September 11 Special Service

9/11

Welcome

Welcome everyone to this unique day in America’s history to remember and honor those who lost their lives and those who sacrificed their lives endeavoring to save others.

The vast majority of us can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing the moment the first plane hit the world trade center, I remember, I was on my way to school, my mom had the radio on and what I was hearing was incredible, nothing like this had happened in my lifetime. And what would follow would terrify many as well as unite the country against terror.

To help us remember the moment, I will to share the address from President George W. Bush on Sept. 14, 2001 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

We are here in the middle hour of our grief.  So many have suffered so great a loss, and today we express our nation's sorrow. We come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who love them.

On Tuesday, our country was attacked with deliberate and massive cruelty.  We have seen the images of fire and ashes, and bent steel.

Now come the names, the list of casualties we are only beginning to read.  They are the names of men and women who began their day at a desk or in an airport, busy with life.  They are the names of people who faced death, and in their last moments called home to say, be brave, and I love you.

They are the names of passengers who defied their murderers, and prevented the murder of others on the ground.  They are the names of men and women who wore the uniform of the United States, and died at their posts.

They are the names of rescuers, the ones whom death found running up the stairs and into the fires to help others.  We will read all these names.  We will linger over them, and learn their stories, and many Americans will weep.

To the children and parents and spouses and families and friends of the lost, we offer the deepest sympathy of the nation.  And I assure you, you are not alone.

Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history.  But our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.

War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder.  This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger.  This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others.  It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing.

Our purpose as a nation is firm.  Yet our wounds as a people are recent and unhealed, and lead us to pray.  In many of our prayers this week, there is a searching, and an honesty.  At St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on Tuesday, a woman said, "I prayed to God to give us a sign that He is still here."  Others have prayed for the same, searching hospital to hospital, carrying pictures of those still missing.

God's signs are not always the ones we look for.  We learn in tragedy that his purposes are not always our own.  Yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral, are known and heard, and understood.

There are prayers that help us last through the day, or endure the night.  There are prayers of friends and strangers, that give us strength for the journey.  And there are prayers that yield our will to a will greater than our own.

This world He created is of moral design.  Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time.  Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die, and all who mourn.

It is said that adversity introduces us to ourselves.  This is true of a nation as well.  In this trial, we have been reminded, and the world has seen, that our fellow Americans are generous and kind, resourceful and brave.  We see our national character in rescuers working past exhaustion; in long lines of blood donors; in thousands of citizens who have asked to work and serve in any way possible.

And we have seen our national character in eloquent acts of sacrifice. Inside the World Trade Center, one man who could have saved himself stayed until the end at the side of his quadriplegic friend.  A beloved priest died giving the last rites to a firefighter.  Two office workers, finding a disabled stranger, carried her down sixty-eight floors to safety.  A group of men drove through the night from Dallas to Washington to bring skin grafts for burn victims.

In these acts, and in many others, Americans showed a deep commitment to one another, and an abiding love for our country.  Today, we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called the warm courage of national unity.  This is a unity of every faith, and every background.

It has joined together political parties in both houses of Congress. It is evident in services of prayer and candlelight vigils, and American flags, which are displayed in pride, and wave in defiance.

Our unity is a kinship of grief, and a steadfast resolve to prevail against our enemies.  And this unity against terror is now extending across the world.

America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for.  But we are not spared from suffering.  In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom.  They have attacked America, because we are freedom's home and defender.  And the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.

On this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask almighty God to watch over our nation, and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come.  We pray that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow.  We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and the promise of a life to come.

As we have been assured, neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, can separate us from God's love.  May He bless the souls of the departed.  May He comfort our own.  And may He always guide our country.

God bless America.

Invocation - Pastor Josh

Please bow your heads and join us in prayer.

On this special occasion, we come before You, Father God, creator of Heaven and Earth and all mankind to remember those who lost their lives in a most tragic event and those who sacrificed their lives to save others.

We ask for your continual comfort and peace upon the families of those whose lives were forever changed. We ask that you would bless everyone gathered here today, and grant us the strength to rise to the challenges of our time and meet them with selfless sacrifice and full assurance that You will always be with us.

May we glorify you in all that we do, Lord Jesus, today and every day. Amen.

Presentation of the Colors – Airforce Jr. ROTC National

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for the presentation of colors by the Esperanza High School Air Force Junior ROTC Color Guard, followed by the singing of our National Anthem by Linette Choi, District Director for Congresswoman Young Kim."

(Once all are standing):

"Post the Colors"

Anthem – Linette Choi Speaker

(Have congregation seated after the Color Guard exits the room (or lowers flag to start doing so).)

Introduction – Pastor Josh

Wayne Scott served for over 29 years as a Communications and Information Officer in the United States Air Force. His Air Force career took him through 19 different assignments at 11 different locations, including three tours as a squadron commander responsible for the morale, welfare, and discipline of up to 500 personnel. Under his leadership, one of those units was named best large communications unit in the entire Air Force in 1999. He retired as a Colonel from the Air Force in November 2005.

Since his military retirement, Wayne has been active in Veteran activities across Southern California. He served as the first West Region Vice President for RAYVETS, the Raytheon Employee Veterans Network and is also on the Board of Directors of the Yorba Linda Veteran’s Memorial Association.

In 2019, Wayne joined the Freedom Committee of Orange County (FCOC), whose mission is to bring Living History into classrooms by sharing stories from all generations. In 2021 he also became a member of Wings Over Wendy’s and the Association of Naval Aviation Two Block Fox Squadron, two aviation groups where he speaks on his service experiences and other military topics.

Wayne is also a docent at the Lyon Air Museum in Orange County and an active member of American Legion Post 679 at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library.

Will you please join me in welcoming tonight’s speaker who served for over 29 years, “United States Air Force Retired Colonel Wayne Scott”

Presentation – Wayne Scott

Q & A – Wayne Scott (roving mics)

God Bless America – Linette Choi leads congregation

Wreath Laying – Wayne transitions to person/people placing the wreath???

Closing – Pastor Josh

As we close, I quote from Billy Graham on Sept. 14, 2021 in his prayerful address at the National Cathedral...

“Here in this majestic National Cathedral we see all around us the symbol of the cross. For the Christian, the cross tells us that God understands our sin and our suffering, for He took them upon Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. From the cross God declares, “I love you. I know the heartaches and the sorrows and the pain that you feel. But I love you.”

The story does not end with the cross, for Easter points us beyond the tragedy of the cross to the empty tomb. It tells us that there is hope for eternal life, for Christ has conquered evil and death and hell. Yes, there is hope.

This week we watched in horror as planes crashed into the steel and glass of the World Trade Center. Those majestic towers, built on solid foundations, were examples of prosperity and creativity. When damaged, those buildings plummeted to the ground, imploding in upon themselves. Yet, underneath the debris, is a foundation that was not destroyed. Therein lies the truth of that hymn, “How Firm a Foundation.”

Yes, our nation has been attacked, buildings destroyed, lives lost. But now we have a choice: whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation; or to choose to become stronger through all of this struggle, to rebuild on a solid foundation.”

So we too, in the year 2023 are reminded of those moments and are still faced with the decision of how we will live our lives. Will we choose to grow and become stronger, examples of godliness to the world around us, or be overcome by evil, I believe we will overcome evil with good.

Let us pray

Heavenly Father,

We thank you for having brought us together to pay tribute and honor to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. May those who sacrificed their lives always be remembered and may your blessing and peace remain upon their families and this great country. We also ask that You guide us and help us live lives as if it was our last day. We pray that we never forget how blessed we truly are as a nation, as a people, and as Your children.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Love of God, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.