Restoring Faith
America's Religious Leaders Answer Terror with Hope
Edited by Forrest Church
Read by a selection of Religious Leaders The Audio Partners Publishing Corp., (2001)
Live Recordings and Readings on 2 Audio Cassettes
ISBN: 1-57270-272-9
Genre: Religion - Spirituality
Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - December 25, 2001
The horrific events that occurred on September 11, 2001 in New York City seared the hearts and souls of people the world over. In response to these events, religious leaders promptly penned new sermons, messages, poems, and prayers to meet this unprecedented situation. In Restoring Faith the Reverend Forrest Church has compiled a collection of sermons and readings delivered in the days immediately following the terrorist attacks of September 11th. These readings include messages delivered by Christian, Jewish, and Moslem leaders from throughout the United States.
Restoring Faith is a monumental literary work, not only for its spiritual substance, but also for its historical significance. It is historically significant because these recordings offer a glimpse, from across the spectrum of Western Religious' traditions, of how various religious leaders reacted to the events of September 11th. Many of the sermons contained in this inspirational collection were recorded live, as the sermons were being delivered before the respective congregations. Although the overall audio quality of these recordings is very good, the quality does vary from reading to reading. And a few of the recordings have a tinny sound due to the acoustics in the sanctuaries in which the recordings were made. With one exception noted below, all the messages contained in this collection were delivered, or read, by their respective authors.
These recordings cover a variety of topics including mourning the dead, the anxiety and uncertainty felt by many after the terrorist attacks, and the understandable anger and thoughts of revenge engendered by the events. Although delivered by men and women of different faiths, all the discourses in Restoring Faith have two underlaying themes - an unwavering faith in God and the sure and certain knowledge that this tragedy can be overcome. In essence, a strong faith in God can help overcome any evil, and there is strength in prayer. Restoring Faith is based upon a companion book of the same name. This audio edition includes sermons and readings by:
Pastor Doretta M. Clark
Mystic Congregational Church in Mystic, Connecticut
Reverend Forrest Church
Senior Minister, Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan, New York
Reverend Robert Lee Hill
Senior Minister, Community Christian Church in Kansas City, Missouri
Doctor R. Scott Colglazier
Senior Minister, University Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas
Iman Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid
Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood in Harlem
Reverend Doctor Arthur Caliandro
Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, New York
Reverend William L. "Scotty" McLennan
Dean for Religious Life, Stanford University
Stanford Memorial Church in Stanford, California
Reverend Paul Gonyea
Minister, Atlanta Church of Religious Science in Atlanta, Georgia
Reverend Doctor Alvin O. Jackson
Senior Pastor, National City Church of Christ in Washington, D.C.
Rabbi Harold S. Kushner
Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts
Message Read by Rabbi Matthew Freedman
Reverend Doctor John M. Buchanan
Senior Minister, Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois
From the back cover of the audiobook: "All publisher profits from the sale of this audiobook are being contributed to charities benefitting the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001."
Related Reviews:
Wake-Up Call: The Political Education of a 9/11 Widow, by Kristen Breitweiser.
This book chronicles the journey of one of the 9-11 widows, known as The Jersey Girls, to come to terms with her husband's death and to discover the truth about what really went wrong on that fateful day.
The 9-11 Commission Report, by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks.
An accessible version of this significant governmental report that is distributed on CD in both a large print version and a plain text version that is compatible with most computer screen reading programs.
