Ministry seeks to focus on the spiritual implications of 9/11/01

PORTLAND -- A new ministry has been formed locally to remember the period of history surrounding the most serious terrorist attacks in American history.

The ministry, Remem-ber Nine Eleven -- so named to commemorate the date of the attacks, Sept. 11, 2001 -- will focus on analyzing the social and spiritual environment of America, specifically to ensure that the nation's healthy return to prayer is sustained in the future.

“It seemed appropriate that the nation form a ‘battle cry’ to remember the tragedy,” said Timothy Marttala of Portland, founder and Webmaster of Remember Nine Eleven, “In times like these in our nation’s history -- after Pearl Harbor, The Alamo, Fredricksburg -- a ‘remember’statement or battle cry always seemed to galvanize the nation and serve as a reminder of what the situation was and what our response to it should be.” Marttala continued, “It struck me that only the date, instead of the name of only one of the three sites of the attack, conveys the scale of the crisis facing our nation, so I felt that the date should be the name of this new ministry. In case the name catches on as a national secular motto and people begin to flock to our Web site, they’ll then see the Good News that is part of our message.”

The hub of the Remember Nine Eleven ministry will be the www.Remembernineeleven.com Web site; other media formats may follow in the future as warranted.

The ministry will be secular only in tone and look in order to attract the majority who are non-believers, who Marttala says are most in need to hear the message that the nation should continue in prayer.

“I heartily encourage believers to witness to our countrymen in need of hearing the Good News, and I want believers to have a place they can refer people to, so that the non-believer will begin or continue their prayer,” said Marttala, “But we need to do that without preaching to them, which is a reason non-believers really shy away from the Church, and this ministry will strive to get that message out in a way that hits home to the non-believer without intimidating them."

“I believe that God wants to make good come from this tragedy and we’re seeing signs of that already with the widespread interest in prayer and revival,” said Marttala. “Now, if we can only keep people’s attention on continuing to do that, and if people’s spirituality grows in kind, I think our nation will undergo some long overdue changes for the better.”

Marttala concluded, "My aim is to see those national changes come to pass - but some are so major that only God can make them happen, and a major way He will work in thatway is through prayer."

More information is available at the Web site, or by writing 3439 NE Sandy Blvd., #187, Portland, OR 97232.