Friday September 11, 2026
Remembering 9/11 is never a simple act — it’s a layered, solemn return to a day that reshaped our nation’s story and our sense of vulnerability, unity, and hope. The lives lost — nearly 3,000 people, each with a name, a story, a family. The first responders — firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and ordinary citizens who ran toward danger. The national wound — an attack carried out by Al-Qaeda, a violent extremist organization responsible for immense harm and loss of life. The unity that followed — strangers comforting strangers, communities gathering, churches filling, flags rising.
The Spiritual effect of that Day for many, 9/11 is not only historical but deeply spiritual. It raises questions of human fragility, the mystery of evil, the resilience of hope, the call to be peacemakers in a fractured world.
Psalm 46 often becomes a touchstone: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” It’s a reminder that even when the foundations shake — literally and figuratively — God remains unshaken. We look for the ways God brings light out of smoke, compassion out of chaos, unity out of fear.
LET US NEVER FORGET
A Prayer of Remembrance for September 11 O God of mercy and steadfast love, On this day we remember the sorrow that fell upon our nation, the lives cut short, the courage shown in the face of terror, and the tears that still fall for what was lost. Be near to all who grieve, to families who carry absence as part of their daily life, to survivors whose memories still burn, and to first responders whose bravery became a living sacrifice. Guard our hearts from hatred, and teach us to seek justice without vengeance, peace without forgetting, hope without naïveté. Make us instruments of your healing, builders of communities where fear does not rule, and bearers of light in every shadowed place. For you are our refuge and strength, our help in ages past, and our peace in days to come. Amen.
Reflections by Bob 