We remember the thousands of people who died together on September 11. We remember the emergency workers who sacrificed their lives for others, and all those who died by acts of terrorism or retaliation for terrorism. We remember our military service personnel who have died and the thousands of men, women, and children in villages and towns in Iraq and Afghanistan who die as victims in those wars. We can say together:

We remember great courage.

We recall, God of justice, the welfare of the world this night. May all nations, races, and religions show one another respect and live in harmony with the good earth which you have given us. We can say together:

We remember and give thanks for those committed to peace and global friendship.

When we recall the poor, the sick, the hungry, the oppressed, the homeless and those in prison, we are reminded that love of neighbor cannot be limited, fenced in, or exclusive. Help us to stand in solidarity with those whose communities and lives are shattered by war, terrorism, or any kind of violence. We can say together:

We remember and mourn any kind of violence to human life.

When we recall the people who have stood up in the face of war and injustice in this nation and in other nations throughout the world and have sacrificed their lives in the cause of peace, we can say together:

We remember and give thanks for those who live for justice and pass on life and love.

When we recall the divisions that exist among us and those with whom we interact, we mourn the prejudice and the hatreds that come from ignorance, and the acts of cruelty and revenge that too often result: we can say:

We are grateful for all who stand for truth and work for the love of all human beings.

Unison prayer

God of the ages, before your eyes empires rise and fall yet you are changeless.
Be near us in this age of terror
and in these moments of mourning and hope.
Uphold those who work and watch and wait and weep and love.
By your Spirit give rise in us
to a broad sympathy for all the peoples of your earth.
Strengthen us to comfort those who mourn
and to work in large and small ways
for those things that make for peace.
Bless the people and leaders of this nation and all nations
so that warfare and injustice
may become nothing more than a memory.  Amen.
 

A young man reads an inscription at the war memorial at Benaroya Hall:  "Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope, or for nothing, we cannot say... we leave you our deaths.  Give them their meaning.  We were young.  We have died.  Remember us."

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