All this week here on WCCO Radio, we are taking time out to remember the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil in U.S. history in our series, 9/11: 20 Years Later.
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The attacks changed the world, and brought along plenty of fear for the future. But did anything good come of that day? One local pastor says unequivocally "yes".
Clergy in our country were faced with a huge challenge following the attacks - how to make sense of what happened and present some kind of comfort and hope to their congregations. Pastor Bradley Schmeling of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in St. Paul says as contrary as it may seem, times of tragedy or difficulty can lead to goodness.
"I trust that that's how God is in the world," said Schmeling. "That from death can come new life, new perspective, new ways of being. So it seems like the issue 20 years later is how do we use that tragedy to remake the world? Or re-conceive in some bigger ways than maybe we did 20 years ago."
Schmeling says his sermon on 9/11 will reflect that sentiment.
"I want to talk about our experience of vulnerability that led to a sense of community, and recommitment to our deepest values of goodness and fairness and equality and justice," he told WCCO's Laura Oakes.
Schmeling says remembering how we came together in the wake of 9/11 is a good lesson for today's politically-divisive times. He says it reminds us that it's possible to transcend our differences and remember we all value freedom, justice and equality.