9/11's effects persist in the pews

Boston, USA - That first weekend, after the planes crashed and the towers fell and the tears were shed, churches and synagogues were packed.

Five years later, clergy in multiple denominations and across the theological spectrum say any numerical increase that they saw in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks has long since dissipated.

There is no single view, but in several dozen interviews over the past month, clergy at many of the major houses of worship in Greater Boston say they sense numerous subtler, sustained changes in their remaining congregations: a persistent sadness, a greater interest in poorly understood faiths, an uneasiness with war, and a yearning for security.

``I do sense that people are paying greater attention to spiritual things in recent years, and I suspect part of that can be attributed to a shift in focus that resulted from the events of September 11," said the Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Hudson.

``There is this predisposition that we seem to possess," he said, ``that when all around us seems insecure, we seek security in the eternal."

Ewing-Merrill, like many clergy, said attendance at his church swelled in the fall of 2001, and a local, multidenominational candlelight vigil that season drew a huge crowd. Now, he said, the effects are more complex -- some of the individuals who that fall entered church for the first time stayed; others drifted away. And, for some longtime congregants and those newcomers who stayed, the strength of their connection to their faith seemed to intensify.

Several ministers reported a sense of ongoing anxiety perceptible in the pews -- some kind of broader emotional shift underway as the nation's sense of vulnerability increased.

``I believe we are sadder -- we were saddened by the deaths of 9/11, and by so many deaths in subsequent acts of terror, and we are also saddened by the reality of what it means to live in a world of terror," said the Rev. Nancy S. Taylor, senior minister of Old South Church, a United Church of Christ congregation in Boston's Back Bay. ``We are also wiser," she said, and ``I think we pray better and harder today than before 9/11. We have practiced and learned the biblical art of lamentation."

Some clergy perceive smaller, but significant changes. For example, the Rev. Martin D. McLee , pastor of Union United Methodist Church in Boston's South End, said he has seen an increase in the number of people seeking prayers from the congregation before they go on a plane trip.

``Whenever folk travel by air, it seems a matter of course to ask for special prayers -- in the African-American tradition, we call it praying for `traveling mercies,' " he said. ``When folk are taking international trips, we often pause during the service and offer specific prayers for safe travel, calling out the names of those traveling as well as the locations of their travels."

The Rev. Paul B. O'Brien , pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Lawrence, noted that ``plenty of people who have families and friends serving in the military have returned to the practice of faith in all different ways." O'Brien also said parishioners had voiced a new interest in theological issues -- the concept of evil, the nature of Islam, and even the future.

``I think many people, in a way they haven't since the Cold War, wonder if the world is coming to an end," O'Brien said.

At Trinity Church, an Episcopal parish in Boston's Copley Square, the clergy have added a weekly prayer ``for our enemies" in response to Sept. 11.

``There was so much hate and anger and fear in the air after those hours and days after September 11, so we were trying to make sense of it and do what we do, which is to pray, for ourselves and our enemies," said the Rev. Maribeth Conroy , associate rector for worship at Trinity. ``Jesus tells us we have to love our enemies, and if we've done anything at Trinity, it's to claim that and to always think about what that means."

Some congregations reported a greater interest in learning about other faiths, but others reported increased hostility among worshipers, particularly to Islam, and a concern about increased hostility in the Muslim world toward Christianity.

At area mosques, the response and the impact were different because so many people came to associate Islam with terrorism. At the Islamic Center of Boston, in Wayland, attendance dropped after Sept. 11 because worshipers were afraid the mosque might be attacked; attendance has since rebounded, but the congregation, like other local mosques, has over the past five years dramatically increased its outreach in an effort to educate non-Muslims about Islam.

``The uneasy feeling is there more," said Dr. Syed Razvi , director of religious affairs at the mosque. ``We've tried to be informative, and to allay people's fears, but anything that happens, like this London thing [terror-related arrests] , throws us back, no matter how many bridges we build."

Some clergy reported no lasting effect on their congregations from Sept. 11, that the events that were supposed to change everything, in fact, have seemed to change very little.

``Initially, people came to church because they were scared, but once that is over they go back to business as usual," said the Rev. Wesley Roberts , pastor of Peoples Baptist Church in Roxbury.

Rabbi David Thomas , of Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, said: ``I feel like, in the aftermath of 9/11, somehow we were living in, ironically, a kinder and gentler world -- I think people were kinder in their everyday interactions with strangers -- but I haven't seen that sustained. We returned to our normal selves."

But many said they believe that, beneath the surface, the attacks have left a lasting impression in the pews.

The Rev. Gordon P. Hugenberger , senior minister at Park Street Church, a large evangelical Protestant congregation in downtown Boston, said he believes Sept. 11 has, in the long run, contributed to a skepticism, rather than a greater interest, in faith.

``I have a hunch that 9/11 and its aftermath has served only to reinforce the postmodern assumption that sincere religion, whether Christian, Muslim, or otherwise, is more apt to be a cause of suspicion, prejudice, hatred, violence, and war, than a remedy," he said.

The Rev. Martin B. Copenhaver , senior pastor of Wellesley Congregational Church, a United Church of Christ congregation , made a similar point, saying, ``Many people are more wary of religion today than they were five years ago. . . . Of course, religion wields tremendous influence both for good and for ill. But I'm afraid that the ways in which religion has had a negative impact have just been so obvious in recent years."