Bishop Speaks at 9-11 Service
The innumerable life-changing acts of violence in the U.S. and around the world since then the terrorist attacks of 9/11/200 have shown that pain, suffering, injustice, violence, and retaliation likely will never end, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton said during an interfaith Prayer Service for Remembrance and Continue Healing in Erie on Sept. 11. Yet there have been blessings in the midst of violence.
Retaliation, the Bishop said, “brings a limited sense of satisfaction, while a realization that the power of God at work in our midst brings peace, comfort and even joy way beyond our understanding or comprehension.
The best venue for healing, he explained, is one that identifies with the hurt of others, acknowledges the hurt within ourselves, and realizes that the Bible was not lying when it says, “Do not be afraid or terrified, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you,” or “with God all things are possible.”
Although peace and the healing likely will not come in a world absent of atrocities, Bishop Bickerton said, “The last 10 years have taught us that that very peace we work for and the true sense of healing we desire IS possible and when it is found, it is not a weakness but a quality of strength which comes from the realization that we have discovered our true purpose in life – to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves.”
The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, former executive director of the National Council of Churches, was the main speaker at the prayer service, sponsored by the Inner-City Ministries of Erie.
See Related Story: Christians To Seek Peace, Not Retailiation
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