PREACHING AFTER A TRAGEDY: LISTENING TO CONGREGATIONS AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

In the wake of a national tragedy such as the one that took place on September 11, 2001, what are the most pastoral and faithful things a preacher can do in sermons on the following days and weeks? This essay responds to that question with the help of interviews with more than two hundred members of twenty-five congregations in thirteen denominations or movements. The interviews took place in the fall and winter of 2001 and 2002.

The interviews were not designed to focus specifically on preaching in response to September 11 but were part of a broader study of preaching qualities that engage listeners. The project was funded by the Lilly Endowment and took place at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana. Researchers asked questions exploring how the listeners' perceptions of the preacher's character and physical embodiment, the content of the sermon, and the feelings aroused by the message affected their responses to sermons.

Although none of the questions explicitly asked how interviewees perceived sermons after September 11, so many interviewees referred to preaching after that tragic day in their responses to the interview questions that we can discern patterns in the characteristics they found helpful or frustrating. In the material that follows, I identify what the listeners themselves say they found pastorally helpful, frustrating, or even alienating. The quotes from listeners in this paper are representative of many other similar statements.

Certainly the preacher cannot simply tally the positive characteristics and produce sermons that meet every parishioner preference. The church sets aside ministers to lead congregations in the faithful interpretation of the gospel, and sometimes ministers are called to the sometimes difficult task of helping a congregation move toward more adequate understandings of God's purposes. Congregations, after all, can occasionally value qualities in sermons, such as racial prejudice, that are contrary to the gospel. While ministers should never embrace these qualities at the expense of broadening congregational understandings of God's purposes, they can engage their congregations on difficult issues with sermons that are invitational rather than confrontational. What follows are eight suggestions gleaned from the interviews that might aid in the crafting of invitational sermons.

1) Name the immediate feelings.

According to the interviewees, one of the most helpful things that many preachers did immediately after the September 11 catastrophe was to name the feelings believed to be present in the congregation. When asked to recall a sermon that "stirred your own emotions" or "seemed to stir the congregation as a whole," many respondents included on their list sermons after that tragic day. One person mentions a sermon in which the preacher listed many of the emotions that people were experiencing at the time. This listener notes, "People were emotional anyhow, and [hearing that in the sermon] kind of helped." The words of another interviewee resonate with many others. Of the Sundays after the September 11 tragedy, a listener says, "I think messages that dealt with the loss that we were feeling" had "great relevance during that period of time." Another adds, "There are a lot of people shaken up by that [September 11], and it's good to know...that it's okay, these feelings we're going through."

One preacher received a positive evaluation for inviting people to stand when the preacher called out different emotions that might have been circulating in the congregation. "I wish I could remember all the questions that were asked. If you were angry, you were to stand...things like that. People were up and down and participating and really got tuned in."

2) Emphasize that God is present.

Many listeners say that they most needed to hear a message of assurance after that sad day. The following short statement is a refrain in the interviews: "Everyone felt the need to be closer to God with all the questions and all the horrific things that had gone on." Of a preacher who sounded a note of reassurance (before moving to some prophetic challenge), a regular worshipper says, "I think it was the comfort that everyone needed and felt from the preacher's sermon. The congregation, as someone said, was like the spirit of God or the spirit of the people, all the sadness and all the sorrow just came in at one time, and you left with this feeling in your heart. It was nice." Another listener recalls that on the Sunday after September 11 the preacher referred to the work of angels to indicate God's presence in the world. "Given all that happened on September 11, it was wonderfully comforting for people to hear about angels, and that angels had been in the World Trade Tower and that angels can help us through these things."

When I have mentioned this perspective to some preachers, they have dismissed it as a desire for an opiate: "[The people] just want to go home feeling good." However, several listeners reveal that they do not regard the assurance of God's presence as an end but as a fundamental resource for further responses to the tragedy. By way of example, "Knowing that our salvation has already been secured the preacher can help us know what we need to do now in the community because of that reassurance." Another respondent recounts a sermon that began with such assurance but then, "towards the end of the sermon the preacher kind of talked about a Christian [nonviolent] response," concluding, "'Well, what do you expect, I'm a Christian.'" The startling nature of this conclusion explicitly captured the congregation's attention, according to this listener.