They're praying to pray at the 9/11 ceremony.
At the steps of City Hall Wednesday, City Councilman Fernando Cabrera will join community leaders and clergy members in presenting Mayor Bloomberg a petition with over 60,000 names on it in hopes of allowing prayer at this year's 10th anniversary ceremony.
“During 9/11, the faith community served as pillars for many New Yorker’s coping with the tragedy. As a pastor during the tumultuous aftermath, I know firsthand that it was a time where people were searching for meaning and things bigger than themselves,” Cabrera said. “People’s Faith helped fill this void and continue to serve as spiritual and emotional support.”
“While many of the voices in this effort have divergent views on a wide-range of issues, I believe that we can put our differences aside to call for the uniting force of prayer,” said Councilman Cabrera. “I sincerely hope that the Mayor will allow prayer in this year’s ceremony as we remember and honor the victims of a tragedy that is still being felt today.”
Bloomberg has declined to have any religious representation at the ceremony. A mayoral spokesperson told CNN last week:
The ceremony was designed in coordination with 9/11 families with a mixture of readings that are spiritual, historical and personal in nature. It has been widely supported for the past 10 years and rather than have disagreements over which religious leaders participate we would like to keep the focus of our commemoration ceremony on the family members of those who died.
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