Dear Members and Friends,
From the outset, a great deal of my ministry has taken place in the area of grief and loss. Often when someone is in the midst of a tremendous personal crisis, I will say that the present and most difficult journey they are involved in can only be undertaken one step, one day at a time. Yet, if done faithfully, in six months or a year's time they will be able to look back upon the path of struggle and see how far they have come. Regarding the day of September 11th, I believe this has certainly proved to be the case. It's been a year. And we're still here.
Personally, I think we are better and stronger as a nation. I think we have increasingly learned what we should never have forgotten - that we can take nothing for granted, and that our love for each other and God's love for us is all we really have in life. Still, we dare not ignore the qualities in our people that have helped us persevere. Indeed, so many lost family and friends in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, but even in the midst of the most extreme circumstances, few lost their character, their faith, their courage, their integrity. The truth is, many more lives were saved than taken because hundreds knowingly sacrificed themselves for countless thousands who would surely have died were it not for those who most profoundly showed us all how to live.
In the last 12 months, if I have one regret, it is that more than a few CEO's have apparently lacked the moral fiber and strength that was so obviously present in our firefighters, police and iron workers at Ground Zero. I am now forced to wonder ultimately who can do us more harm. Those lunatic fringe fanatics who dwell in dirty caves plotting the spread of hateful destruction, or those polished and primped industrial powerbrokers who live in palatial splendor while they sell out their own employees. Perhaps as is often the case, the worst potential damage we need concern ourselves with in America is that which we might do to ourselves.
Personal or national crises almost always force us to consider the ultimate ground of our security, happiness and hope. While this may be a path we often fear to tread, it is also fertile soil for the presence of God. A year has past, but the time to reassess our priorities has not. As we begin a new season of endeavor, whether it be in church, school, the workplace, or all three, let us do so with a heightened resolve to seek the direction of a great God with the intention to live as a great people. Instead of worrying about what may or may not happen to us in the days ahead, in the power of Jesus Christ, let's focus on being the best Christians we can commit ourselves to be.
From Reverend William J. Keane,
Senior Minister of First Baptist Church of Branford
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