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Speech at the Capitol
First Anniversary Commemoration
Presentation by the Christian Family Movement
Prepared for Delivery at the Capitol, Washington, D.C.
September 11, 2002
We, members of the Christian Family Movement, are privileged to join with all of you gathered here for the observance of the first anniversary of the September 11th 2001 Events which have challenged Americans and freedom loving citizens from around the world to join together in support of the cause of justice, peace and freedom.
My name is Jane Buchbauer. My husband, Peter, and I are the National President Couple of the Christian Family Movement. We want to thank the organizing committee for the invitation to participate in this celebration of Today's Children, Tomorrow's World.
On behalf of the Christian Family Movement we extend greetings and best wishes to the many other organizations who gather with us today.
The Christian Family Movement is pleased to join with you in working to create a Safe and Peaceful World for all our Children.
Who We Are
The Christian Family Movement is the founding organization of the International Confederation of Christian Family Movements. ICCFM is a world-wide organization which seeks to promote peace and social justice locally and globally through the formation of married couples and families in their Christian faiths and through knowledge of the Catholic Church's social teachings.
I am joined today by
our National Chaplain, Father Donald Conroy,
our National Secretary Couple, Lauri and John Pryzbysz,
and our executive directors, Jane and Paul Leingang.
Remembering September 11
The events of September 11, 2001 marked a sharp contrast to our vision of world peace. That day we saw a world shaken by violence. By violence so senseless and brutal, it was beyond our comprehension. It was an attack on husbands and wives, parents and children. It was an attack on all our families. Hatred ignited a fire. A year later, we still reel from the pain.
Hatred did not begin that day. Love did not die that day. We cling to a hope. A hope that one day all members of the one human family will accept each other as brothers and sisters. That everyone's child will live in peace. At the core of that hope is our faith.
Today we struggle between peace and justice, between war and forgiveness. We urge our leaders and fellow Americans to begin with prayer. Through prayer, misguided desires for retribution and hatred can be corrected. Through prayer, understanding and love for others can be found, regardless of race, religion or nationality.
A year ago, you may well have done what I did. When I saw the news, I called my family.
Millions of us did the same.
Among our haunting memories are the phone calls made from planes in the last moments of flight, phone calls made to family members.
Our first impulse at such a time is to be together with our family.
Two things gave us unity that day — the horrible events that drew us to the news coverage — and the deep down impulse in all of us to seek and to give assurance within our own families.
As we work and pray that the horror of that day never be repeated, we also work and pray to keep the value of family foremost in our society.
Today of all days, we need healing, we need comfort. We need forgiveness for our indifference to the suffering of others, and we need to build a world where hope is not only possible but pervasive; where acceptance of each other is the result of a passion for human dignity.
We affirm the simple but stunning truth that every family is holy and vital to building a secure society. We have made our commitment that everyone's child should receive respect; that everyone's child should be free from exploitation; that everyone's child should live in hope – not in fear; in love for neighbor – not in hatred.
We are the Christian Family Movement. We have our roots in the Young Christian Students and Young Christian Workers Movements of the early 20th Century. Those movements sought to protect and enhance the lives of young people as well as promote social justice in the modern world. These seeds of social consciousness blossomed into our movement some 50 years ago.
We hold that the faith of others is to be respected, and we affirm our own faith as members of Christian families. We follow Jesus, who calls us to love one another-- Jesus, who welcomed children, loved his enemies, and healed the sick – Jesus, who brought comfort to the afflicted and forgiveness to sinners.
We are committed to these goals:
To develop a conscience — both a family and social conscience — based on the principles and example of our faith traditions.
We are committed
To develop responsible,
concerned and happy families that are part of a supportive
and affirming network of families
within every community
who will reach out to others in need.
We are committed
To offer opportunities for families
to grow in their relationships with one another
with their friends, with their neighbors
with their co-workers.
We are committed
To strenthen our solidarity with the global family through the international activitites of the Christian Family Movement.
Our members meet as small groups of families — small Christian faith communities.
We are called to see the world around us,
to judge what we see in the light of the values Jesus taught us.
Always, we are called to act to make our world a better place.
Because of our faith,
we affirm a way of life
that demands our involvement in society.
Our mission is to promote marriage and family life;
to help individuals and their families
to live their faith in everyday life;
and to improve society through actions of love, service, education and example.
At the heart of our mission
is the affirmation of all marriages and families
— families in which children are nutured and protected by loving parents, loving friends and a loving God.
We are called
to be doers of the word,
not merely hearers of it.
The call to families today
is not only to have faith
but to live it.
Not only to live faith
but to give it.
Our faith must be a radiant faith,
not a light hidden for our own use alone,
but powerful enough for others to see.
Our faith must radiate
within our families and beyond;
to include other families,
the whole of society,
working for the common good,
welcoming strangers,
giving voice to conscience.
We believe in practicality,
and in taking action.
We use a time-proven process:
we observe the world we live in,
we reflect on what we see
guided by faith,
and we act to make a difference.
We offer that structure to you:
Observe, judge, act.
Please visit our website,
The Christian Family Movement
On the web
At CFM.org.
Today, we encourage you to take action.
Do not let this opportunity pass. When you go home today, tell your family you love them.
Jesus told us to love our neighbor. Today, we say, love your neighbor's children as well.
We are Christian families that acknowledge the sacred nature of every family.
We share a heritage with Jewish and Muslim families, and families of other traditions,
respecting all as brothers and sisters –
we are one human family.
Do not let this opportunity pass. Assemble your neighbors — families together supporting one another, each and every day.
We encourage families to form small action groups. Initiate dialogue among families of diverse faith traditions. Look carefully at your world. Identify the issues and concerns, the good and the bad, of everyday life. Listen to each other. Judge what you see in light of your faith, and take action -- to make our world better.
Where do we go from here?
We go back to our families.
We go back to everyday ordinary life.
We can ignore the need we felt for unity,
or we can work to make our world better,
to make our world a place
where children know they are loved,
where neighbors care about neighbors
and their neighbors' children, too.
We ask you to join us.
Our vision for America is a nation of families,
Full of love and life and respect for each other,
Families strong enough to support each other
And to supoort their neighbors across America
And around the world.
We call on families
To reach out to other families,
Across the ordinary borders of faith and tradition.
Today we call for a new initiative.
We call on families from all regions and areas
Of our great nation
To renew the impulse so many of us felt a year ago,
To reach out to each other,
To stand together with each other,
To support each other
In times of sadness and in times of joy.
Thank you.
God bless America.
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