A SERVICE OF REMEMBERANCE ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11

September 11, 2001 changed the world. But how? Did September 11, 2001 change the world into a place of hate, fear, and revenge? Did the day so overcome us with anger that we hate simply because of skin color, creed, or nationality? Is this the true legacy of September 11, 2001? It cannot be.

It is true that September 11, 2001 forever changed the world that we live in. But let’s not allow other people to decide how September 11, 2001 changed the world. Let’s decide again today that September 11, 2001 was a day that taught us about true sacrifice and service. Let’s decide today that September 11, 2001 was a day that taught us about true greatness.

On the 10^th Anniversary of the attacks, Sure Foundation reflected on Jesus’ words in Mark 10:42-45 in a service of remembrance. There Jesus teaches us about true sacrifice, true service, and true greatness. We see those same values in the men and women who responded to the attacks on 9/11. These are the same values we want to instill in ourselves and in our children.

There were two moments of silence during the service. The moments of silence took place 10 years to the minute of when each of the World Trade Center Towers fell. We used those moments to reflect on both the true sacrifice and the true greatness that we see in Jesus, in the heroes of 9/11, and how we want to reflect that in our own lives.

Over 50 visitors attended the emotional worship service and commemoration. The commemoration included a worship service, a presentation of an art piece entitled “The Hand that Rescues” from local Artist Geoff Lupo to FDNY’s Jason Alonte, and a Question and Answer session with Jason Alonte about life in New York City’s Fire Department.

See 9/11 Memorial Service Pictures

A 10th Anniversary Perspective

     He is the truth.

     The year was 2000. My friend and classmate had just received calls to start an exploratory outreach mission in NYC. Pastor Gabb and I were doing all of the regular things and trying to do some irregular things. Although it was hard at times it felt great to be doing ministry to be doing what God had called us to do. One of the more frustrating moments came on what is the most joyous of days, Christmas. We were so excited about sharing the good news about the Savior of the world to the people of the world that we were reaching out to in Woodside, Queens. This particular time we sent out mailings to the neighborhood from a list we had gotten. We designed the invitation. We printed out all of the labels. Members of the church had put a good deal of time into the invitation. Then the first thing happened, the snow came and it came and it came. But that did not deter us we were still bound to have a service through which we could tell all of those people who received the invitation and came to Sure Foundation about the baby Jesus. The time for the service came and we had a total of one visitor. Olga, a lady from the neighborhood, had received our invitation but had only come because her church had decided not to have service that day. As a young mission pastor it was my first and possibly my toughest moment. I was disappointed at the lack of response. I was frustrated with the lack of numbers. I was mad at myself for not doing more or doing it better.

     Fast forward ten years from that day. The church which we started, Sure Foundation Lutheran Church, asks me to preach for the ten year anniversary service. It would be my first time back since I left seven years ago. The theme for the sermon was 'God created something out of nothing: He makes the way, he is the truth and he gives life.' I had no idea how true it was that from the meager 2nd floor store front office/worship space to what is there now. When I got to Sure Foundation to prepare for the service, I was in awe at God’s work at Sure Foundation.

     Sunday morning comes and I start greeting people some for the first time, an older woman comes up to me and asks if I remembered her. I had to say that I did not. She then proceeds to tell me the story from her perspective of Sure Foundations first Christmas service. As she tells the story I realize it is Olga. She ended up leaving her church because they no longer held to the Bible as God’s Word and started to twist passages in Scripture to fit their ideas. When she could no longer take being told that she was wrong for standing on the truth of Scripture she came to Sure Foundation. She told Pastor Olson that she had gotten their invitation. He remarked to me his shock because they had not done mass mailings for quite a while (probably due to somebody's ranting about them not being effective). She had the invitation from that Christmas service. She went through instruction and has been a member of Sure Foundation for two years. Praise be to God for the 10 years of ministry at Sure Foundation Lutheran Church and to all of those workers, called or lay, that worked and are working to preach the truth of the gospel.

     Aaron Robinson
    (One of two founding pastors of Sure Foundation Lutheran Church)

SFLC 10th Anniversary Celebration: Pictures!

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SFLC 10th Anniversary

On the first Sunday of October, in the year 2000, Sure Foundation held its first organized worship service in an apartment building in Astoria, NY. Twelve people attended the worship service and one dog. As the people gathered in that small apartment, there were hopes, dreams, and faith in our Savior.

God has blessed the ministries of Sure Foundation in his time and in his way over the past 10 years. Our hearts are so thankful for all that our God has done to preserve us in faith, life, and doctrine.

Over the next month, we will celebrate our 10 years of bringing the pure gospel to New York City and in particular, to Woodside, Queens. We will celebrate by remembering those teachings that are distinctly Lutheran: the "solas" of the Lutheran reformation.

Sunday Service and Bible Study Themes:

• September 12: By Grace Alone (Sola Gratia)
• September 19: By Faith Alone  (Sola Fide)
• September 26: By Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura)
•      October 3: By Christ Alone (Solus Christus)

Our worship service on October 3 will be the culmination of our 10th Anniversary celebrations. One of the founding pastors, Rev. Aaron Robinson, will be our guest preacher at a bilingual (Español/English) worship service at 10:30am followed by a reception with light refreshments, and a short slideshow presentation of SFLC's history. We will also unveil our finished "Fellowship Artwork" mosaic.

A "sneak preview" selection of Metrocard Masterpieces for the Fellowship Artwork mosaic.

Please join us to celebrate God's grace to us over the last ten years and his continued love for our future!



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