have become the target of violence, hatred and misunderstanding as a result of events of this day. There are those who would point an accusing finger at Islam--believing that because so many of the organizers followed this faith, that it must be the religion itself which is the basis, the foundation point of the great tragedy of the 11^th. Imagine the pain and suffering which such accusations causes the followers of Islam as they hear their faith castigated....

"Suffering was and continues to be the measure for many families and friends whose loved ones perished in that firestorm. Profiles of lives which appeared daily in the New York Times defined each of the persons who died, recounting the hope and life of each of the characters. Their stories illustrated the depth of the loss which is not limited to the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon, or Shanksville, Pennsylvania, but a loss which extends around the world, a loss affecting communities all over the earth. More than 5000 people have died in Afghanistan.

"When one reads of such loss, one cannot help but become involved in the suffering. But this is not a catastrophe which can be put to any one faith or any one religion, but must be equally borne by all faith communities. The global condition which spawned the reality of those whose actions led to the events of the 11th is a situation for which we all must bear some responsibility. No faith can exempt itself from participation in the depravation, alienation, or misunderstanding in whose nexus such conditions existed and enabled or allowed the birth of such matters leading to the action of those who carried out the events of September 11th.

"At the center of all faiths is a deep despair and agony about death, every death, and in this case the deaths of so many people. The affirmation of life, the vitality of meaning, the significance of relations so purposefully destroyed, has contributed to the confusion so prevalent about those responsible for these horrific acts.... As some nations have sought to respond to the perpetrators of such action, a wide net has been cast, and that net has caught many who have not been involved in any action. Methods used to capture and/or interrogate them violate long-established views and policies of human rights, thus bringing into play debates about tactics at the very time one is attempting to apprehend those responsible for the problem. We live today as a people torn between what we were and what we are becoming.

"Many are wont to think of what we were here in this city and in the western world as a people characterized by justice and righteousness-a people who inhabit a nation in which all have equal access to educational, economic, political, and social institutions of the world on an equal footing. It was believed that western society and the western way of life - a style led for the most part by the consumer-oriented United States - was a style of life envied and sought after by people of all nations and all walks of life. Many understood this nation to be inhabited by a people whose main task was to make money and to enjoy life....

"A look at the aftermath of the 11^th has shattered the glasses through which many had been looking. The stock market has imploded; one looks for terrorists everywhere; and we here in the United States are facing a situation in which our long-established concepts of law and justice, the very fabric of much of which has been touted and held forth as the foundation of a democratic way of life is being challenged.... The harvest is gone, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

"In this September if there is anything about which we need to be clear, it is that salvation, wholeness, peace and reconciliation are not achievable through means of wealth or repression. It is to the community of faith that the responsibility to remind the world of this reality falls-a major task in helping all to remember that we are a creation of the one who calls all people to be one. ...that they may all be one. (John 17:21)

"Events of September 11^th have set in motion factors which have led to the release of religious, social and cultural matters of a repressive and sinful nature in that they violate the hope of God for the people-of-God perspective. The targeting of anyone whose language or social or ethnic characteristics seem to fit or be similar to those of any one of the persons responsible has become commonplace. Millions of lives have been changed by the accusers and the wrongfully accused. The best that we know becomes hostage to the worst that we know and do.

"As we remember and commemorate, we must be mindful that commemoration and human sympathy are not the same as political agreement. So there will be differences as to what must be done, and how it is to be accomplished. So what is one to do?

"We must approach this day as a day of reverence and thanksgiving-reverence for the lives of the wonderful people who died, and thanksgiving for their many gifts. It is never easy to experience the loss of a loved one, but when the act which has determined the loss is so reckless, wanton and uncaring, it is all the more difficult for those left behind to cope. Solace comes in remembrance of the many lives the victims touched and the contributions they made.

"We must think clearly about faiths. All faiths have a reverence for life and each faith has it fundamental arm and its extreme wings...No faith should be called to take the fall for the work of some among them whose views are extreme. We must not profile or stereotype the believer of one faith over against another. History reveals that, at one time or another, those who worked and worshiped at the extreme of their faiths have, in the name of their faiths, taken actions not representative of the entire faith community of which they are a part. Yet the faith community would receive the blame for such action. Let us not damage the best that we know about Islam, using examples such as the acts of September 11^th as a means of denigration of the entire faith. Let us take time to respect the faith.

"When people feel disenfranchised or believe that they are called on behalf of their religious belief to deliver some message or take some specific action, such action, no matter how unrighteous, may be carried out. Throughout history there have been those willing to die for their beliefs.

"And this is a war, indeed if it is, which requires new thinking.... The enemy in this was and is hard to define and cannot be understood in traditional military sentiment. This enemy melts away into a community of discontent.... The tools of engagement are not especially military, but require an understanding of the meaning of desperation, poverty, and dramatically unequal development.

"While the language used is military, it is a battle of hearts and minds. So whether it is a matter of sociology, psychology, or theology, we must examine and come to know the hearts, minds, and wills of those who feel thusly.

"Cooperation and understanding in this type of struggle is imperative. It is in this kind of struggle that matters of the heart and mind are formed. We must not forfeit our hard won civil liberties in our rush to rebuild our life....

"Peace is of love, understanding, and commitment to justice among all God's people...."

Note: abbreviated text

	See Also... Topic: Christian love |  Ecumenical |  Hate |  Human rights |  International affairs |  Justice |  Peace |  Violence |  War |  Geographic Region: World |  Source: GBGM Administration
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Date posted: Sep 13, 2002