“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)
Loving, present God, as we begin this day
we pause to remember.
We remember the 2,976 people from 93 nations
who died in New York City, at the Pentagon
and on Flight 93 twenty-five years ago.
We pray for spouses and children and parents
and grandparents and friends and co-workers
who find themselves weeping today.
As we remember that painful day,
we acknowledge that You are Almighty God,
maker of heaven and earth,
giver of life,
Lord over death,
bringer of life everlasting.
You are the God of all power
who has given us power, as well:
power to create, not to destroy;
power to love, not to hate;
power to build instead of tearing down;
power to reconcile instead of breaking apart;
and power to seek justice more than revenge.
We make our prayer to you this morning
in the name of Jesus Christ,
whose power is seen most clearly in the cross,
who walked this earth in peace,
and who, in his resurrection, comes and says to us:
“Peace be with you.”
May we walk in his name and in his way,
as we pray the prayer he taught us to pray:
Our God in heaven,
holy is your name.
Your kindom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Let us not fall into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kindom,
and the power,
and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial
