Opening Our Minds and Hearts: Stronger Faith Endures the Test of Time
WASHINGTON – It was the first brisk night after several days of unusually warm weather for the beginning of December. Young men and women wearing black leather jackets and turtleneck sweaters, along with middle-class people decked out in tattered sweatshirts and dingy Reebok shoes, shuffled into St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Northwest Washington, just a few steps away from the hustle and bustle of Connecticut Ave.
The evening service was, for the most part, like any other service. The same hymns were sung; the traditional Advent rituals were performed; the attendance at the mass was no different from the usual 300-person turnout.
But before the Rev. Phil Reed began offering the Eucharist and wine to the devout, he shut his eyes and stretched out his arms and exposed his plum-colored robe adorned with silver thread that glimmered under the pale yellow lights. His voice flowed like music and reverberated against the walls decorated with hand-painted frescos while his hands shook slightly with each phrase. “Peace in America. Peace in Afghanistan. Peace in Israel. We pray to the Lord,” he chanted. There was a spilt second of silence, longer than the other pauses during the Sunday night church service. Some looked upward and some glanced at loved ones next to them as they tightly grasped the tops of wooden church pews and sang “Lord hear our prayers” along with the 10-person church choir and eight musicians.
When the devastating images of the planes striking the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon appeared on television screens, Americans realized that the most powerful country in the world was, in fact, vulnerable and assailable. Many turned to religion to seek comfort and support on Sept. 11, when America’s sense of security collapsed. “How could this happen,” many people asked, or “why would God do this to us?”
Even though service attendance dwindled within three months of terrorist attacks, Americans have looked to their religions as a way to find a new outlook on life and new ways to treat other people. The tragedy of Sept. 11 affected every American, regardless of age and creed, which as a result caused people to unite and help everyone cope with the attacks through social unity.
“I prayed later that day·it was a meaningful prayer, and was consoling to me. Now, I really felt the meaning of those words ‘live for today, for tomorrow is never guaranteed. My faith has been strengthened as a result especially since we were in DC,” said Sanam Nowrouzzadeh, a student at George Washington University and vice president of the Muslim Student Association.
American University sophomore and Chi Alpha Christian Organization member Emily Mariapain said her first reaction after the first plane hit the World Trade Center was to pray. She added that she “was definitely really confused for a long time” about her faith. “It’s really hard, especially for Christians who might say, ‘How can a God that’s so good let something like this happen?’ ”
For a Muslim woman who is a regular visitor to the Islamic Center, the hardest part of coping with the attacks was how her daily life was changed. “We [Muslims] don’t need all this trouble,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be used, “but if one person did it, people should not blame the whole Muslim group·. “Even today there are children that call my son Bin Laden because he is Muslim.”
Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, the rector of St. Matthew’s Church, said that several people came to him after the attacks with doubts about their faith. “I think many people, even those who didn’t come, at some point had doubt. ‘Why? Why could God let this happen? How could I believe in God who is so good and merciful?’ Because God is so good, he gives us that freedom, and sometimes people think that it might be easier not to have it.”
Army Pentagon Chaplain Henry A. Haynes said that the people directly involved in the attacks were probably the most affected religiously. “I’ve heard so many stories of people who were in the impact area. They had to crawl through a wall, crawl through a building on their belly. It’s just traumatic. I cannot begin to imagine what they must have been feeling·it causes you to think and struggle with some deep issues,” said Haynes.
As Americans grappled with the trauma after one of the most atrocious events in United States history, religious leaders added additional services to accommodate the increased turnout in wake of the terrorist attacks.
Michael Godzwa, the chaplain of the Chi Alpha Christian Organization at American University, said that the although increased interest in seeking spiritual comfort is normal after a major crisis, most of the students who approached him with questions or doubts after Sept. 11 were not active religious members. Godzwa said that most of the students who came to him with doubts were “students who hadn’t explored faith and set had up some other ways of coping that seemed to be pulled out from under them came and were questioning. Even now I talk to students on campus who are still questioning, still wondering, still searching for answers.”
The first service in the Pentagon after the attack was on Friday, Sept. 14 on the National Day of Prayer. On that day, there were four services, three of which were added the night before after President George W. Bush declared the National Day of Prayer. “Each service was overflowing, standing-room-only·I’m sure if we had the resources, we could’ve started at 8 a.m. and do services until 5 p.m. and every one would be packed. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Chaplain Haynes said.
“The mood was humble, thankful, appreciative of what they have. No one really seemed to blame God for this. It was, I would sense, that they were thankful for being alive and concerned about those who were missing or unaccounted for or dead. There was an outpouring of love for one another as if they were saying, ‘if you need a shoulder to cry on, you can come and take my shoulder. If you need a hand, use mine,’” Haynes added.
Georgetown University’s Imam Yahya Hendi, the first Muslim chaplain ever appointed at an American university, said a service was held on campus, three hours after the first plane hit the World Trade Center. The service “was a moment of prayer, a moment of reconnecting with God, a moment of tears, a moment of true unity of people of different faiths,” Hendi said.
Fasih Siddiqui, the president of the Muslim Student Association at George Washington University, said that during “the week of Sept. 11, we were supposed to have our first general body meeting on Thursday. We were anticipating 40-50 people. We ended up having 150 at the meeting. The university let us use the ballroom and had security guards at all events just to make sure that nothing would happen,” Siddiqui said.
Todd Schwartz, a member of the Kesher Israel Orthodox Temple, said that most of the support he received after the tragedy came from other members of his congregation. “There were a lot of people who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center, so when I went to service the Saturday after the attacks, I saw people going out of their way to find those people and express their condolences,” he said.
For children, turning to religion and prayer helped them to learn and understand the magnitude of Sept. 11. Religious leaders were able to use services as a way to answer the questions about the terrorist attacks. Walt Anderson, the superintendent of St. Paul’s Sunday school, said that the children were upset and had a lot of questions. “The children saw how their parents were upset and started to realized how tragic this event was,” he said. “I didn’t see any kids who were crying or crazy about it. My kids had a lot of questions. ‘Are there really dead people down there [in the World Trade Center]? What are we going to do? Are we in danger?’ There was a lot of reassurance by the people here. I think it got them through the beginning,” he added.
Ten-year old Jordan Wagner, who attends Sunday school at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Northwest Washington, said that she felt better when she prayed more after the attacks. “My sister and I go to a religious school, so we had lots of religious services, and every time before classes we are always praying for the soldiers and the victims. I think that it’s good that we pray before every class in the morning and at church services,” Wagner said.
Despite the tragic events of Sept. 11 and other subsequent scares around Washington, religious believers remained steadfast to their faith and did not become disillusioned. They used religion as a way to rationalize for themselves and for other why these events occurred.
“For me,” Haynes said, “God was where he’s always been. God lost his son, you have to be Christian to believe that. God was there but that had to happen in order to get people to do what he wanted them to do.”
Hendi said that he received calls people both on and off campus as well as people of different faiths, including Muslims who were concerned about a backlash that they might face in wake of the terrorist attacks. He told Muslim students to offer their knowledge and educate those who don’t understand their religion and Islam. “I told them that they needed to reach out to their fellow classmates of other religions and tell them about Islam. We need to make ourselves available to community and invite them to our services on campus.”
Rabbi Ethan Seidel of Tifereth Israel Congregation said that Jews turn to the religion to understand and cope with traumatic situations. “As Jews, at such times of turmoil, we have often taken comfort in our ritual and our law. When our lives are so out of balance that we don’t know what to grab for stability, our tradition has come through to help us make order out of chaos.”
After three months and the country is beginning to return to a state of normalcy, active religious members observe that as a result of Sept. 11, people of all religions are coming together to cope with the tragedy.
Mariapain said, “my faith has increased a lot because I realize that anything can happen at any given moment, and in my beliefs, if my life isn’t right, if I’m not living right, if I’m not respecting other people and really taking things for as they are, when they are-that I can be missing out on a lot. If something happened, I could lose my life. I want to make sure that everything is good with me, so I know that I’m going to Heaven.”
Pastor Dr. Sterling Morse of the 15th Street Presbyterian Church said that the attacks of Sept. 11 realized that people need to help each other in order to help themselves cope with the tragedy and the events to follow. “One thing that this season of terror has done is remind us that we can’t work out our salvation by ourselves,” he said.
“As human beings, we are all searching for the strength to move forward through these trying times. As secular humanistic Jews, we are searching for and finding this strength deep within ourselves and within our relationships. We are finding meaning and rewards for our good works here in this life, in this world,” said Rabbi Binyamin Biber of Machar, a Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism.
Msgr. Jameson said that families grew closer after the terrorist attacks. “There was more bonding with families probably that afternoon and evening than it happened in a long time. Families today tend to be so involved in so many things,” he said.
Siddiqui said the students at George Washington University were very supportive of the Muslim population, which has resulted in what he described as “a big push to learn” about Islam. “We had our email box flooded for some time. They [the student body] wanted to give us emotional support and ask us about Islam.”
Hendi did see positive results from Sept. 11. “I think our religious and ethnic diversity became much stronger after Sept. 11, and I think there is more understanding of Islam and Muslims now than before.”
David Hurai, the director at the Islamic Center of Washington, said that the center received only condolences from people of all ages and faiths after the attacks. “It was quite touching. We received thousands of letters from people all over the country. People also left flowers around the mosque, and we constantly had to be picking them up every couple of hours.”
Students at the Senior High Sunday School class of St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in the Washington suburb of Bowie, Md., sent messages of reassurance and sympathy to the Islamic Center of Washington shortly after the terrorist attacks.
Here are some of them: “We want to let you know that we are praying for you. We know that you did not have anything to do with those horrible acts and we hope you are not discriminated against. We also hope no one you know has been hurt or killed. We are thinking of you.” “Unlike some other Americans, we know you are innocent. We can only hope other Americans soon realize this. We are praying for your safety.” “I hope you know God loves you.”
Pentagon Chaplain Haynes said, “time does make a difference, but overall, the people have a much larger heart than they had before. I think this has drawn people closer to God·I think that’s the joy of what is happening. If you look deep enough, you can see the silver lining of the cloud. What we have found here, is people’s love for one another has increased tremendously. Their love for God has blossomed. I’ve heard nobody blame God for this, it’s more like, ‘God’s going to get us through this, yes he is.’”
“We may not be the people who are sitting around the United Nations. We may not be the people who are going to be talking to the leaders of the countries over in the Middle East. But, there is still a lot that we can do in our own neighborhoods, our own parish communities,” Msgr. Jameson said.
