News for September 2008
Sept. 11 memorial service unites faith leaders
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Friday, September 12, 2008
by NORMAN SHOAF
Valley Press Religion Editor
LANCASTER — Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001?
Rev. Leonard Jackson of Los Angeles’ First AME Church recalled that he was in Lexington, Ky. promoting interfaith dialogue, when a friend phoned him at his hotel and asked, “Are you watching TV?”
Of course he was.
“I couldn’t really believe what we were seeing,” Jackson told more than 100 attendees at the seventh annual 9-11 Memorial and Unity Service on Thursday evening at the Islamic Center of North Valley.
The event, sponsored by the Antelope Valley Interfaith Council and the Antelope Valley Human Relations Task force, brought together community leaders and residents to share prayers from multiple faith paths, tributes to those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, appreciation for America’s military and law enforcement personnel and messages of reconciliation and oneness.
Keynote speaker Jackson shared his experiences of that fateful day.
“People began to cry,” he said of a morning visit to the University of Lexington. “There was chaos in the community.”
The university’s chapel was not large enough to accommodate all the students who wanted to gather together seven years ago.
In such times, Jackson said, “people rely on faith traditions to tell them what to do.”
Edited: September 12th, 2008
Interfaith Council and AVHRTF sponsor Sept. 11 memorial
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Tuesday, September 9, 2008.
By NORMAN SHOAF
Valley Press Religion Editor
LANCASTER – “America – United We Stand, Divided We Fall” has been chosen as the theme for the 9-11 Memorial and Unity Service on Thursday at the Islamic Center of North Valley.
The service, observed each year since 2002, brings together civic officials and faith leaders for prayer, patriotic speeches and remembrance for the victims of the 9-11 terror strikes on the United States.
The event, which is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., is open to the public.
This year’s memorial, sponsored by the Antelope Valley Interfaith Council and the Antelope Valley Human Relations Task Force and endorsed by the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, will feature a keynote address from the Rev. Leonard Jackson, from the office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
The evening’s ceremonies will include prayers, readings and presentations from representatives of diverse Valley houses of faith. A community meal will be served at no charge following the event.
Edited: September 10th, 2008
