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This came from one of our congregational members: "I wanted to let you know the Swansons thought the 9/11 service was on the mark.... I had a unique experience [afterwards]. We came home, and I turned on the T.V. and they were still reading the names. The names I prayed for [during worship] were read. One in particular was read by his son. I also saw one of the names on the wall I had also prayed for [in worship]- it really made it personal. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to remember them in  this way."

PLEASE READ THE PRIOR POSTS BEFORE READING THIS ONE. Worship is over, and it was an overwhelming service. We had more people in attendance today than any day besides major holidays. Many visitors. We began the service with a reading from Exodus 15, which served as our psalm. During the service, following announcements, we did a service of remembrance for 9/11. We began with America The Beautiful as the choral anthem, then an introduction to the litany and prayers (see here for the service outline). The moment of emotion was during a time of readings from the Abrahamic traditions - seeking the healing of the nations. We read from the Jewish Tradition (Isaiah), the Christian Tradition (Matthew 5), and a third text from the Islam Tradition (see yesterday's post for the exact text). I wondered how this would be received, and we made an email announcement on Friday to prepare our worshippers. The faces during the reading seemed more of interest than anxious or disgusted. We ended...

We will be reading Scripture traditionally during our worship service (Matthew 6:6-15), but during the 9/11 remembrance, we will read three texts from each of the Abrahamic faiths: FROM THE JEWISH TRADITION Isaiah 25:6-9 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. FROM THE MUSLIM TRADITION  In the Name of God, most gracious, most merciful. Lord, you said, a...

We will remember 9/11/2001 during worship tomorrow. It will part of our worship service and will include Prayer, Music, both patriotic and sacred, and naming of names for those who lost their lives on the day. We will also read texts for the healing of the nations: a Jewish text, a Muslim text, and a Christian text. We will stand for the gospel. There is obviously some question over the use of the Muslim tradition, and in preparing our congregation for worship, we sent the following email on Friday: On Sunday morning we will remember September 11 and begin our new series, The Lord's Prayer. The intersection of these two events is significant in light of the gospel. Obviously, 911 was a religious and political attack on the United States. The Lord's Prayer is a theological and political prayer asking for "Our Father" to bless the world and transform violence into peace "on earth as it is in heaven." We remember 911 with the voice of the Lord's Praye...

Friends have been asking, “what have you been reading lately?” I hate this question, as it reminds me of how little I have been reading, lately. I have set aside Other Side of the River and three other books aside ( Missional Church in Perspective ; Eugene Peterson’s, The Pastor , and my dissertation ) for several weeks, and most of my time has been devoted to managing projects that leave little time to read and reflect. On Labor Day, my wife has gifted me with some alone time to read and remember where my mind enjoys spending time. The Dentist is the story of a white dentist, named Burton Weisberg, who has roots in Brooklyn, is Jewish, and fully supports the NRA – he owns several guns. He has a dental office on the edge of Benton Harbor, which means he is geographically in St. Joseph Township, but his mailing address is Benton Harbor. (This location issue is common the shores of Lake Michigan, which makes “google maps” difficult and contracting with utilities almost impossible). F...