Washington National Cathedral Plans Tenth Anniversary of 9/11

Today, Washington National Cathedral offered a live webcast, here online, of the installation of new Cathedral cannons: Kathleen Cox, Jan Naylor Cope, and Mike McCarthy. It was a beautiful service, superbly well-rehearsed and filmed. It's great for all  of us, theologians or lay, to see this service online, at any time, and for the Cathedral to keep as a record in the future.

Since I like to follow the Washington National Cathedral, in general, on this site, I am on a mailing list from the Cathedral, and have just noticed  that a formal announcement has been made of a full weekend of activities to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Washington National Cathedral was the place to which the nation turned for prayer and reflection following the 9/11 attacks. At a national prayer service on September 14, 2001, the President delivered a speech at the Cathedral. The Cathedral, in turn, is planning to offer "a weekend of compassion, remembrance, resolution, and hope."

A special concert at the beginning of the weekend will honor the Pentagon and all those who serve America abroad. The Cathedral's weekend is expected to have a "full array of events and programs" for all ages, a special concert, a commemorative exhibit on site and on the web, a youth leadership event, and an interfaith prayer vigil. The special concert is being planned to include reflections by celebrity actors, musicians, and government officials.

Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III will lead a Forum on Compassion with Karen Armstrong at 10:15 a.m. Sunday morning, September 11, 2011. At a Commemorative service at 11:15 a.m., the Bishop of Washington will preside, followed by a Concert called "For a Healing World" at 8 p.m. 

The events of this special weekend of reflection,  "A Call To Compassion" are described in detail at the website of the Washington National Cathedral. In an uncertain world, that sounds wonderful! It will be exciting to count on and look forward to this fall.

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