Index for this page:
1. Overview..
2. The Central Schedule and Map..a
3. Press coverage

    Index for other pages:
4. KC METRO AREA EVENTS..
5. RESOURCES
6. Public Information (Media Advisories)
7. Planning Team Notes
8. Prayer and Name Reading Schedule

Today is the anniversary of a day of horror that somehow brings us together as members of this community, as Americans, and as citizens of the world.

As a community of many faiths, we gather to honor those who perished — and those who work to comfort and save others.

In the face of the disasters, we yet proclaim hope.

Water has many meanings in the world’s religions. To answer the fireball of a year ago, we make water an emblem of hope.

Kansas City is the city of fountains. Into this pool, members of the Interfaith Council will pour waters from fountains from Independence and Lenexa, KCK and Lee’s Summit, all over the metro area, along with waters from the Ganges, the Nile, the Amazon, the Themes, the Yangtse, and the Kaw and the Missouri, to say that ultimately our lives flow  together from one Source and toward one Source.

These waters become the tears of Muslims, Jews, Christians, those of all faiths. Then we will gather the mixture, and take the mixture to Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral  for the evening observance. There, in faith, these waters will be transformed into the waters which purify — and douse the fires of hatred, wash away our self-righteousness, and well up as healing fountains in the  heart. As these waters join, so let us unite in proclaiming hope.

1. OVERVIEW

      —  THE PURPOSE of the 9/11 events planned by metro Kansas City Interfaith Council is to assist the community in observing the first anniversary of  the terrorist attacks in a way that brings reassurance and hope.
    By celebrating the religiously diverse resources available to us, the observance is intended to deepen our sense of kinship with one another as residents of the region, as Americans, and as citizens of the world.
     To assist in metro-wide awareness, events at a central location are being coordinated with “satellite” events.
   At 5:30 am, at Ilus Davis Park at 11th and Oak, a live broadcast of the "Monk and Kelly Show," Star 102 radio, will feature students from nine schools, Mayors Kay Barnes and Carol Marinovich, members of the National Organization of Fire Fighters, police departments and Emergency personnel.
   At 7 am, a brief ceremony will use water gathered from fountains all over the metro area which will be distributed to the participants to use in their own faith groups later in the day, symbolically connecting all faiths and all geographical areas of the community. This will be videotaped and available for those wishing to use it later in the day.
     From Ilus Davis Park, the participants will process to Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, where prayers from individual faiths will be offered and the names of victims read. Bells will toll at times marking the four attacks of September 11, 2001.
     At 6:30 pm, a central observance  will explore the civic and religious meanings, honor those whose lives were lost, and recognize the contributions of emergency-preparedness personnel. Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes and speakers from the Interfaith Council will join with musical offerings in memory and renewal.
     At 7:30 pm, a program of music and ballet and oncurrent workshops will be offered for those wishing to explore various topics.
    At 8:30-8:45, a brief ceremony will conclude the day.

6:40 a.m. - from the Kansas City Symphony, Gary Schutza (trumpet), Brian Rood (trumpet), Stephen Multer (horn), Porter Wyatt Henderson (trombone), Steven Seward (tuba), and Timothy Jepson (percussion) will perform various selections for brass ensemble with percussion. Among the offerings are an excerpt from the New World Symphony, Shall We Gather, Amazing Grace, and Simple Gifts.

6:56 a.m. - Sunrise

7:00 a.m. - Ceremony at Ilus Davis Park, 11th & Oak, Kansas City, Missouri.A brief ceremony will use water gathered from fountains all over the metro area which will be distributed to the participants to use in their own faith groups later in the day, symbolically connecting all faiths and all geographical areas of the community. This will be videotaped and available for those wishing to use it later in the day.

7:15 a.m. - From the park, participants will process to Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral Founders Hall, 13th Street & Broadway, where prayers will be offered throughout the day with the reading of the names of the victims, in which the public is invited to participate.

7:46 a.m. - Bells toll marking the first attack
8:03 a.m. - Bells toll marking the second attack
8:43 a.m. - Bells toll marking the third attack
9:10 a.m. - Bells toll marking the fourth attack

10:00 a.m - News Conference
    with United Way, Red Cross, etc, at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, Haden Hall
10:30 a.m - News Conference
    with the chairman and research associate of the Jackson County Diversity Task Force,
    concerning the September 10 Report on tolerance in the metro area
    at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, Haden Hall

Throughout the day -
    Prayers from individual faiths will be offered and the names of victims read.
    The public is invited to participate in Founders Hall of Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Participant list (in development; please volunteer)

7:30 p.m. - MUSIC / BALLET and WORKSHOPS

        In the Cathedral Founders Hall. From the Kansas City Symphony --
Tony DeMarco, Tamamo Someya, Jessica Nance, and Mark Gibbs will perform various selections for string quartet. The program includes An Irish Melody: The Londonderry Air  (Frank Bridge), String Quartet in F Major, Opus 18 Number 1:  Allegro con brio and Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato (Ludwig van Beethoven), Air for Strings (Norman Dello Joio), Adagio for Strings (Samuel Barber), Interludium in Modo Antico and (Alexander Glazunov). This performance is made possible through the Kansas City Symphony’s Community Connections Initiative which is funded in part by the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation Community Arts Fund.

        In the Cathedral Founders Hall. From the Kansas City Ballet --
Lisa Thorn will be dancing “Kaddish” an intense dance of loss and mourning, choreographed by Anna Sokolow who was known for her steadfast commitment to the lonely and persecuted. This ballet, featuring a sole female dancer, is set to the haunting music of Ravel. The pianist is Bill Marsden and features the vocalist Debra Scroggins Sowerwine. The original performance was made possible in part by the generous support of Mary and John Hunkeler.

Workshops designed to assist us to know our neighbors of many faiths and on responding to 9/11 issues. Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, rooms to be announced, 13th Street & Broadway

A. Learning about Islam
B. Learning about Sikhism
C. A Jewish-Muslim Friendship
D. Making a Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandala —
    The Ven. Gyaltsen Wangchuk, Rime Buddhist Center and Monastery
E. Comforting Communities in Crisis —
    Nancy E Crump, Certified Grief Counselor,
    and Fr Jerry L Spencer, KUMC Chaplain/Pastor, Holy Name Church
F. Applying the Diversity Task Force Report within the metro area —
     Rodger Kube, Research Director for the Task Force
G. MOSAIC, a open interfaith projects group sponsoring the Interfaith Passport,
     Book Club, and the Life Stories Project—
      Kathy Riegelman
H. American Indian Spirituality
I.  “Congregations Partnering Across Religious and Racial Lines”
       Janet Moss & Regina Stillman of Kansas City Harmony
J. "Non Violence and Reconciliation"  —
     Sister Donna Ryan (Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception)
      and Ira Harritt (American Friends Service Committee)
K. NCCJ / youth workshop
L. Christian Science Workshop

Brief concluding observance in the sanctuary

The Central observances end.

  Please inform us of your plans

a. KC Star Jul 23
b. KC Star Jul 31
c. KC Star Aug 4
d. Catholic Key Aug 9
e. KC Star Aug 25

3a. KANSAS CITY STAR ARTICLE  Posted on Tue, Jul. 23, 2002 story:PUB_DESC
Services planned to mark anniversary of attacks
By MATT MERKEL-HESS
The Kansas City Star

 
The first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks will be marked with ecumenical religious services across the Kansas City area.

The Kansas City Interfaith Council is planning downtown events that start with a 7 a.m. walk from Davis Park at 11th and Oak streets to Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 13th Street and Broadway.

The morning ceremony includes a mixing and blessing of water from fountains across Kansas City, said Vern Barnet, convener of the Kansas City Interfaith Council. The water will then be available for services in the evening.

"The purpose of the event is to demonstrate that from our many different faith communities, we are united in desiring the advancement of peace and justice, and reconciliation," he said.

The downtown events continue at Grace and Holy Trinity with prayers for peace throughout the day, culminating in a 6:30 p.m. service with Mayor Kay Barnes and other civic leaders, workshops at 7:30 p.m. and a brief concluding ceremony at 8:45 p.m., Barnet said.

The interfaith council also is encouraging churches and religious centers to ring bells or make some sort of sound in the morning at the time each of the four hijacked planes crashed last Sept. 11.

The Independence Ministerial Alliance also is holding an interfaith service at 7 p.m. at
Community of Christ Auditorium, 1001 W. Walnut St., Independence.

The service will include video from the morning service downtown, and the Children's Peace Pavilion will be open, said Kendra Friend, public relations specialist at Community of Christ.

"People are wanting to remember, and yet they're also looking for a reason to be hopeful," she said. "This is a good opportunity for people of different faiths to be together and explore how they can come together."

Susan Walker, organizer of the event and director of liturgy at St. Mark's Catholic Church in Independence, said people would want to come together on the anniversary, just as they instinctively gathered in houses of worship last September.

"I think it's a very human, a very natural thing," she said.

The Independence observance includes a combined choir from different religions, a
remembrance of what happened and an acknowledgement of how it changed people, Walker said.

"We'll talk about how our faith is the hope that gives us the courage to walk through something like this and come out on the other side a better people, community and nation," she said.

One speaker at the Independence observance will be Ahmed El-Sherif, founder and president of Shifa International, a humanitarian organization that specializes in sending medical relief abroad.

El-Sherif invited everyone to participate.

"I feel it is very much needed for healing and bringing people together a year after September 11," he said.

Other religious centers also plan Sept. 11 services.

Unity Church of Overland Park at 103rd Street and Antioch Road plans a 7 p.m. service, said Greg Barrette, senior minister. He said it would be similar to the five or six spontaneous services the church held last year during the week of Sept. 11. It will include a candle lighting, music and a sharing of Sept. 11 experiences.

"We will talk about what this means to us as a society and where we go from here," he said.

Barnet asked that all organizations planning a Sept. 11 observance contact the Kansas City Interfaith Council by e-mail at 911@cres.org. A listing of all events will be available soon at www.cres.org/911.

After looking at other cities, CBS-TV is sending a crew from New York to Kansas City Aug. 12 for several days to see how the metro area is preparing for observing the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks last Sept. 11.

   Several initiatives of the Kansas City Interfaith Council attracted the network's attention. First was the distribution of ``Interfaith Passports'' to encourage citizens to learn about the religions of their neighbors. Another was the Council's speakers from various faiths.

   But perhaps key was the Council's effort to coordinate a metro-wide response, ``Remembering 9/11: A Day of  Hope,'' by employing the spiritual wisdom from the many faiths practiced in the Heartland. The observance is intended to deepen our sense of kinship with one another as residents of the region, as Americans, and as citizens of the world.

   The central events begin with a 7 a.m. ceremony at Ilus Davis Park. The Community of Christ has arranged to videotape the ceremony and make the tapes available without charge to others later in the day who wish to use  them in their own faith communities.

   From the park, participants will process to Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral where prayers will be offered throughout the day with the reading of the names of the victims, in which the public is invited to participate.

   At 6:30 p.m., an observance honoring government officials and emergency-preparedness personnel is planned, with Kansas City Mayor Barnes speaking. Members of the Interfaith Council will also participate. Workshops follow at 7:30.

   The complete schedule is available at www.cres.org/911, including events throughout the metro area.

Various approaches will be taken to mark Sept. 11 anniversary
By DON PLUMMER and RON TAYLOR
Cox News Service  [Kansas City area material in larger font]

 
How do you mark the first year of a war that cannot be seen and
a grief that does not end?

The anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America will
be commemorated with tolling bells, common prayers and
moments of silence in Kansas City and elsewhere in the country.

A big part of the observance, however, will be simply trying not to
offend a nation still mourning the loss of more than 3,000 lives.

Few aspects of American life were untouched by the disaster. The
recovery has affected American politics, economics, religion, social
attitudes, ideas and aesthetics.

The Sept. 11 memorial seems likely to quiet even the loudest
voices of commerce and discontent for a day.

Some advertisers have indicated they will not advertise on that
date. Others will emphasize our common values, not their
products. Some TV networks have said they will not run
commercials. Major League Baseball players are putting off a
possible strike until after Sept. 11.

Baseball will maintain a full schedule Sept. 11 and allow individual
clubs to determine how to recognize the event. The National
Football League plans to have flag decals on uniforms and
coaches' caps for games played the weekend before Sept. 11.

Airlines are cutting back on Sept. 11 flights, particularly in cities
where memories are vivid of hijacked jetliners turned into guided
missiles, raining fire and rubble.

United Airlines and American Airlines, whose planes were hijacked,
have canceled Sept. 11 flights with times and routes that
resemble the flights that crashed into the World Trade Center
towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. Delta is
trimming flights Sept. 9-13, citing poor bookings for that week.

Business may not be as usual for much of September.

New York officials are taking heat for allowing a Sept. 5 rock
concert in Times Square to kick off the NFL season six days before
the anniversary. To avoid similar controversy, the fashion industry
erased Sept. 11 from its fall schedule and moved the Sept. 12
kickoff for spring collections from New York to London.

Spiritual connection

For the most part Sept. 11 is expected to be a time for public
grieving and spiritual connection.

Kansas City area events on Sept. 11 include a 7 a.m. interfaith
observance at Davis Park, 11th and Oak streets; a 6:30 p.m.
observance at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 13th and
Broadway streets, honoring government officials and emergency
responders; a 7 p.m. interfaith service at the Community of Christ
Auditorium, 1001 W. Walnut St., in Independence; workshops at
7:30 p.m. at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral highlighting different
faiths; and a brief concluding observance at 8:30 p.m. at Grace
and Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Bells will be tolled four times -- at 7:46 a.m., 8:03 a.m., 8:43 a.m.
and 9:10 a.m. -- to mark the four attacks.

A national moment of silence is planned around 8 a.m. Central
time, the time when United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the
south tower of the World Trade Center. American Airlines Flight 11
had already crashed into the north tower.

Fire stations nationwide will hold ceremonies to mark the deaths
of 343 firefighters in rescue efforts at the World Trade Center.

In New York, five chimes will be sounded at 10:05 a.m. Eastern
time, when the first of the two towers collapsed. That will be
followed by prayer and the reading of the names of the dead
firefighters. A second set of five chimes will be rung at 10:28, the
time the second tower collapsed.

"The magnitude of the sacrifice demanded that we have a special
observation," Light said.

Bells will chime in New York for all 2,823 persons who died when
two hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center and in
Washington for the 189 killed when a plane hit the Pentagon.

In rural Shanksville, Pa., where United Flight 93 crashed as
passengers tried to keep hijackers away from Washington, a
2,000-pound bell will toll 40 times in honor of the passengers and
crew. The ceremony will last about an hour.

Continuing to try to heal the tensions between Islam, the faith of
the hijackers, and followers of other faiths in America, the
American Muslim Political Coordination Council is calling on
mosques across the country to observe an interfaith National Day
of Unity and Prayer.

Memorial TV blitz

On television, the first anniversary of Sept. 11 will look much like
that devastating period one year ago when an unprecedented
terrorist attack led to similarly unprecedented dedication of the
airwaves to news coverage.

Unlike last year, however, when most of the major broadcast and
cable news networks ran commercial-free for up to four days, this
year's coverage will largely take place the night of Sept. 10 and all
day Sept. 11.

Expect plenty of live reports from ground zero, the Pentagon and
Shanksville, and interviews with survivors and victims' family
members.

All three network morning shows will extend their hours, with
NBC's "Today" taking the endurance award at six hours. CBS has
scored the only Sept. 11-related interview with President Bush,
which it will run that day in a three-hour combined "60 Minutes"
and "60 Minutes II."

Bush probably will be seen on television news reports throughout
the day. He will mark Sept. 11 by visiting New York, the Pentagon
and the field in Pennsylvania where United Flight 93 crashed.

New York, however, may be the place least certain of how it will
memorialize Sept. 11.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg created a Web site and a voice mailbox
about a month ago to collect ideas for a tribute. The mayor's office
said it would announce final plans in the next few weeks. Gov.
George Pataki's office also had not announced anniversary plans.

Teachers in many cities have special lessons planned on the
attacks, but not in New York. On the advice of child psychologists,
the New York Board of Education advised principals to observe the
date in the most unobtrusive way possible.

High school and middle school teachers and administrators think
the anniversary will provide a "teachable moment" -- a time when
students will be eager to explore the events and their context.

More than 1,000 high schools have scheduled a five-day terrorism
curriculum developed by educators at Brown University that
addresses questions such as differences between a freedom
fighter and a suicide bomber.

Classes will proceed at many colleges and universities, but at
least 20 have canceled classes for Sept. 11 in favor of prayer
services and teach-ins.
 

RELATED LINKS

Posted on Sun, Aug. 04, 2002
Kansas City Sept/ 11 observances

Kansas City events marking the first anniversary of the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11 will include:

• A 7 a.m. interfaith observance at Davis Park, 11th and Oak
streets. Participants will distribute water gathered from fountains
across the city to those who will use it in religious observances
later in the day.

• A 7:46 a.m. tolling of bells to mark the first attack. Tolling also
will mark successive attacks at 8:03 a.m., 8:43 a.m. and 9:10 a.m.

• A 6:30 p.m. observance honoring government officials and
emergency responders. Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 13th
Street and Broadway. Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes and
members of the Kansas City Interfaith Council will speak.

• A 7 p.m. interfaith service sponsored by the Independence
Ministerial Alliance. Community of Christ Auditorium, 1001 W.
Walnut St., in Independence.

• Workshops at 7:30 p.m. at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
highlighting different faiths.

• A brief concluding observance at 8:30 p.m at Grace and Holy
Trinity Cathedral.
 

By Marty Denzer
Catholic Key Reporter

 
     KANSAS CITY - Ecumenical services across the metropolitan Kansas City area and a Mass celebrated by Bishop Raymond J. Boland of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph will commemorate the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy. Prayer services, workshops and individual for reflection at churches are planned.

The Kansas City Interfaith Council plans what they call "A Day of Hope" on Sept. 11, 2002.

Beginning at 7 a.m., representatives of many faith traditions will gather with civic leaders, emergency-preparedness workers, children and others at Ilus Davis Park at 11th and Oak streets.

According to the Rev. Vern Barnet, convener of the Interfaith Council, there are 15 faith traditions in the Kansas City area, from American Indian to Zoroastrianism, as well as Free Thinkers.

Each representative will bring water from a fountain near their church or residence and pour it into the fountain at the park to mingle the waters. The water will then be blessed and can be collected in glass bottles to take for use in individual parish or other faith tradition services later that day.

Mercy Sister Jeanne Christensen, a member of the event's planning committee, said she will be representing the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph at the water ceremony. She plans to bring water from a fountain near her home in north Kansas City and from a fountain near the Catholic Chancery offices.

The mingling of the water will symbolize the connection of faiths and geographical areas of the city, Rev. Barnet said. There will also be water gathered from some of the world's rivers, such as the Ganges, the Tiber, the Amazon, the Seine and the Nile, he said.

The ceremony will be videotaped by the Independence Ministerial Alliance.

Participants in the water blessing ceremony will then walk to Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral at 415 W. 13th St., which will be open all day. Bells will toll at times marking the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Sister Christensen said a roll call of the victims will be read during the day and posted for others to see. "A person could come in to pray for 20 minutes and read off 10 names. Those names will be posted for newcomers to read, and know those victims' names were called," she said.

Bishop Boland will celebrate a 7 p.m. Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Redemptorist) Church at Linwood and Broadway.

The Interfaith Council has scheduled news conferences at several times during the day. At 6:30 p.m., there will be a special observance honoring government officials and emergency preparedness personnel at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral. Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes is scheduled to speak, acknowledging the police, fire and emergency personnel who went to assist the New York Port Authority Police and Fire Departments in rescue and clean up efforts.

At 7:30 p.m., workshops designed to assist participants in understanding different faiths and crisis intervention are planned. Some of the workshops scheduled include:

     Learning about Islam.
     A Jewish-Muslim Friendship.
     Comfortin (led by Nancy E. Crump, certified grief counselor and Father Jerry Spencer, pastor of Holy Name)
     Church in Kansas City, Kan. and K.U. Medical
     Center chaplain).g Communities in Crisis
     Applying the Diversity Task Force Report
     within the metro area.

Other workshops are being developed to discuss Sikhism, Buddism and American Indian spirituality.

A prayer service at 8:30 p.m. will conclude the day's events.

Sister Christensen said she hopes many people will participate in the "Day of Hope." The goal, she said, is a sense of community and "a looking more at life rather than death. It will be a celebration of life, hope and going forward, and our faith enables us to do that."

Other events are planned to commemorate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Independence Ministerial Alliance plans an interfaith service at 7 p.m. at the Community of Christ Auditorium, 1001 W. Walnut, Independence.

A videotape of the morning's water ceremony will be shown and the Children's Peace Pavilion will be open. The observance will include a combined choir of different faiths, a remembrance of what happened and an acknowledgment of how it changed people, said Susan Walker, director of liturgy at St. Mark Parish in Independence, who organized the event.

One of the people scheduled to speak at the Independence observance is Ahmed Al-Shariff, founder and president of Shifa International, an organization specializing in sending medical relief abroad.

St. John LaLande Parish in Blue Springs will begin a month of prayer for peace on Aug. 11.

Each Sunday, the church will be open from 1 to 8 p.m. for meditation and prayer to the Blessed Sacrament.

Each Wednesday, there will be a 7 p.m. prayer service led by ministers and members of various faith communities. The prayer services will be followed by forums on peacemaking.

Children of the community will lead prayers for children in embattled areas of the world on Thursdays at 8:30 a.m.

The month of prayer will conclude on Sept. 11.

In St. Joseph, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, a remembrance is planned around the liturgies of the weekend Masses of Sept. 7-8. To be called "Life Born out of Death," the event is still in the planning stages.

Rev. Barnet said his hope for the day is that it will "enable people of all faiths to celebrate the religious diversity in the metropolitan Kansas City area, and look to the future with hope, reassurance and gratitude."

There are other remembrances and observances planned throughout the region. For updated information, see the Kansas City Interfaith Council Web site, www.cres.org/911.

©2002 The Catholic Key - 816-756-1850
P.O. Box 419037, Kansas City, MO 64141-6037

 
The day approaches with solemn inevitability. It has taken on a power and presence allotted to few other dates. I doubt whether there is a person in Kansas City or the United States who is not in some way thinking about their own personal relationship to Sept. 11.

This powerful tragedy and national moment of unity is one we are bound to commemorate in some way, whether we take part in an official ceremony or merely wake up that day with an ache in our hearts as well as a resolve that somehow things can and must be made better, with hope and renewal.

As human beings, adherents to spiritual perspectives and as citizens, we will want to participate, whether it is with fellow workers, worshipers, friends or strangers or, if we prefer, in solitude.

Here in Kansas City, bells will toll to mark the time of the attacks and people will gather together in many different places.

The Kansas City Interfaith Council has planned a day of observances "Remembering 9/11: A Day of Hope" for the metropolitan area. Beginning at 7 a.m. at Ilus Davis Park, north of City Hall, emergency preparedness workers and members of all religious groups are invited. There they can receive water to take to various services later in the day and proceed to Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral for multifaith prayer and a reading of the names of victims of Sept. 11.

At 6:30 p.m., an evening observance with Mayor Kay Barnes, other officials and the Interfaith Council will affirm our resolve as Americans and citizens of the world.

We will, during the day, also honor Kansas City's courageous police and fire departments and emergency workers. At 7:30 p.m., the event will offer people opportunities for learning and understanding about faiths and philosophies different from their own.

This is not the only such observance planned. Other activities will be posted on our Web site, www.cres.org/911, to encourage the participation most appropriate for each person.

The interfaith events will, however, be open to all, to strengthen our community's opposition to hatred, intolerance and the resulting violence. These events will also help affirm our kinship with one another, across, racial, ethnic, religious, state and other boundaries as we recognize how precious the gift of life truly is.

As instantly recognizable as the numerals 9/11 are, we must make more familiar the knowledge that America is, and always has been, a graceful mix of incongruent faces, philosophies and religions.

Our honor across the globe is that we truly are one people, united by our differences.

Karta Purkh Khalsa is a member of the Sikh Dharma religion and associated with the Center for Religious Experience and Study.