A Special Message on the Twentieth Anniversary of 9/11

Dear Friends, Twenty years ago tomorrow our nation experienced one of the worst days in our history. Close to 3,000 people were killed at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. A year after the attacks, Frontline did a show called Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero. It was an exploration of how this attack impacted the faith of victims. Included in the show are interviews with leaders from a variety of religious denominations discussing where they believed God was during this horrific day.

Rabbi Irwin Kula talks about the oneness and intrinsic connectedness of people. As a way for him to honor those who were killed that day, he turned voicemail messages of love and final goodbyes into the text of a prayer that he chanted each day.

Each year, around 9/11, I watch this video to remind myself how fragile life can be and that nothing is more important that the connectedness we have to one another. With the level of division in our country, this message seems needed more than ever. This message is also congruent with the mission of Family Promise. Understanding the connectedness we have with one another is a foundational truth of why Family Promise exists. It is why we are successful. If those of us who believe in Family Promise did not recognize that there is a fundamental connection between ourselves and those who are suffering we would not be here. If we did not believe that even in the midst of suffering and uncertainty there can be beauty and compassion that is transformative, we would not be here.

As we reflect and remember all those who died on 9/11 twenty years ago, perhaps this can be a moment that we renew our belief that we are not divided, but at the most basic level of our existence, we are one. It is in that oneness where we can discover something transcendent. Peace,