Lamentation, Remembrance, Commitment
On the 20th anniversary of 9/11
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Saturday, September 11, 2021 |
Greetings of peace!
I first joined the staff of Pax Christi USA on September 4, 2001. I flew to Erie, PA (where our national office was located) that week for my first staff meeting. It was spent hatching a general plan for the coming year, a road map to guide us through the year and help us to move our priorities forward. The staff finished that plan at around 9 o’clock at night on September 10. The next morning, we were regathered in the Erie office when someone called us in to watch live coverage of a plane flying into the World Trade Center. By the early afternoon, we had torn up that general plan, recognizing that the world had just changed in a moment and so too would the focus of our work. My entire career at Pax Christi USA has happened with the aftermath of 9/11 as a backdrop.
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Yesterday, we released a statement on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. (It is available below in the study section of this PSA.) While I hope you'll take time to read it, I also hope you'll revisit a number of the statements that Pax Christi USA has made over the past twenty years related to 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. initiated global war on terror, and the dark moments that came with morbid regularity over the past twenty years. Much of the attention today is on what happened twenty years ago (9/11) and what happened these past few weeks -- the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the reinstitution of the Taliban there. But we cannot forget the arc of these past twenty years and how the decision to respond militarily to the 9/11 attacks led to, as out statement on the tenth anniversary declared: "the justification of torture, the moral bankruptcy of pre-emptive war, the daily reports of innocent civilians killed as collateral damage, the deaths of thousands of U.S. service personnel, and the stealing of our national wealth to pay for wars abroad as our children, our elderly, and the most vulnerable are left to suffer at home". We could add to that list drone warfare, a monstrous and ever-expanding military budget, war on multiple fronts, refugees and displace people, and so much more.
If we are going to advocate for a different way of responding to violence and tragedy, then we need to be absolutely conscious of where responding with war and violence has led us--not just these past twenty years, but time and time again throughout history. The calls to "never forget" should not be limited to what happened twenty years ago today. Let us remember the totality of these past twenty years, and work together to make sure that we don't allow the same mistakes to be repeated.
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In peace,
Johnny Zokovitch
Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
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MUSLIM, CHRISTIAN, JEWISH PRAYER FOR PEACE
from Pax Christi USA & the Fellowship of Reconciliation
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O God, you are the source of life and peace.
Praised be your name forever.
We know it is you who turn our minds to thoughts of peace.
Hear our prayer in this time of war.
Your power changes hearts.
Muslims, Christians, and Jews remember, and profoundly affirm,
that they are followers of the one God,
children of Abraham, brothers and sisters;
enemies begin to speak to one another;
those who were estranged join hands in friendship;
nations seek the way of peace together.
Strengthen our resolve to give witness to these truths by the way we live.
Give to us:
Understanding that puts an end to strife;
Mercy that quenches hatred; and
Forgiveness that overcomes vengeance.
Empower all people to live in your law of love. Amen.
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> Join Pax Christi USA and others today for a prayer vigil lamenting mistakes of the past and praying and acting for peaceful tomorrows. Click here for information to join in person in DC or via livestream.
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PAX CHRISTI USA STATEMENT
ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11
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“As people of faith and disciples of the nonviolent Jesus, we must be willing, even now in this darkest moment, to commit ourselves and urge our sisters and brothers to resist the impulse to vengeance. We must resist the urge to demonize and dehumanize any ethnic group as ‘enemy’. We must find the courage to break the spiral of violence that so many in our nation, we fear, will be quick to embrace.” ~from Pax Christi USA’s statement immediately after the events of 9/11, issued September 12, 2001
This statement, on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, repeats a reminder from the first statement we issued after September 11, 2001 – that we are first and foremost people of faith and disciples of the nonviolent Jesus. Our response then, our response now, our response always begins with our understanding of the inherent value and dignity of our shared humanity, given full expression in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
Twenty years ago, just after 9/11 and just before October 7 when U.S. bombs began to fall on Afghanistan, a phrase was circulating across the United States: “Our grief is not a cry for war.” People mourned the victims of the 9/11 attack and marched by the millions in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and other cities across the globe against any movement toward war.
The grief of 9/11 has not been assuaged or erased or vindicated by twenty years of war, an array of military strategies, or the unbounded increase in military spending. We were not silent twenty years ago and we will not be silent today: Our faith impels us in the face of death and violence to respond with justice and compassion. It illuminates the moment and points out the urgent need for a paradigm shift toward nonviolence in our country and the world...
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> Find other resources for prayer, study and action as well as past statements on the 9/11 anniversary and Afghanistan at this link.
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OBSERVE THE 9/11 ANNIVERSARY WITH THESE ACTIONS |
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JOIN THE INTERFAITH PRAYER VIGIL IN PERSON OR VIA LIVESTREAM TODAY: Join Pax Christi USA, Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, and our partners for an interfaith prayer vigil on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, this Saturday, September 11th at 3pm ET. Join the vigil remotely by Zoom at this link ( https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89179608268) OR follow the livestream on our Facebook page.
There will be an in-person gathering, so if you’re in D.C., join us for the the vigil at Washington City Church of the Brethren, 337 North Carolina Ave, SE.
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FOR YOUNG ADULTS: "REFLECTING ON A GENERATION OF WAR", SEPT. 15: The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the political consciousness of young adults and people of all ages. If we were old enough to remember the invasion and the events following, there’s a clear and defined separation in time between the “before” and “after” of this moment. For those that were too young to remember it, it’s almost impossible to imagine life without the U.S. military at war.
On Wednesday, September 15th, the Pax Christi USA Young Adult Caucus (PCYAC) will be hosting a space for young adults to reflect with one another about this experience. From 8-9pm EDT/5-6pm PDT, we will be gathered in prayer, reflection, and action about the situation in Afghanistan — both currently and over the past twenty years. Ryan Di Corpo will be sharing a special reflection in regards to the piece he published in America Magazine, titled Afghanistan, Vietnam and the American legacy of lies.
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Other actions to take:
> Find a whole host of action opportunities and resources curated from the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns at this link.
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Pax Christi USA
202-635-2741 | 415 Michigan Ave NE, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20017
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