September 11 Aftermath

Snapshots from United Brethren churches after the terrorist attacks.

Compiled by Steve Dennie

The date "September 11" has been burned into our minds. Whenever someone mentions that date, we'll think of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

The attack happened on a Tuesday. In the days that followed, United Brethren pastors and congregations found special ways to minister to people and reach out to nonbelievers. And on Sunday, September 16, many United Brethren churches experienced a larger-than-normal worship attendance, as people who didn't regularly attend decided that on this Sunday, they should go to church.

Some of our pastors and laypersons sent reports on the aftermath of September 11. Here are a few of them.

Franklin UB (New Albany, Ohio)

Pastor Mike Brown reported: "The morning of the attacks we were in a ministerial association meeting. In that meeting was one Jewish Rabbi and one Messianic Jewish Rabbi. Both were very outwardly upset, the non-Messianic Rabbi to the point of tears and almost sobs. He has been in Israel several times when the PLO hit. Ironically, I was already scheduled to speak at the synagogue on September 15, the beginning of High Holy Days. The Rabbi (Howard) and I held a dialogue on the difference between Jewish and Christian repentance. It went well, but the congregation was quite solemn. Of course, it was a great opportunity to talk about repentance through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross. He expected 30-40 people; we had around 160!

"On Sunday, September 16, we held a memorial service for the victims and their families with candlelighting for each of the downed planes, the Twin Towers, and the Pentagon. Four elders led a prayer for victims, rescue workers, our national leaders, and national revival. The sermon was titled: 'Where Was God 9/11/01?.' We had 30 people more than our average attendance."

King Street UB (Chambersburg, Pa.)

From senior pastor Pat Jones: "A man in our congregation, Doug Warnock, has an office in the wing of the Pentegon which was destroyed. He is located in A wing, the innermost circle. His son sent him an instant message about the WTC crashes, and he went to the part of the office in the E wing to get a TV to watch the news. He had been back in his A wing office less than 10 minutes before the plane hit. Two secretaries who were seated immediately inside the E wing were killed instantly and some others were badly hurt. He was spared.

"A man in our church, David Black, designed the top two floors of the World Trade Center. He cried over their destruction, but more for the people than the building. He knew the heat would bring them down. Others had family members in the immediate area, but they were not injured.

"We held two special prayer meetings, one Tuesday night (250 in attendance) and one at noon on Friday, a public one, which 163 people attended. Our Sunday attendance was over 1500. We worked at balancing a sense of patriotism and support of our country with a Kingdom perspective and the need for us to give a reason for the hope that we have. We had a couple people come to salvation from it all."

Chinese UB (Manhattan, New York)

Allan Chan is a founding member of the Chinese UB church in Manhattan. He wrote the following a few days after the attack: "On behalf of our congregation, thank you for your heartfelt-concern. We desperately need the support. The attack on the World Trade Center was a grotesque act. Every time when our congregation tries to talk about it or pray for it, sadness chokes us and we just cannot withhold our tears.

"We thank God that everyone and everyone we know so far are ok. Our church is about 15 minutes walking distance from the Twin Towers. Actually, we could see the two building from our church front."

Daytona UB (Holly Hill, Fla.)

Chuck McKeown, pastor of Daytona UB, sent this report: "On Saturday, September 15, several of us from the church placed a United States flag display on the front lawn of the church consisting of 15 flags on lighted poles. Sometime during the evening hours of Wednesday, September 19, a local man cut down six of the flags and left the remnants along the side of the road.

"A neighbor volunteered to repair the flags for us. This generous act attracted the attention of our local newspaper and two Orlando-area TV stations. Following the news reports, a woman from Palm Coast called and asked if she could donate the flag that draped her father's casket during his funeral in 1995. We where honored to accept her gift. I received the flag, along with a photograph of the woman's father, on Monday evening, September 24.

"This is where the story gets interesting.

"According to the information about the woman's father, he was born in Lancaster, Pa., in 1910. I called her to ask if she knew that the United Brethren denomination started in Lancaster. She told me she did not, and that she really didn't know anything about the United Brethren in Christ, but felt that learning that made her decision to donate the flag to us even more special.

"I then asked her several questions about the photo of her father. It was taken while he was in basic training in 1944. I told her that I noticed in the lower right-hand corner of the photo the name of the photographer, A. E. Beeks, and that his studio was located in Spartanburg, S. C., where an Army base is located. I then told her that I was born in Spartanburg in 1953.

"Interesting! A man born in Lancaster, Pa., the birthplace of the UB denomination, has a daughter who donates his military burial flag to a UB church in Holly Hill, Florida, pastored by a minister who was born in the town where her father took his basic training during World War II. Needless to say, she couldn't believe her ears."

NorthPointe UB (Lewis Center, Ohio)

Dan Kopp, pastor of this new church, wrote: "In addition to spontaneous gatherings of prayer at homes prior to our Saturday service" [NorthPointe holds services on Saturday night, not Sunday morning] "my wife Jane and I had the privilege of leading a candlelit moment of silence, prayer, and 'God Bless America' with the flag held high on our cul-de-sac with probably 40 or so standing together. Neat moment. We were flattered to be asked to lead.

"The service, 'An Attack on America--a Christian Response,' focused on Romans 12:21: 'Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.' The message shared that our response and direction should 'Not be hatred, but justice; revenge but righteousness; and not fear, but faith.' Our emotions in themselves are not wrong, it's how we channel them and direct them to God's glory. ('Be angry, but do not sin.')

"An Air Force reservist, who had been recently baptized with his spouse, 'presented colors.' We each held a candle, read names of persons killed in the horror, listened to taps in silence, and prayed. It was a powerful, God-embraced evening for which we thank Him."

First UB (Findlay, Ohio)

Pastor Darwen Dunten wrote: "It seems every church has been affected by this tragedy in one way or another. A member of First UB church had an uncle whose office was dead center in the Pentagon attack. Fortunately, he was in Massachusetts giving a speech at the time. Unfortunately, his entire unit was killed.

"Sunday, we had a fairly normal attendance. We showed Fox News clips of a reporter going around New York, allowing people to ask questions as to why this happened. We let that be the intro to the sermon. At the end of the service, we spent a long time in prayer."

Good Shepherd UB (Huntington, Ind.)

Chris Moore, Pastor of Congregational Care at Good Shepherd, told about three special exercises they used on September 16: "We placed a special quarter-sheet insert in the bulletin with the following statement: 'Lord, as our nation copes with the tragedy of this week, I pray for....' Persons were asked to complete the statement, and then drop it in either a fireman's helmet or a box wrapped in white paper with the symbol of the Red Cross on each side. These receptacles symbolized the persons still coping with the clean-up and search efforts.

"Second, we unrolled a 50-foot roll of butcher paper down the middle aisle and wrote the following statement: 'In light of this week's tragedies, Lord, we thank you for...." People were asked to add statements of thanksgiving in the midst of the nation's struggle.

"In addition, Legos were placed on the altar, and we built a Lego foundation in the shape of the cross. In an attitude of prayer, people were asked to pray the following: 'Lord, what would you have me do in this great time of national rebuilding?' The people were then asked to take two of the Legos on the altar. They were to place one on the cross foundation as a symbol of their involvement in our physical, emotional and especially spiritual rebuilding process. They were to take the second Lego with them as a reminder of that commitment.

"Overall, we provided about 15 minutes for individuals to work through these station. Virtually the entire congregation participated in at least one of them. We had great feedback that our endeavor offered an active way for people to help process and pray for the victims, workers, and onlookers of the terrible attack on our country."

First UB (Lansing, Mich.)

Pastor Scott Hergert wrote: "We had a prayer service at noon on Friday, and some people I had not seen in a long time attend. On Sunday, we had an extended time of prayer. We chose patriotic songs for our music. On the way out, one lady hugged me and said, 'I became a Christian today.'"

Gaines UB (Caledonia, Mich.)

Pastor Mark Beers wrote: "At Gaines, we held several prayer services throughout the week. We met with the Banner of Christ UB church on Tuesday evening and had a very good turnout for such short notice. Then on Friday, after the President of the United States asked for the church to pray, we held a noon-time prayer service that was well attended. One of our parishioners brought many of her coworkers to the service. I read the proclamation of the President along with the prayer that was put out by David Bryant of Concerts of Prayer. We opened up the sanctuary all day Friday for anyone who wanted to come to the church and pray. Many came throughout the day.

"On Sunday morning, I am amazed where the Lord had us positioned in our study of the book of Zechariah. We were studying the end of chapter one and start of chapter two. The over-riding message is that God had not forsaken his people. What a timely message. We ended each service with a special prayer time for America around the altar. The altar was packed and the prayer time was very emotional. We had a very high turnout for our services. I only pray that people are sincere in their seeking for the Lord."

The View from Russia

John and Debbie Siegel are partial-support UB missionaries serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators in St. Petersburg, Russia. Debbie wrote: "The show of support on this side of the ocean has been quite touching. Hundreds of bouquets of flowers were placed in front of the American consulate in St. Petersburg in the days following the bombing. A type of registry book was also left by the city government so passers-by could write notes of sympathy and encouragement to those inside.

"The Christian school where John and I work shares a hallway with a Russian Christian school. At noon the following Thursday, we all observed a minute of silence together and then listened as our coworkers and their students sang to us the Lord's prayer and another song with lyrics about standing together as friends. We are blessed."

The View from Macau

Jennifer Blandin

With the time difference, we are 12 hours ahead of those on Eastern Standard Time in the States. We were teaching English in our night program at the time of the attacks. Living Water Church's pastor, Karis Vong, called us at the office and told us we needed to get home right away to watch the news. Something bad had happened in the States. As Jana and I walked home, we noticed on televisions inside various restaurants along the way that there were two tall buildings burning, but we still had no idea what was going on. It didn't take long after arriving home and turning on the television for us to figure out what happened. Thankfully, the English news stations were broadcasting the American news stations. So, we could flip between CBS, ABC, and FOX. (Some people in Macau also get CNBC and CNN on a daily basis. Jana and I cannot.) Around 2:00 a.m., we headed to bed. Life didn't stop here, and another working day was going to begin in a few short hours.

Overall, the reaction here has been one of sympathy for those who lost loved ones, shock at what happened, and constant asking if we had any family or friends living in New York City or in D.C. You may have heard about some negative reactions from people within China. I personally haven't had anyone come up to me and say something like, "The USA deserved what happened."

This event did affect the whole world. Not just Americans lost their lives. I know of one ELP student who has family living in New York and they could not reach her aunt for a few days after the attack. Thankfully, by the next time we saw the student, her aunt had been in contact with them.

Will life ever be normal again? I doubt it, at least not in the States. The attack was a horrible thing. Yet, somehow God still comes through. I saw the prayer service President Bush set up the Friday following the attacks. I hear and see more people referring to God. In Macau, it has brought up opportunities to share God with students. It has allowed for faster relationship building. For example, on that Thursday following the attacks, a student came in and was saying how as he watched the news, he would sometimes start crying. (Men in Macau don't cry!) Later, we found out that he works with firefighters in Macau.