by Dr. Kristina “Tina” Campbell
“We live in a city named after a great mythic bird who majestically rises with open wings out of a pile of smoldering ashes, and it is in this spirit of resilience that I record the religious community’s response to September 11, 2001. Ultimately, September 11th will become a very personal experience for those of us who have conscious memory of an autumn day when acts of terrorism altered the course of human history and thought. Historians will tell of the events of the day, including the political, military, and economic climate. It is my desire to record the response of the faithful, much of which runs counter to the dominant cultural perspective. Throughout the ages, people of faith have raised a dissident voice, and it is this voice that is recorded in these pages.” This is the opening paragraph of a document entitled Out of the Ashes: The Faithful Respond to September 11, 2001, the result of a grant I received from the UCC National Office of Justice and Witness. I felt it important to create an historical document of the faithful’s response to this life altering event, and to take special care to record the response of the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ.
Bernice Powell Jackson, Executive Minister for Justice and Witness Ministries for the United Church of Christ reminded us, “In a sermon at the Riverside Church in New York City exactly one year before his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said these prophetic words: We can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate…. If we do not want to act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.“
The United Church of Santa Fe borrowed words from the last homily of Archbishop Oscar Romero. These words were spoken the day before he was assassinated in San Salvador in 1980: “All that we are and all that we do is in God’s hands. What that means for us, my sisters and brothers, at this time is to pray very much, and to be very united with God.”
Edith Guffey, Associate General Minister of the United Church of Christ issued these words: “Although we are but one of the many expressions of who God is in our world, we are mindful of our call and our denomination’s rich heritage as peacemakers.”
Dr. John Herman preached at Desert Palm United Church of Christ in Tempe: “This is a dangerous time for our nation-not simply for us today, but for generations not even born. We need great wisdom to avoid precipitating a bloodbath that could undermine our own national principles of equality and justice and which could soil our name for all history. What we do need is authentic patriotism.”
The Reverend Ruthanne Cochran shares: “I have sadness within me for all the people whose lives are being changed, work destroyed, dreams shattered, and livelihoods uncertain. We work a lifetime to create reality out of our dreams, and for reasons beyond our control, the dreams are sometimes shattered. Whatever happens to the people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, they cannot live in the ashes. They have to rebuild and re-dream, rekindle our ashes of what might have been. We have to rebuild, re-dream, rekindle our feelings and be open to God knocking at our hearts. We can’t sit around in the ash. We have to take some time to think about what has happened, and then we have to open our ears for another knock at our hearts. It shall come!!”
COVID has presented communities of faith with many of the same challenges as 9/11, and I feel it is important to record the faithful’s response during the pandemic. Our response will be measured far beyond the challenge of technology. Some questions that might be addressed are:
How did we extend pastoral care to the COVID First Responders?
How did we extend prayerful support to our local hospitals?
How did we provide comfort to those who lost loved ones during COVID and were unable to gather for memorial services?
How did our preaching address the fear of illness and death?
What specific programs did we create to address the needs created by COVID?
How do we move forward in hope?
Dr. Campbell, UCC clergy, served as Associate Staff for Social Concerns for the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ at the time of 9/11, and served as a Staff Chaplain at Phoenix Children’s Hospital throughout the COVID pandemic.