This Sunday, 9/11 is the tenth Anniversary of a day we will never forget. As special services are prepared to remember those who lost their lives and the families that were destroyed, our minds are still flooded with pictures of the ash covered people wandering helplessly on the streets of NYC as well as the heroic effort of the first responders and chaplains who gave tirelessly to help people in need.
As I saw the following announced on the news recently, it is hard to fathom the thinking of excluding those who represent the God we clung to and cried out to on that day and the God we still need every second of the day.
Richard Land writes from the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission,
"Perhaps you saw or heard it on the news, that New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s decision not to include chaplains and religious leaders at the 10th anniversary of 9/11 commemoration service, despite his acclaimed support of religious freedom and tolerance:
It is interesting to contrast the 10th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers with the day of the attack. Chaplains and religious leaders were welcomed, and some were martyred, as they sought to minister their faith to the victims of the attack. On that day, political correctness didn’t matter. It was overwhelmed by the crushing reality of the tragedy of 9/11, and people turned, as they always do, to solace from the realm of the spiritual.
“I understand that first responders were also not invited to the 10th anniversary event, unless they happened to be relatives of victims. Once again, on the original 9/11 attack, first responders were not excluded. I suspect that if, God forbid, there is another attack of similar severity in New York, neither religious leaders nor first responders will be excluded, but welcomed at the scene."
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