The 10th anniversary of September 11th
To the Reverend Clergy and Faithful Stewards of the Metropolis of Boston
Dear Brethren,
As the Country prepares to observe the 10th anniversary of September 11th, we extend an invitation to the faithful of your Community to join Metropolitan Methodios and our Greek-American Community this Sunday September 11, at the Hatch Shell in Boston. If you are unable to join us in Boston, Massachusetts Remembers will be broadcast live on local NPR station WBUR 90.9 and WCVB TV the Boston Channel 5.
May the Lord grant eternal rest to those who lost their lives on this tragic day ten years ago!
With love in the Lord,
Father Ted
You are invited to join the Massachusetts Council of Churches on Sunday September 11, 2011 at 3pm for for Massachusetts Remembers: September 11, a memorial program and concert at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade in Boston. The Boston Pops Brass and the Boston Children's Chorus will perform. Governor Deval Patrick will speak. All are welcome to attend. Please share this invitation widely. More information can be found at http://massremembers9-11.org
We especially ask you to consider attending this event to stand in solidarity with our Muslim partners who are feeling vulnerable on this day. MCC staff along with our ecumenical colleagues in the Archdiocese of Boston and our interfaith colleagues in the Muslim and Jewish communities joined to form the ad hoc "Massachusetts Interfaith Leadership Coalition." We have worked together since April to help craft a memorial program that marks both the tragic loss incurred on 9/11 as well as the continued suffering. We came together with concern over growing Islamaphobia. We are deeply grateful to Old South Church in Boston for hosting the weekly planning meetings and the many organizations and individuals who gave their time and skill to plan the religious community's participation in the larger event.
We ask that you join us on Sunday September 11 at the Hatch Shell as a sign of our Christian commitment to peaceful interfaith relations in Massachusetts. Gates open at 12pm and the program begins at 3pm.
Rev. Liz Walker, local reporter and African Methodist Episcopal minister, will serve as the MC for the program. Religious leaders from a wide range of traditions will lead the Massachusetts Remembers program in an opening and closing prayer. Representing the Christian community will be: Fr. David Michael of the Archdiocese of Boston, Major Gayle Senak of the Salvation Army, Bishop M. Thomas Shaw of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, Rev. Dr. Nancy Taylor of Old South Church (United Church of Christ), Rev. Hurmon Hamilton of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston and Roxbury Presbyterian Church, Rev. Nick Carter of Andover Newton Theological School, and Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston. The interfaith prayer is available for your local use at www.masscouncilofchurches.org.
Again, we ask that you join us on Sunday September 11 at the Hatch Shell. Please forward this invitation widely. If you are unable to join us in Boston, Massachusetts Remembers will be broadcast live on local NPR station WBUR 90.9 and WCVB TV the Boston Channel 5.
In the spirit of the "Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act" of 2009 designating 9/11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, a Service and Learning Pavilion will allow people to sign up with 9/11 family charities, local non-profits and interfaith initiatives. We are give thanks for the staff of the Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries and Clara Barton & Mass Bay Districts of UU Congregations who helped coordinate the service pavilion.
The Massachusetts Council of Churches has been creating a list of local interfaith 9/11 memorial programs around Massachusetts to share with media. If you, or your local clergy association, are planning an event please contact Rev. Laura Everett at laura@masscouncilofchurches.org so that we can help publicize your gathering.
Details about Massachusetts Remembers are available at http://massremembers9-11.org . For text of the inter-religious prayer and resource guides for pastors and Christian educators, please visit www.masscouncilofchurches.org. Our Facebook page is a great way to check for recent news and updates - www.facebook.com/masscouncilofchurches
or for more information, call 617-523-2771
