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The ministers who are organizing the event will lead an anticipated 1,000 people in laying 6,000 yellow roses at the memorial to represent the dead and missing.

The 1 p.m. gathering is sponsored by several ministries, including Washington-based Faith and Action, a politically conservative, 50,000-member organization that encourages pastors to be involved in politics. Other sponsors are the National Association of Evangelicals (nae), which has 51 member denominations, and Creation Festivals, which sponsors Christian pop music events.

Richard Cizik, acting director of the nae, says prayer and praise will be the focus.

"The world has a spiritual vacuum that needs to be filled," he says. "This kind of need needs to be answered by a spiritual response."

Rob Schenck, president of Faith and Action, says people of all faiths will be welcome at the gathering, but the prayers will be Christian.

"The interreligious services have been very positive and a very good thing," Schenck says, "[but] there is a difference between services where prayers are offered in many ways and in many names, and our biblical mandate to pray in the name of Jesus."

"We want to really call up the people of God to intercede for our leaders," says Harry L. Thomas Jr., director of Creation Festivals. "It's also a time for the churches to be there, to reach people with the gospel." Creation Festivals donated the roses for the event, and Thomas will pray over them before they are laid at the memorial.

Schenck says the service will allow people to observe the passing of a month since the September 11 attacks, and to recognize the change at the World Trade Center and Pentagon sites from search and rescue efforts to recovery.

"There really is no hope of finding people alive," says Schenck, who has served as a chaplain at both sites. "The laying of flowers in the nation's capital gives families, friends and fellow citizens a meaningful way to lay these victims to rest."

Still, Cizik says, the tone will be hopeful and upbeat as participants pray for the United States, its military, and Afghan and Sudanese refugees.

"Our mission is to encourage faith not fear, hope not doubt, and love not hate, and for Jesus to be lifted up," he says.

Schenck says the groups' decision to meet at the Lincoln Memorial reflects the balance between grief and hope.

"Not only was Abraham Lincoln an American martyr, but the Lincoln Memorial is itself a very spiritual place," Schenck says, noting the scriptural references etched into the monument's north wall.

The National Park Service is providing tightened security for the event. The ministers hope that the free public transportation offered by the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority this weekend will encourage people to come. Planning for the event began two weeks ago.

Schenck says there is a new openness to Christianity in Washington that amazes him, even after 20 years of ministry.

"There is a very hopeful attitude in Washington," he says. "We've seen people more spiritually inquisitive. They're reaching out in prayer, and they want to know more about God."

LaTonya Taylor is editorial resident at Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

More information is available at the Faith&Action Web site.

Christianity Today's previous coverage of life after the September 11 attacks include:

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October (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45