"Churches, Agencies Respond to Attacks"

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"Churches, Agencies Respond to Attacks"

"Leaders call for prayer, justice, and mercy"

LaTonya Taylor

[ posted 9/1/2001 12:00AM ]

With the nation's capital paralyzed and nearly evacuated in the wake of Tuesday's calamitous terrorist attacks, staffers in the Family Research Council (FRC) Washington office stayed behind to pray and to sing "It is well with my soul." Ken Connor, president of the FRC, said, "We mourn the loss of tens of thousands of our countrymen. We pray to the Lord for his mercy for the victims of this heinous act and for their grieving families."

Churches, relief organizations and Christian organizations went into emergency response mode after terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., killed and injured thousands in what former White House Counsel and Prison Fellowship Chairman Chuck Colson called "a national crisis of unparalleled proportions."

The North American Mission Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention, which coordinates disaster responses, placed feeding units on standby within an hour of the attack. The denomination is also accepting donations to support relief in New York City, according to NAMB President Robert Reccord. According to Baptist Press, other disaster relief units may be mobilized by the end of the day.

Disaster relief workers from mainline denominations were meeting at the Church World Service Emergency Office today in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The coalition is a group of 36 member denominations of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. The meeting went into immediate emergency session when the attack occurred, and participants formulated a plan to mobilize pastoral care in New York City, Washington, D.C., and other locations as necessary. The Church of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Maryland, is the communication and response coordination center.

Smoke and debris ...