Sidmouth rector invites all to 9/11 service of reflection a decade after NY terrorist attack

Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

In Sidmouth, on Sunday evening, a special service of reflection and prayers takes place at the parish church at 6pm.

Sidmouth Rector, the Reverend Prebendary David James said 9/11 was an event “that changed world perspectives.

“In its wake came the War on Terror, with all that has meant for Iraq and Afghanistan, to say nothing of wider ripples in the unfolding events in the Arab world and the turmoil in the world of finance and economics.

“It was also an event on a human scale, which had huge emotional impact on all who watched the images of planes careering into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

“Ten years on is a good time to pause and reflect on such a momentous event.”

Soon after 9/11, the Archbishop of Canterbury published his book Writing in the Dust, in which he draws a parallel with an incident in which Jesus writes in the dust at a moment of life and death for a young woman.

Mr James quoted part: ‘He does not draw a line, fix an interpretation, tell the woman who she is and what her fate should be.

‘He allows a moment, a longish moment, in which people are given time to see themselves differently… When he lifts his head, there is both judgment and release.’

He added: “In this service we offer such a moment, to see ourselves differently in the light of Christian faith, hope and love.”