Communion Prayer for 9/11 Anniversary

Loving and perfect God, every time we gather at this table we repeat the words that have been handed to us from our Lord Jesus: “In remembrance.” Today, these words have added meaning, as so many in our nation gather today to remember the horrific and tragic events of ten years ago. So many bodies broken, so much blood poured out, so much life and promise cut short as so many of us looked on in fear. And in the ten years since, there has more destruction – the numerous deaths of combatants and civilians, the countless wounds to body, mind, and spirit. What has become clear is that what happened in New York City and Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania ten years ago were not an anomaly. If we are honest, we know that the one real difference was in their proximity to us.

It is true that we have come to this table in memory, yes; but we also come because we want to be close to you, closer than global agony, closer than national tragedy, closer than even our own breath. And so, O mighty and merciful Lord, may your body broken and your blood poured out for our sake be the very thing that fills our voids and heals our wounds, binding us close to one another, to all who share in this feast, to all those who have come before and surround us now as a great cloud of witnesses.

We pray all of this in the name of Christ our Lord, the bread of life, who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.