A 9/11 Prayer Service
For He will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
He will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
He will lift me high upon a rock.
Psalm 27:5
I had just finished tying my tie and was looking into the mirror when I heard the TODAY show reporter suddenly announce that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Life in my world had just changed forever.
I watched the bedroom TV with my mouth open as a second plane flew into the building. I was numb. All those people ... What’s happening?! Should I go to work?
I decided to go to work, stumbling through the day with one eye on the TV. Half of my patients didn’t show up. Finally, the workday ended. Someone was waving a huge U.S. flag from the West 38th Street bridge over I-465 on my drive home. I was still in shock.
My wife, Pennie, greeted me as I rushed into the house. We tried to comfort each other as we caught up on our day. She had heard that there was to be a prayer service at ZUMC that evening. We had attended ZUMC since moving to Zionsville in 1994. We had marched down the Rail Trail in December 2000 from the old Oak Street church to the ground (snow!) breaking ceremony. And now this shiny and new house of worship that had just opened a couple of weeks earlier was to provide a place for God ‘to hide me in the day of trouble.'
I have lived through a few national crises in my lifetime. I watched the drama surrounding President Kennedy’s assassination unfold when I was a fourth grader. I lived through the events of September 11, 2001, as an adult. Both moments were filled with chaos, fear, and anger. Both shook me to the core.
After Kennedy’s assassination, my church cancelled Sunday services on November 24, 1963. As a ten-year-old, I was left with many unanswered and unresolved questions about what I had witnessed on television. Even now, I still feel emotional when I read an article or see an exhibit about that terrible time.
I handled the events of September 11 differently. Part of that may be because I was an adult. But I also give credit to ZUMC for holding a prayer service on the night of the attacks, only thirteen days after the new ZUMC building had opened.
I don’t remember the details of that ZUMC prayer service. But I do know that I found peace and comfort from my troubles, just as Psalm 27:5 promised. God was in ZUMC that night. I firmly believe He still is.
Your servant,
David Judy