Dear Friends,

Greetings of love and peace.

Each morning as I drive to work, I go through a tunnel that opens onto a view of extraordinary beauty – the green hills and alabaster buildings of San Francisco, Alcatraz Island, the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean shimmering in the early morning sun. And the Golden Gate Bridge – a leap of the imagination made real in a miracle of art and engineering.

This morning as I emerged from the tunnel, I was overtaken by the anxiety and conviction that seized me as I drove across this bridge five years ago on September 11, 2001.

I relived the phone call from Gary Smith, sobbing on the other end of the line, “Turn on the television. They’ve bombed the World Trade Towers.” Then turning on the TV in time to see the second plane fly into the second tower. And watching in uncomprehending horror as first one and then the second tower collapsed in an eruption of smoke.

I relived hearing, again and again, that people should stay home if at all possible. And then reaching the conviction that I had to go into the URI office. I couldn’t reverse time and raise the towers once again into the sky, but I could make sure that our office dedicated to peace, justice and healing was open.

As I approached the bridge, I imagined the terror that had struck on the East Coast journeying with the sun across the United States and I knew the Golden Gate Bridge would be a prime target for a West Coast terrorist attack. I imagined myself being mid-span when the attack hit and the bridge collapsing taking me and everyone else on it to our deaths. And I knew, come what may, that I was called to drive across the bridge, which I did, filled with anxiety and conviction, and alive as never before to the extraordinary beauty that surrounded me and the blessing and fragility of life.

History won’t record that the URI office in San Francisco was open on September 11, 2001 and that several staff members were at work connecting with URI members around the world. But none of us will ever forget that day when time seemed suspended, those timeless hours of anguish, grief, uncertainty, fear, compassion and deep solidarity with our sisters and brothers all over the world.

As we shared the horror of that day, many of us experienced an opening. Through the columns of smoke, the devastation, grief and pain, we felt a wider, deeper sense of community. We sensed the possibility of this attack bringing the human community closer together, manifesting our membership in one human family, making the world safer for everyone.

Tragically, five years later, our world seems more dangerous and divided. It is infinitely easier to destroy than to create. Those bent on destruction are having their day.

And yet the vision that seized us five years ago is still alive – a vision of a world of mutual understanding and respect; of solidarity in the human community and with the entire web of life; of peace, justice and healing. A world where the young may grow without hunger or fear and the elders age in security with dignity. A world where life with all its marvelous creative urge may thrive. A world that we believe reflects the will of the One that is our Source.

And so on this fifth anniversary of 9/11, I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge filled with anxiety and conviction – anxiety at the perilous state of our world; conviction that we have the power to change that world for the better. I opened the office in gratitude for the beauty around me and for the growing URI community around the world.

We are an engine of active hope. We are light in the world. May we thrive in our efforts to create this precious global community which holds such hope for the future as we struggle together to meet the challenges of the present. May we together build a bridge that is a leap of the imagination – a miracle of faith, solidarity and commitment, a bridge to take us to a future that shimmers with the light of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.

Bless you all, and thank you for sharing this journey.

Love,  Charles

Below are two messages from five years ago.  The first is the message Marites Africa shared on September 11, 2001. It inspires me today as it inspired me then. May it inspire you as well.

The second is the statement from URI's Interim Global Council, who met in a regularly scheduled teleconference call on September 12, 2001.

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September 11, 2001

Message to the United Religions Initiative Family
from Marites Guingona-Africa, for THE PEACEMAKERS' CIRCLE FOUNDATION, a Founding Cooperation Circle of the United Religions Initiative, Metro Manila, PHILIPPINES

Dear fellow workers in the light,

In the wake of the tragedy in New York and Washington DC, we, the members of the Peacemakers' Circle of the Philippines, wish to express to the people of the United States our deepest sympathy. We pray that in the midst of this darkness, the light of divine wisdom and love will prevail and shine forth from our hearts. Let us remain steadfast in our faith. Let us not allow the darkness of fear, anger and hatred to overcome us. Let us continue to pray and to journey in peace together as one Earth community.

Many lives have been lost in this tragedy. The scale and magnitude of the destruction is awesome and horrifying. The process of meting justice and of healing will have to begin anew when the smoke disperses and the rubble is cleared. But the night will be long and the darkness will settle for a while. Yet hope must not be lost. We, peoples of diverse religions, spiritual expressions, and indigenous traditions all over the world must continue to believe in our shared vision and work together to MAKE PEACE OUR EVERY STEP.

Perhaps, one day, this tragedy will be remembered as the end of the old era of conflict and violence and the beginning of a new era of peace-building in our midst especially in the arena international relations. Our global movement of peoples of diverse religions and beliefs must now rise from the rubble and bring to the fore the highest values and teachings of our faith in dialogue and initiatives that promote peace and healing of the Earth and all beings.

We pray for all the peoples suffering from this tragedy in the USA and all over the world. We pray that divine justice, peace, and healing may prevail all over the Earth.

Yours sincerely, Marites

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Statement of the United Religions Initiative’s Interim Global Council
September 12, 2001

We, members of the United Religions Initiative's Interim Global Council, express our deep sorrow and grief at the acts of terrorism against the United States and all humanity on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. As people of diverse religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions throughout the world, we unite in mourning for those who lost their lives, and we offer our prayers for their families and loved ones, and for all of humanity.

In an instant, an explosion of hatred and fear darkened the skies over the United States, and around the world. The forces of hatred and violence are suddenly so visible. People call for killing in response to this killing; for acts of war in response to this act of war.

In our shock, grief and fear, and in response to the rising tide of hatred and violence, we give thanks for our existing interreligious relationships dedicated to peace, justice and healing. We - Buddhists, Bahai's, Christians, Hindus, Indigenous peoples, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Taoists, and many other faiths - declare our intention to grieve together and to support all others who grieve.

We pledge, together, to offer the gift of prayer and meditation for peace; for justice, not revenge; for healing, not further violence. We state our commitment to build new relationships of peace, justice and healing until no one is left out. We pledge together to give our lives to the challenging, daily work of peacebuilding so that humanity might claim out of this tragedy a new day of compassion, healing and light.