A Day of Prayer For Thousands

By Halimah Abdullah | STAFF WRITER

September 15, 2001

Vicky Wenzel during service at the Upper Room Christian World Center in Deer Park (Newsday Photo/ Thomas A. Ferrara)

It was a sound heard round the city.

Thousands of voices raised heavenward at the lunch hour, praying in a host of languages to a God of many names.

Christ. Jehovah. Allah.

The multitude filled the city's houses of worship and numerous makeshift altars Friday, disregarding blustery winds and a constant drizzle in response to President George W. Bush's call for a national day of prayer. The day's events happened to coincide with the Muslim Sabbath, a holy day for Catholics and the weekend leading up to the Jewish High Holy days.

"It is indeed very important for the followers of different faith traditions to come together to pray," Mohammad Gemeha, imam of the Islamic Cultural Center on East 96th Street, told a multifaith gathering of roughly 900 people. "We are all feeling the same pain. This is the time to turn to your God."

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan attended services at the Islamic Cultural Center, whose board members serve as Muslim ambassadors to the UN. As prayers were chanted in Arabic, Annan knelt among worshipers clad in baggy jeans, business suits and black veils.

"It was so vital to be here today, even if I didn't cover my head," said Joan Gaylord, an official with the Christian Science Church, who later sat among Muslim women with her head covered. "I've just been horrified by the abuse the Muslims have had to deal with. This was not a religious act, so it just seemed important that those involved with the religious community come forward and take a stand."

Farther downtown, the damp, late summer weather did not deter about 100 people from circling a candlelight vigil above the south steps of Union Square.

The rain extinguished candles, and papers and pictures fluttered in the breeze. A young woman relit the wicks, and others soon joined her to help keep the flames burning.

One woman compared her husband's harrowing escape from death at Tower One with the biblical tale of Lot, when he and his family were told to flee from Sodom and Gomorrah and not look back.

"He escaped and kept running and didn't look back until he was far enough away," said the woman, who asked that her name not be used.

At least an hour before the daily late afternoon Mass, worshipers took to the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral to kneel in prayer and light candles. Later, the Roman Catholic church was filled to overflowing as parishioners squeezed inside to listen to words of comfort and healing.

More than 700 attended services at the Central Synagogue on East 55th Street. They crowded the main hall and overflowed the religious school just across the street. Many huddled close and sniffled as they listened carefully to the mourner's kaddish, or prayer for the bereaved.

The reassurance of just being with other people helped "to know there's some good in the world," said Marcia Lewin, a synagogue congregant.

Devi Athiappan, Regine Labossiere and Indrani Sen contributed to this report.