The lofty arches of the Washington National Cathedral became a “container for … grief” Sept. 14 as President Bush and evangelist Billy Graham helped lead a worship service to mark the “National Day of Prayer and Remembrance.”
In poignant remarks near the close of the 75-minute service, the president recalled the World Trade Center workers, airline passengers, Pentagon employees and rescuers who perished in Tuesday’s unexpected violence.
“God’s signs are not always the ones we look for,” Bush said. “We learn in tragedy that His purposes are not always our own, yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral, are known and heard and understood.”
Stoic and sometimes tearful faces gathered for prayer and unity. Bush sat in front, joined by all his living predecessors except an ailing Ronald Reagan. Not far behind them were members of his Cabinet, Congress, the military and firefighting battalions.
Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim clergy took turns reading Scripture and reciting prayers.
“Those that lay the plots of evil, for them is a penalty terrible; and the plotting of such will not abide,” said Imam Muzammil H. Siddiqi of Islamic Society of North America.
Graham offered words of consolation. “Yes, our nation has been attacked, buildings destroyed, lives lost, but now we have a choice whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation or whether we choose to become stronger through all of this struggle to rebuild on a solid foundation,” he preached. “That foundation is our trust in God.”
Graham voiced his certainty that there is divine understanding for the spiritual questions and anger that many may be leveling at God.
The longtime evangelist, whose public appearances are now rare, also addressed evil, saying the perpetrators did not include the Almighty: “Today we say to those who masterminded this cruel plot and to those who carried it out that the spirit of this nation will not be defeated by their twisted and diabolical schemes.”
Rather, he said, the country is more unified.
“Those perpetrators who took this on to tear us apart, it has worked the other way,” he said. “It’s backlashed, it’s backfired. We are more united than ever before.”
Graham received a standing ovation at the end of his 11-minute sermon, the only applause during the solemn service.
The invitation-only event, witnessed by the general public via CNN, was one of many scheduled services held Friday in houses of worship across the country.
It, like many others, had an interfaith flavor that symbolized the nation’s united stand in the face of trouble. (RNS)
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