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Churches to Join in Remembrance of September 11
NEW YORK CITY, NY (January 8, 2002) - East Coast Conference churches from three states will participate Saturday in a special worship service hosted by Bethesda Covenant Church in New York City.
Donn Engebretson, executive vice president of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), will be the guest speaker for the service, which begins at noon.
The service provides an opportunity for participants to reflect on the September 11 terrorist tragedy at the World Trade Center in New York City that has taken the lives of an estimated 3,000 people. Host pastor Gerald Swenson has witnessed the effects of the September 11 terrorist attack on his congregation during the past four months. His church, located in The Church Center of the United Nations, is not far from the World Trade Center. Most of his congregation lives in the neighborhood.
"We haven't had a dramatic effect, but the lingering effect has been added anxiety and fear," said Swenson of his multi-ethnic congregation. "Many people of Middle Eastern descent were afraid to venture outside of their apartments. And we had other people whose parents were victims of
reprisal at other times."
Churches a few miles from the World Trade Center have also been affected. Two New York Covenant pastors, Jerry Mosby of Fellowship Covenant Church, and Lois Stewart of Floral Park Community Church in Floral Park, served as chaplains for area police and other emergency team members. They saw the pain of many struggling to cope with the tragedy.
Pastors like Samuel Bryan of Christian Community Covenant Church of Jamaica Estates knew of friends who died in the World Trade Center disaster. New Jersey churches have parishioners who
commute daily into the city and see the physical loss of the World Trade Center - and those who worked there - and the pain hasn't eased for them, either. Swenson, for one, is glad that area Covenant churches will be able to share their stories and care for each other on Saturday. He hopes that all who felt affected by the tragedy will feel free to attend.
"The service itself is entitled 'A Service of Remembrance and Healing,' and that captures the notion of grieving," Swenson said. "Certainly, it's an opportunity for people to go back in some respect to feelings they may have submerged and have them expressed. We will have a communion service and an anointing part of the service for people who need special prayer.
"But we also felt a tremendous need in the New York City and New Jersey churches to unite together, Swenson continued. "Although pastors may have had a chance to get together, our fellowships have not united - we're hoping to carry that on, not only through this service, but through three other services at different locations throughout the year."
New York City area Covenant pastors who will participate in Saturday's service include Swenson, Mosby, Stewart, Bryan, David Holder (Evangelical Covenant/New York Covenant in New Rochelle) and Peter Nielsen (Evangelical Covenant Church of East Northport).
New Jersey Covenant pastors who will participate include: Dan Shaw, Evangelical Covenant Church of Montclair; John Marks, Trinity Covenant in Livingston; James Stanley-Erickson, Pilgrim Covenant of New Jersey; and Connecticut pastor Craig Carlson, The Covenant Church of Easton, Connecticut.
Bethesda Covenant Church is located at 1st Avenue and 44th Street in New York City, as part of The Church Center of the United Nations. A fellowship time will follow Saturday's service. For more information, call Swenson at 914-245-3574 or email him at gerswen@bestweb.net.
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