Saturday, September 03, 2011

Remembering 9/11

Like everybody else I have lots of memories swirling around in my head as the anniversary of 9/11 approaches. In 2001 I was a member of the ECW National Board. (Yes, that would be the Episcopal Church Women.) I was their "member-at-large for multi-media communications" and we had just re-launched the ECW website* -- along with a three-fold "Call to Action" focused on literacy, non-violence and leadership.

There is much I remember about what an extraordinary privilege it was to work with that great bunch of fabulous, faithful women -- and there is nothing I remember with greater pride than how quickly and clearly the women of the Episcopal Church stepped up to offer resources to build bridges of interfaith understanding in the wake of the tragedy of 9/11.

From the Episcopal Church Archives:


Episcopal Church Women will offer resources on Islam
September 27, 2001

(ENS) The national board of the Episcopal Church Women has announced the extension of its Call to Action to include a network of information and education resources on Islam.

Pointing to its "long-standing and effective network of communication" throughout the church, board member Susan Russell said that "we have a unique opportunity in these challenging times to offer resources for dialogue, education and outreach to the church at large." Already available on the ECW website is a concise background on Islam, links to Islamic web resources, and suggestions for dialogues at the local level and expect soon to be able to provide age-appropriate curriculum for youth.

"We believe we must better educate ourselves about Islam in order to challenge the misinformation and dangerous stereotyping which has so tragically emerged from the events of September 11. Secondly, as we network with members of the Islamic community, through prayer, dialogue and mutual community outreach, we have the opportunity to model Christian community in action."
Ten years and what seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago!

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*Thanks to Jenny Ladefoged for the reminder that there had been an earlier version of the ECW website so we were doing a "re-launch" of the site in 2000.

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