Bush offers comfort, warning at memorial service

11.00 am - by DAVID USBORNE

A sombre President Bush and four former US presidents today led the American nation in a day of remembrance for the thousands who lost their lives in the terror attacks on New York and Washington.

Mr Bush, joined by his father George Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, took part in a prayer service at Washington's National Cathedral.

But Mr Bush injected an angry tone into the sorrow of the memorial.

"We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So many have suffered so great a loss and today we express our nation's sorrow," said Mr Bush, who wore a pale blue tie with his dark suit.

"We come today before God to pray for the missing and the dead and for those who love them." But he added: "This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger."

Billy Graham also attended, a rare public appearance for the ailing evangelist. Before the service started and between readings, musicians performed "God Bless America" and sang "America the Beautiful."

A Muslim cleric was among the clergy who spoke. Arab-Americans and Muslims have been targets of revenge assaults around the country since Tuesday's destruction.

As it grew dark in America on the Moslem and Jewish day of prayer, people of all faiths gathered for candelight vigils, from San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, where more than 3,000 were due to gather for an inter-faith service, to New York's main Catholic cathedral, St Patrick's.

In Richmond, Va., chapel doors of the First Baptist Church opened for prayers and solace as dawn broke on the national day of remembrance called by Bush to memorialise the victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks. "We will pray for our city, we will pray for our nation and we will pray for all the people whose lives have been lost," the Rev. Peter Jamer Flamming said.

At a morning service in Connecticut, Gov. John Rowland spoke of a Roman Catholic priest he knew who died on United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston to Los Angeles, which crashed into the World Trade Center.

Rowland called the Rev. Francis Grogan a friend and mentor, who encouraged the governor to deepen his faith. If Grogan were still here, he would ask us to be "persuaded by our better natures," Rowland said. "With the heart of our nation bursting with sadness, we must ask God for the courage to carry on," he said.

In proclaiming Friday a national day of prayer and remembrance, Bush urged community groups and places of worships nationwide to hold noontime memorial services, ring bells and set aside time for candlelight vigils.

He also encouraged employers to give their workers time off to attend. "All our hearts have been seared by the sudden and senseless taking of innocent lives," Bush said. "We pray for healing and for the strength to serve and encourage one another in hope and faith."

In Dallas, people will be asked to hold hands and sing at the Baha'i Center and recite the prayer that a Baha'i leader wrote after he visited the United States in 1912. It asks God to "confirm this revered nation" and "make it precious and near to thee."

Members of the Islamic Center of Long Island, stunned by the many revenge assaults on Muslims, will hold the second of three services for victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They also will collect donations for the American Red Cross. "We're hurting, too, and we're also Americans," said Arshad Majid, a member of the centre. "There were Muslim lives lost in that building, as well. We're all human and we need to get together."

Transcript: President Bush's speech

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