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CNN Live Event/Special

Prayer Service at Yankee Stadium

Aired September 23, 2001 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon again, everyone. I'm Aaron Brown. This is Yankee stadium in the Bronx. Down below us -- a prayer for America memorial service here in New York about to begin. The Police Department's Emerald Society, it's drum and bagpipe corp has just finished the Marine Hymn to a rousing round of applause. For the next couple of hours here, the city will remember. Remember its lost sons and daughters, remember its heroes.

Well, perhaps fifteen, twenty thousand people here. People are gathered in smaller, Minor League ballparks around the outer boroughs as well. This second weekend since the attack the clear effort in the city to get back to normal and we would guess that that and concerns about security and traffic have kept some people away. But an organizer told us -- we didn't know how many people would come, it didn't matter. We just wanted people to know it was here, if they wanted it. And so people drift in.

Yankee Stadium is as much a part of New York as the Empire State Building, the Central Park, as the World Trade Center towers were. It's a place where the city has come to celebrate some of its most joyous moments. It's for DiMaggio and Mantle, Romik (ph) in center field, Ruth and Gehrig helped people forget the depression. It's where the city has often come to forget its worst problems, its wars, its economic problems. People would come to the stadium and cheer and laugh, and forget. And today they come to the stadium to remember. To pray. And to cry.

The city's religious elite, if you will, will all be here. Cardinal Egan representing the city's Catholics, there will be representatives of Islam. We saw Marc Gellman, who represents Jews in New York. Rabbi Gellman. There are more Jews in the city of New York than in any city in the world.

There will be big names. Bette Midler will sing. Oprah will be here. This isn't going to be about big names and big moments. It will be about small moments. Silent prayers, little hugs. It will be less about what is on the stage than what is in the bleachers. These are the faces of people who have lost loved ones. A security analysts that went to work on Tuesday, or firemen, window washers, they are the people who have gathered in this historic stadium, surrounded by a city that grieves, and holds them tight.

The mayor will speak, the governor will speak. And music will be played. One city official told us, that it is their hope, that this will be an end of the first chapter of this tragedy for the city. But tomorrow the city will feel different, because of what happened today. A hope. That's all. People came in to the stadium through, as would you imagine, very intense security bomb sniffing dogs in the perimeter. Every bag was checked. Martin Savidge is outside the stadium now -- Marty.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you mentioned, Aaron, security has been extremely tight. Often you hear buzz of helicopters passing overhead, those are police helicopters. No one was allowed to bring backpacks, no one allowed to bring bottles, containers of any sort. It was meant to be a very secure area.

And I suppose you could say, actually, for the first time since tragedy struck in New York City, that for the time this service goes on, you will see sort of a transfer of what has been the emotional epicenter down there at World Trade Center site, now coming to Yankee Stadium. And also, too, you have to keep in mind that originally when plans were being talked about for this particular service, originally it thought that maybe Central Park would be the place, that it would be a memorial service and perhaps upwards of 1 million people would attend.

The mayor of New York said that really wasn't right at this particular time. A memorial service not really fitting. He said the people were still grieving and rescuers were still searching and also, obviously, the safety concerns about an open air venue with so many officers that would be needed and yet so many that are now involved with the job at hand at the World Trade Center site. Outside of the stadium, Aaron, there is a banner that hangs across that says: "Commemorating 26 world championships." Obviously, today inside that Stadium, there is not the sporting type of competition but instead you will see through thoughts, words and prayers, a competition to try to champion over grief. Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you, Marty. I'm joined here in our location by Ramon Rodriguez (ph). And it's your brother who is missing, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, my brother Angin Perez (ph), he worked for Cantor Fitzgerald (ph), 101st floor, 1 WTC.

BROWN: I think, I guess most everyone certainly in New York knows, I suspect around the country, I think, 700 people who worked in that office for that firm were lost that day. What did he do? What did your brother do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he was a senior clerk.

BROWN: When did you last see him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw him Saturday and, you know, we called on Sunday.

BROWN: Stay with me for a second, let's take a moment and listen to the music going below us. OK?

(MUSIC) BROWN: That was Irish tenor Ronan Tinan (ph).

We will say this now and be done with it. This is absolutely heartbreaking place today. The music, the prayers, all of it, the people, you see the posters and the tears and the rest, and this will be the emotional and difficult moment of an emotional and difficult two weeks. We are still with Ramon Rodriguez (ph), whose brother Angin Perez (ph) is missing. Do you still have hope? Do you accept that this is perhaps past the point where they will find anyone alive?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there is always a little bit of hope. We are hoping for, if not for my family, but for all the families that at least one more living person can come out of the wreckage. This is more like something for the soul, a little bit of feeling, getting closer to closure for us. And hopefully for everybody else.

BROWN: To be with all these people here today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, the families and all the families of the companies, all these firemen and policemen and all these emergency workers that risked their lives and died there trying to get our families out also. We have to find closure somewhere and let's start here. We have to keep on going and keep America strong.

BROWN: When you look out here and you see all these different people from different backgrounds, do you feel differently about the city that you live in?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New York has always been multicultural and we have brought that all over the world, wherever we have been. I have been in the service so I have little more knowledge of how we react outside of the United States. It's not really that much of a difference except now we are more closer.

BROWN: Mr. Rodriguez (ph), thanks for coming by, best of luck, God bless. As we said, this ceremony is being broadcast in minor league ballparks in the outer boroughs. Richard Roth is out in Stanton Island this afternoon -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Aaron, we are here in Staten Island, one the five of New York, home of the Staten Island Yankees, minor league team of the New York Yankees. Several hundred people in the seats right now but it is not full. I don't think it will get full by the official start of ceremonies.

Here at the stadium they have given out about 8,000 flowers. Everybody got a rose, as they entered the stadium. People and family members of those victims are sitting rather quietly, they heard the borough president say: "We will make sure these people did not die in vain. We have lost some of the of the best we have ever had in the heart of the finest men and women of New York City."

Security is very tight here. Police boats going around outside the stadium, of course what was one of best points of this stadium when it opened this year was the view of the Manhattan sky line. You saw the World Trade Center over my left shoulder. Now there's a gap in lower Manhattan. Everyone sitting here waiting for the Yankee Stadium ceremonies to begin is sitting and watching exactly where things happened on September 11. Aaron.

BROWN: Looking over your shoulder, we were on Staten Island last Sunday. You look across the harbor and what was and is no more and it's -- takes your breath away.

ROTH: Yes, it does.

BROWN: Go ahead, Richard.

ROTH: The Twin Towers gap was between near the American Express tower, the green dome here and they made it easy for people to come to these stadium. The Staten Island ferry, you can -- people can also see from these stadium seats. Going from lower Manhattan, those ferries took out hundreds of thousands of people any way of getting off Manhattan on September 11.

We talked to one person in the crowd who was here five hours early for this event. A woman named Dominique Sweeney (ph) who brought her daughter here, many of her friends firemen lost in the tragedy. She said she was searching in the rubble for the last week. She still smells what it's like down there. And just felt she had to be here today, wanted to be here in Staten Island where many of the victims were from rather than going to Yankee Stadium.

BROWN: Again, many people around the city will be at home watching on local television today, many more are here. We just looked out, we would guess 15 to 20, 000 people are here. It is never easy to get to the stadium, one of issues with the Yankee Stadium is -- it is not necessarily an easy place to get to. We suspect that kept some people away. Security certainly.

But there is a lot going on in town today, people genuinely are trying to get on with life. And so there is a football game on television -- Giants are in Kansas City. Baseball being played. Whatever normal means now, two weeks after the attack, normal is creeping towards us. Not there yet, you see people's faces, it's not there yet. But little closer each day. And this Sunday, this beautiful Sunday in New York. Another step towards normal. All of this city's religions, everyone represented, representatives of these faiths coming on to the podium now.

There are more than 1,000 police officers here, not just New York City police officers. We saw police officers from as far away as Florida who had come up to give support to the New York Police Department, as you can imagine, New York Police Department is stretched about as thin as it can be, very large police department, by far the largest police department in the country, and many New York police officers still work on foot. They are not all in cars, the way they are in most major metropolitan areas. Nevertheless, with 40,000 police officers, they are badly in need of support and they have been getting it from around the country.

One of the big screens they are playing video clips of news stories of the past week, ours and other networks, and people are watching that as they begin to stage the memorial service which will begin shortly. They have put this together, obviously, very quickly, the original idea was to go to Central Park in the heart of Manhattan. And it didn't take long for officials to realize that it would be impossible to secure Central Park. Just simply too complicated a task.

So they moved it to the stadium. A place where you can control more easily how people get in, what they bring in. And they put it together essentially in a manner of two and a half, three days. An interesting group of political organizers and entertainment producers worked to get this done. Of course, everybody who is participating is doing so without fee of any sort. Martin Savidge outside the stadium.

SAVIDGE: Well, as you talk about the numbers of people that have shown up, may not have shown up at the various venues there are a couple of reasons for it: first and foremost, you can tell from there, it is a beautiful day here in Manhattan. One of those early fall day on a Sunday afternoon. Of course, there could be people that are fearful to go to the stadium for whatever reasons.

There are lot of people that just believe it is too soon. They haven't themselves come to the emotional grips of facing reality here that such a service presents. On top of that we have had from the President of United States, mayor of the City and, of course, from the governor of New York, a reminder that people need get on with their lives and what better way to get on with your life than to go out with your family, or friends or people you know, and enjoy a beautiful afternoon. I'm sure many people in their own way in their own time, in their own minds will be remember, pause, reflect, and do just what is being done but perhaps not under such organized circumstances. Aaron.

BROWN: I think you are exactly right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, representing 14 Broadway shows director of...

BROWN: Let's listen in to this moment, the quintessential New York moment, a Broadway ensemble.

(MUSIC)

BROWN: Bill White (ph) and the Broadway ensemble, the formal memorial service is still a few minutes away from beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Earlier this week...

BROWN: There are -- this is just part of the working as they most people on and off the stage. The Harlem boys and girls choir will be performing in a few moments, the Armor Artist Choir and Orchestra will singing the battle hymn of the republic as soon as they can get settled on the stage which sits at second base of the infield at the Yankee Stadium. Martin Savidge still outside? Marty, if you can hear me, are people still coming in to the stadium?

SAVIDGE: No, Aaron, from our vantage point here we really have not seen a lot of people coming in. It's unclear exactly where they may be entering from. Some of the traffic has been disrupted as a result of the tremendous security. One of the things I was thinking about this morning, I turned on my little handheld computer, looking at my to-do list which I had not looked at prior or since this whole tragedy occurred.

I was amazed at how many things I marked as high priority, now seem very trivial and how many things that I hadn't put on the list, I now consider very important such as sending a message to friends or greeting a loved one with a birthday. I suspect that I'm not alone in that. That our priorities have changed dramatically in the time that has come by since this tragedy occurred.

BROWN: I sent an e-mail to brothers and sisters the other day and I said you can't know how said the city. And we said this so many times, but this is a city -- this is America's capital in a different way, in a way different from Washington, in some ways it's the world's capital city. It is so much smaller a city now. People feel so much more connected now than they ever had before.

SAVIDGE: People on the street work to make eye contact with you. They work to say hello. They work to actually greet you in some way, even if it's a simple nod.

The very simply words of saying, "Hello how are you", use to be just a very casual greeting. Now, people really mean when they ask, "How are you?" here.

BROWN: And, no one answers: "Great." No one feels very good right now in the City. You see it in their eyes. Everybody's walk just seems a bit slower. Someday we'll look back and say, remember when the City went through this. And, how it felt then.

These things don't last forever. This sense of community will not last forever, we wouldn't think. But for now, it's real and important, the product of a tragedy that was unimaginable. In many ways still is.

Look around the stadium, the faces, the building just across right, center field. The flags in the stadium now, at full staff, except for the main flag in the stadium, which remains at half-staff.

You might have seen earlier the president participating in a ceremony where they raised the flag from half-staff to full stag again today.

We would expect to see that here in a few moments.

And then, straight away in center field a giant American flag.

Some of the dignitaries coming up. You see former President Bill Clinton, Senator Clinton with him. People standing to greet the Senator and the former president, very warm greeting.

The mayor is in that group. And, the mayor will receive an enormous welcome when the entire stadium sees him. You see Cardinal Egan now, in that group, he'll be among the first to speak.

There's former President Clinton and Senator Clinton, working their way up the third base side here at Yankee Stadium, pausing. Mrs. Clinton with, I believe, that's Cardinal Egan.

That's former Mayor David Dinkens we see and, I believe, that's former Mayor Ed Koch behind him, but I can't quite tell. Yeah, it is indeed. And, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senior Senator from the State of New York. Chuck Schumer, in that group, as well.

Obviously, this is a group of political dignitaries. This city is political, is a very political city, and in fact, on Tuesday -- that's Cardinal Egan -- on Tuesday, this coming Tuesday, they will again hold the primary election to see who will succeed Rudolph Giuliani. It was an election that was interrupted by the tragedy of September 11th.

And, as we have mentioned before, Mayor Giuliani, by law, by term limits, is not allowed to run again. As we were driving in we saw, a number of placards on walls in the city urging people to write his name in, not an easy thing to do in New York, where they vote by old fashioned voting machine, lever machines.

But, we wouldn't be surprised to see a large write-in for the mayor.

We asked an aid to the major if the mayor was sleeping at all and he said "sleeping, he's been at the gym three times this week". The mayor has been non-stop and he is down in that group, just in the left field, or on the third base side.

Senator Clinton there, the former president, they live just up the road in Chappaqua, suburban New York City. And, of course, President Clinton has an office in Harlem. New Yorkers now.

Applause.

And, the former president enormously popular here, while he was president and seemingly, no less so now.

And, now that group makes it's way very slowly. There are a number of high-ranking police officials down there, too. And, it does seem that the group is pausing to talk to them. Fire officials we see as well, talking to them.

We looked at a run-down for the program today, and, as these things are very precisely timed. It won't happen on time. Not this one, not today.

You also notice up behind home plate and down the right field line, a large group of sailors. We don't know that they have any particular connection, except to be here. To be at the stadium today, in their dress whites.

Everywhere you see flags, small flags, large flags, outside the stadium, on the walls of the stadium, there are hundreds, I would say, of handmade flags that school children must have made over the last couple of days, that are plastered on the walls of the stadium.

This stadium, for us at least, you see, is a place, you can sit here alone, and we've done this, and you feel like you can hear the ghosts of another time. In its own way, a very haunting and beautiful place. Out in left field there is the monument. Monument Park, monument to the heroes of Yankee Stadium. How different that word seems today. The heroes of this day in New York are not DiMaggio and Mantle and Ruth and Gehrig. They are the firemen and firewomen, the police officers, the sons and daughters of September 11th.

The Yankees will come back here on Tuesday night.

That, what you're hearing behind me, is the reception that Oprah Winfrey receives. She'll be the Mistress of Ceremonies for the event. Which should start shortly. But, as we said, not nearly on time, on time would have been 10 minutes ago.

The former president, that's Ed Koch, right in front of him. Who was a very popular mayor here during his, during his time and still an enormously popular figure in New York.

We ran into him several weeks ago, it seems longer now, he was walking down the street and everywhere the former mayor walked, people would come up to him, "How you doin", they would say. As, he use to say when he was Mayor, we would walk around town and say "How am I doin?" He's a much loved, person here in the City. As often happens with politicians, somewhat more loved years out of office. Though he was very popular, even then.

We said the Yankees will come back here on Tuesday. The Mets have been in town over at Shea Stadium this weekend.

These first big gatherings of people, since September 11th. How different these stadiums feel, how different a ball game will seem when the Yankees come home on Tuesday.

Everywhere around the stadium you see placards, like this, the sons and husbands, boyfriends lost. And, you see them all over the city. We drove by a fire station the other day, the kind of place that, honestly, we've driven by a hundred times and never noticed. We notice it now.

If we can, at some point, get a shot along the third base line, again, we'll see better who just came in to -- it does appear to be, from the back of his head and I am a ways away, the governor came in. And, again, warmly received. There's always a, kind of, testy relationship between State government and the City of New York. The City always feels that it sends more to Albany; more tax money, than it ever gets back. There's an ongoing battle over education funding. All of that gone.

The governor, who is a suburban New Yorker, has been in the City since Tuesday. Almost as visible as you see Mayor Giuliani, almost as visible as the mayor.

Mayor Giuliani, as we said a bit ago, is prohibited from by law, from running for a third term. His term ends on the last day of the year. And, he was asked on Larry King, on Thursday night, I believe, it might have been Wednesday, of this week, whether he would accept the opportunity to run again if State law were changed? And, the Mayor simply said, "Well, it's something to think about". He didn't rule it out, he didn't say he would do it.

Again, the Primary is on Tuesday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Deputy Mayor of the City of New York, Rudy Washington.

BROWN: Rudy Washington, one of the Deputy Mayors in the City just introduced.

RUDY WASHINGTON, DEPUTY MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: Good afternoon. What you see here this afternoon is a collective effort of hundreds of people who donated their time, skill and expertise to bring about this special occasion.

And, on behalf of the victims' families, the tireless firefighters, police, medical personnel and rescue workers, who toil as we speak, at ground zero. And, on behalf of the City of New York, I have to simple and most heart felt words -- thank you.

WASHINGTON: And, now, under the direction of Johannes Somary (ph), the Amor Artis Chorus and Orchestra with the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

(MUSIC, "BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC")

BROWN: The Amor Artis Choir and the Orchestra, the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. James Earl Jones.

BROWN: James Earl Jones will do the introduction.

JAMES EARL JONES, ACTOR: Today we offer a prayer for America. Twelve days ago, New York City suffered the most devastating act of terrorism in human history. It was an unprovoked attack on innocent civilians of every race and religion. In response, our nation is united as never before.

We are united not only in our grief, but also in our resolve to build a better world. At this service, at this service we seek to summon what Abraham Lincoln called "the better angels of our nature" in recognition that this was not just an attack on the City of New York, or the United States of America, but on the very idea of a free, inclusive and civil society.

To people around the world our nation is a symbol of liberty, equal opportunity, democracy and diversity. This attack was an attempt to undermine these four pillars of our civic faith.

It has failed, our spirit is unbroken, in fact, it is stronger than ever. So, today we reaffirm our faith in the essential dignity of every individual. We see more clearly than ever, that what we share as Americans and as human beings, is far greater than that which divides us. Together, we will face the future with hope, people of many faiths, but one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

And now, our Master of Ceremonies, Oprah Winfrey.

OPRAH WINFREY, MASTER OF CEREMONIES: God bless New York. We each come here as one, but we stand as thousands. At the Trade Center, the Pentagon, in a field in Pennsylvania they came to kill Americans.

Each life lost represents every one of us, the cook, the stockbroker, the janitor, the policeman, the teachers, government workers, the investment banker, the secretary, the firefighters, the children.

Every story we have heard pains us so much, because we know that their stories are our stories. Our lives that we trusted and often took for granted have been shaken but we, Americans, refuse to be shattered.

We shall not be moved. We're here thousands strong in Yankee Stadium to say to the world: hope lives, prayer lives, love lives.

And though we are still dumbfounded with the weight of our grief and our loss, though we are all weary and so sad, we are concerned that we may not be able to find meaning in our everyday lives. But we must, we shall not, we shall not be moved.

For all of those who've lost their loves and lost their sense of safety, we're here today to honor those who sacrificed their lives and gone before us. We are here today to be strengthened by the light of their lives.

We all know that there is strength in numbers, and we shall not, we shall not be moved. What was meant to divide us has drawn us together and we shall not be moved.

We pray today that from the ashes of the Trade Center, the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania, that will rise a new spirit of beauty and unity in our country. Creating a new tapestry of one heart, one hope, one voice, one America.

It is my honor, Ladies and Gentlemen, to present the Commander and Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Robert Natter.

BROWN: Admiral Natter will present the colors, and he is the Commander of the Atlantic Fleet.

ADMIRAL ROBERT NATTER, COMMANDER AND CHIEF OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET: This morning flags of the United States of America was raised over a court house in the mid-west, was hung in the store front of a small town in Alabama, was flow from the flag staff at a little league field in California, and was displayed proudly in front of homes and business all across this great land of ours.

As we stand below this symbol of freedom, in this majestic stadium, the flag flies over our ships at sea, at every military base at home, and every embassy abroad and over our sailors, soldiers, airmen and marines on duty around the globe, just as it has for the past 225 years.

For the past 13 days, the citizens of our great nation have drawn strength from our flag. It is truly a remarkable image, it is the same stars and stripes that flew over George Washington's continental army at Valley Forge in December, 1777, that stood guard over regular army and militia forces defending Fort McHenry during the war of 1812, gave strength to soldiers fighting in the bloody trenches of Ardenne in 1917. The same flag who's raising atop Mt. Surabachi inspired our marines at Iwo Jima, and led the charge ashore of our forces at Inchon. It is the same colors that stood fast during the siege at Kaison (ph) in 1968.

And just within this past year it was the battle ensign that flew over the U.S.S. Cole and rallied her crew to heroism. These images of our history are now joined for eternity with the actions of three New York City firemen. Determined to erect a flagstaff and hoist our colors over the rubble that was the World Trade Center, each of these images clearly illustrates that our flag is much, much more than a symbol, it is a living testimony of our American spirit.

It has brought us together in the past, it brings us together today, and it will lead us to victory in the future.

It will lead us to victory in the future, a victory against a terrorist enemy to whom we say: "You picked the wrong city, you picked the wrong country."

Ladies and Gentlemen, will you please stand with me for the presentation of our nation's colors and our national anthem, sung by Officer Ann Marie Maloney (ph), Officer Danny Rodriquez (ph), and Sergeant Kim Royster (ph), of the New York City police department.

Color guard, parade the colors!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God Bless America!

BROWN: The color guard spoke from the New York City police department and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which at one point built the Trade Center.

(SINGING OF NATIONAL ANTHEM)

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Three New York City police officer -- how many times that the National Anthem has been sung in that stadium and gone unheard. Not this time. You can perhaps hear the chanting "USA, USA" across the stadium as the Color Guard leaves the field.

WINFREY: To give the invocation for today's service, here are Edward Cardinal Egan and Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Chaplain of the fire department of New York City.

(APPLAUSE)

CARDINAL EDWARD EGAN, ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK: Almighty and eternal Father, we are gathered here as your people and your children. Out of love you brought us into existence, out of love you fashioned each and every one of us in your own image and likeness. Thus, we come to you with the greatest measure of confidence, we come to you with the greatest measure of trust.

We come as well with heavy hearts. For just 13 days ago, our beloved city and our beloved nation were violated. We lost women and men and children, whom we sorely needed, whom we greatly admired, whom we dearly cherish. In our hospitals, hundreds are in pain. In our homes, thousands are in mourning, and in all of us, there abides an urgent need for you and your grace.

Heavenly Father, wrap us in your providential care, take our deceased brothers and sisters into your divine presence forever, strengthen our injured, console our families from whom so many have been taken so brutally, and make us all here in New York, in Washington and across the length and breadth of this land your noble people, your virtuous people -- yes, Lord, your holy people.

We need courage to deal with our pain. We need justice to deal with the evildoers, who have harmed us so fiercely. We need faith, wisdom and strength of soul for ourselves, each and every one, for our president and those who work with him, for our governor and those who work with him, for our mayor and those who work with him, for our police officers, heroes all, for our firefighters, heroes all, for our health care and emergency workers, heroes all.

Gracious God, guide us, hear us. We are yours, and yours we have a wish to be. Draw us closer to you in this hour of tragedy and pain. This we beg as your children with the utmost of trust, the utmost of confidence, the utmost of love now and forever. Amen.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: The archbishop of New York, Edward Cardinal Egan, with the first of two invocations.

RABBI JOSEPH POTASNIK, NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT CHAPLAIN: Creator of all life, when we asked as children what will we when we were older, we would answer, a fireman, a policeman. Today as adults, we again answer, we want to be like them. We know who we are. They showed us whom we can be. We saw terrorism bring the World Trade Center to ground zero, but we saw heroism bring ground zero into the heavens.

(APPLAUSE)

There is a time to build that which stands tall, but today is a time for all of us to stand tall. We have different faiths and beliefs. We, who all believe, that we must face one another as members of one human family to find shalom, to find salaam and to find peace. Amen.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: The prayer by Joseph Potasnik, a fire department chaplain.

POTASNIK: The Bible book of Numbers tells us to sound the shofar, the ram's horn, at a time of danger and strife. It also tells us to sound the shofar at a time of happiness and celebration. Today, we sound the shofar in pain and...

BROWN: The shofar is a ram's horn, and for 3,000 years at this time of the year, the Jewish High Holy Days, it's been blown as a call to Jews around the world. The Jewish New Year was last week.

(BLOWING OF THE SHOFAR)

BROWN: The Jewish holiest day, the Yom Kippur, or the day of atonement, begins Wednesday night. The shofar has been blown in synagogues around the world this week -- surely not in Yankee Stadium ever.

This is Rabbi Arthur Schneier.

RABBI ARTHUR SCHNEIER: We can pray while being seated too.

Oh, Lord, the New York City family is in mourning. America is in mourning. Yit kadal va yit kadash, magnify and sanctify your name. Almighty Healer, hear our plea, guard and shield America, the land of the free, the home of the brave.

Oh, Lord, remember the victims of September 11's barbarism and terrorist evil, their heroic rescuers of the police, fire and emergency services, who lost their lives while trying to save other lives. Almighty Healer, comfort their families and help them walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

We invoke thy blessings upon our mayor of courage and compassion, Rudy Giuliani, and our caring governor, George Pataki, our state senators and state representatives. They all join together in unison to give us strength to emerge from the rubble, from the devastation of life, and inspire us today to heal and to rebuild.

Bless and guide the president of the United States, George W. Bush, who sounded the clarion call to battle the terrorists at home and abroad and unify the nation to defend freedom, democracy and, yes, the civilized world.

Oh, Lord, yesterday we read from the Torah, we heard your message of the biblical portion, this time it is directed to the American people. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) be strong, be of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them, for you, oh, Lord, will not fail us nor forsake.

God bless America. And let us all say, Amen.

(APPLAUSE) BROWN: Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a "Prayer for the Country." Now a "Prayer for the Families" delivered by Rabbi Alvin Kass, a chaplain with the New York City Police Department. As we said, there are more people of the Jewish faith in the city of New York than in any city in the world, and this part of the program is conducted by them.

RABBI ALVIN KASS: Almighty God, we pray that thou would grant healing to the heartbroken families who have loved ones in this terrible disaster. May they find uplift in the realization that these victims have now been welcomed into the arms of the Almighty, where they can know no more hurt, and from on high where they will bless us.

Though pained by the gap in our lives, we know that they have entered the portals of the human heart from where they can never be lost or forgotten. Love is strong as death, and the bonds love creates are eternal. And may we all be buoyed up by the realization that these victims have, through their heroism, self-sacrificed courage and bravery inspired a renewed appreciation throughout this entire nation and the world in the American spirit at its very best.

And may all of us forever understand that what the victims want more than anything else is that the survivors should continue to live for what they died for, a society founded on justice and equity, democracy and right, a place where government by the people, for the people and of the people will not perish from this earth.

(APPLAUSE)

May I present to you Rabbi Marc Gellman, president of the New York Board of Rabbis.

BROWN: This is Marc Gellman, the president of the New York Board of Rabbis, and he will be familiar to many of you.

RABBI MARC GELLMAN, PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK BOARD OF RABBIS: On that day -- on that day, 6,000 people did not die. On that day, one person died 6,000 times. We must understand this and all catastrophes in such a way, for big numbers only numb us to the true measure of mass murder. We say 6,000 died, or we say six million died and the saying and the numbers explain nothing except how much death came in how short a time. Such numbers sound more like scores or ledger entries than deaths of human beings.

The real horror of that day lies not in its bigness, but in its smallness. In the small searing death of one person 6,000 times, and that one person was not a number. That person was our father or our mother or our son or our daughter or our grandpa or grandma or brother or sister or cousin or uncle or aunt or friend or lover, our neighbor, our co-worker, the woman who delivered our mail or the guy who put out our fires and arrested the bad guys in our town. And the death of each and every one of them alone would be worthy of such a gathering and such a grief.

Our sages taught that when one kills a single person, it is like killing the whole world altogether. And when one saves a single person, it is like saving the whole world altogether. Last week, over 6,000 worlds were killed, and thank the Lord a few -- far too few worlds were saved by heroes, most of whom will never be known. The dimensions of last week's horror only become fully drawn when we enter each murdered world one world at a time.

The Talmud and the African tribe, the Masai tribe, both teach a wisdom for our wounded world. They both taught sticks alone can be broken by a child, but sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. The fears and sorrows of this moment are so heavy. They can break us if we try to bear them alone, but if we are bundled together, if we stick together, we are unbreakable.

(APPLAUSE)

And we shall do far more than merely survived. We shall overcome, we shall overcome the forces of hatred without allowing hatred to unbundle us. We shall overcome the forces of terror without using fear to unbundle us. So in all our comings and our goings, from this time forth, let us remember that the person next to you, in front of you, behind you is not merely an obstacle to your free and unfettered life. They are a part of this bundle that keeps you and each of us from breaking.

Let us never again, you, our fellow New Yorkers, our fellow Americans, our fellow citizens of the world as limitations on our life or freedom, but rather as the moral twine that binds us and saves us and delivers us from evil. For some of us, the source of that strength, the twine that binds us and bundles us is not just community, but community under God.

And above all that, religious belief shared by all the Abrahamic faiths that each and every human being is made in the image of God. And also, we people of faith share the belief that a good God will not allow evil to win forever over goodness, hate to win over hope, or death to win over life. History proves this. But for religious people of all faiths, the proof comes from the way we know that we are bundled up in God's love, and the way we know that our dear ones who have died are now wrapped up in the bundle of eternal life in the world to come in Heaven. And there, they wait for us, waiting to fulfill the promise that we will not be separated forever from those we love.

But I want to say for those who cannot find hope through faith, I say to you that you are also a part of our bundle too. For the important task in our spiritual journey now is not for all of us to agree that the name for hope is God. The main task now is to agree that hope was not one of the worlds destroyed on that day -- the day when 6,000 people did not die, but the day when one person died 6,000 times. Amen.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Rabbi Marc Gellman. Rabbi Joy Levitt now, who will read the 23rd Psalm.

RABBI JOY LEVITT: The eternal is my shepherd; I shall never be in need. Amid the choicest grasses does God set me down. God leads me by the calmest waters and restores my soul. God takes me along paths of righteousness in keeping with the honor of God's name. Even should I wander in a valley of the darkest shadows, I will fear no evil. You are with me, God. Your power and support are there to comfort me. You set in front of me a table in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup is overflowing. Surely good and loving kindness will pursue me all the days of my life. And I shall come to dwell inside the house of God forever.

(APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: As some of you may know -- and if you don't know, I'll tell you -- Mayor Giuliani has a favorite hymn. It's "Ave Maria," and we have here to sing it one of the best voices in the entire world. Joining us, Placido Domingo.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Placido Domingo -- the mayor is an opera fan. We listened to rehearsal earlier. It's a very powerful moment.

(PLACIDO DOMINGO SINGING "AVE MARIA")

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Placido Domingo -- "Ave Maria" -- a favorite hymn of the mayor of New York, and the mayor of New York is expected to speak next. People here are standing. The stadium, we will tell you, is filled up now quite nicely -- just the outer edges.

WINFREY: I know you want to hear from Rudy Giuliani, a man whose extraordinary grace under pressure in the days since this devastating attack has led him to be called America's Mayor. He's the mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani.

(APPLAUSE)

MAYOR RUDOLPH GIULIANI, NEW YORK CITY: Thank you, Oprah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: The mayor with his fire chief -- Mayor Giuliani -- Rudolph W. Giuliani, Rudy to everyone in this city and now to the country.

GIULIANI: Thomas Von Essen and Bernie Kerik and Richard Sheirir, the fire commissioner, the police commissioner, the director of emergency management, and all of the people that they represent deserve the applause.

(APPLAUSE)

On September 11, New York City suffered the darkest day in our history. It's now up to us to make it its finest hour.

Today, we come together in the capital of the world as a united city. We're accompanied by religious leaders of every faith to offer a prayer for the families of those who have been lost, to offer a prayer for our city, and to offer a prayer for America.

The proud Twin Towers that once crowned our famous skyline no longer stand, but our skyline will rise again.

(APPLAUSE)

In the words of President George W. Bush, "we will rebuild New York City."

(APPLAUSE)

To those who say that our city will never be the same, I say you are right. It will be better.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, we understand much more clearly why people from all over the globe want to come to New York and to America. Why they always have and they always will. It's called freedom, the equal protection of law, respect for human life, and the promise of opportunity. All of the victims of this tragedy were innocent. All of them were heroes.

(APPLAUSE)

The Bible says "greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends." Our brave New York City firefighters, New York City police officers...

(APPLAUSE)

... Port Authority police officers, EMS workers, health care workers, Port (ph) offices, and uniformed service members. They laid down their lives for strangers. They were inspired by their sense of duty and their love for humanity. As they raced into the Twin Towers and the other buildings to save lives, they didn't stop to ask how rich or poor the person was. They didn't stop to ask what religion, what race, what nationality. They just raced in to save human beings, and they are the best example of love that we have in our society.

(APPLAUSE)

The people they were trying to rescue, the people who worked in the World Trade Center and the buildings around it were each engaged in the quiet heroism of supporting their families, pursuing their dreams, and playing their own meaningful part in a diverse, dynamic and free society. They will also occupy a permanent and a sacred place in our history and in our hearts.

(APPLAUSE)

Even in the midst of the darkest tragedy, there are miracles that help our faith go on. I would like to share one miracle of September 11 with you. St. Paul's Chapel is one of the oldest and most historic buildings in the city of New York. It was built in 1766, while the surrounding area was still countryside. The chapel survived our War of Independence, including seven years of wartime occupation.

After George Washington was inaugurated the first president of the United States in New York City on April 30, 1789, he walked to St. Paul's Chapel, and he kneeled down to pray. The pew where he worshipped is still there. Framed on the wall beside it is the oldest known representation of the Great Seal of the United States of America. It's the majestic eagle, holding in one talon an olive branch proclaiming our abiding desire for peace, and in the other, a cluster of arrows, a forewarning of our determination to defend our liberty. On a banner above the eagle it is written "E Plurubus Unum" out of one -- out of many, one.

For the past 25 years, the chapel stood directly in the shadow of the World Trade Center towers. When the towers fell, more than a dozen modern buildings were destroyed and damaged, yet somehow, amid all of the destruction and devastation, St. Paul's Chapel still stands...

(APPLAUSE)

... without so much as a broken window. It's a small miracle in some ways. But the presence of that chapel standing defiant and serene amid the ruins of war sends an eloquent message about the strength and resilience of the people of New York City and the people of America. We unite under the banner of E Plurubus Unum.

(APPLAUSE)

We find strength in our diversity. We're a city where people look different, talk different, think different, but we're a city of one, with all of the people at the World Trade Center and with all of America. And we love our diversity, and we love our freedom.

(APPLAUSE)

Like our founding fathers who fought and died for freedom, like our ancestors who fought and died to preserve our Union and to end the sin of slavery, like our fathers and grandfathers who fought and died to liberate the world from Nazism and fascism and communism, the cluster of arrows to defend our freedom and the olive branch of peace have now been handed to us. We will hold them firmly in our hands, honor their memory and lift them up to Heaven to light the world.

In the days since this attack, we have met the worst of humanity with the best of humanity. We pray for our president, George W. Bush...

(APPLAUSE)

... and for our governor, George Pataki...

(APPLAUSE) ... who have provided us with such inspiring leadership during these very, very difficult times. We pray for all of those whose loved ones are lost and missing. We pray for our children, and we say to them, do not be afraid. It's safe to live your life. Finally, we pray for America, and for all of those who join us in defending freedom, law and humanity.

We humbly bow our heads, and we ask God to bless the city of New York, and we ask God to bless the United States of America. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: The mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani. The mayor's relationship with the fire department goes back to his childhood.

(RINGING OF THE BELL)

The ringing of the bell -- a police officer from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It's the Catholic portion of this memorial -- begins first in Spanish.

WINFREY: And now with the reading from the New Testament in Spanish from Incarnation Parish, here is Ms. Griselda Cuevas.

GRISELDA CUEVAS: (READING IN SPANISH)

BROWN: This will be repeated in English. There is an enormous Spanish-speaking Catholic population here.

George Reece is a New York City firefighter, who will now read the same verse in English as he stops to shake hands with the mayor.

GEORGE REECE, NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT: A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans. As scripture says: "For your sake, we are being slain all the day long. We are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered. Yet in all this, we are more than conquerors, because of Him how has loved us. For I am certain that neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, neither height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God. It's the word of the Lord."

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: George Reece of the New York City Fire Department.

WINFREY: The Most Reverend Thomas V. Daily, Bishop of Brooklyn.

BROWN: Thomas V. Daily is the bishop of Brooklyn, and these are his reflections and prayer on this day.

MOST. REV. THOMAS V. DAILY, BISHOP OF BROOKLYN: Dear friends, for every American, particularly for every New Yorker and for citizens of the world, life has changed. This changed is aptly symbolized by the absence of the World Trade Center from the New York skyline, as we all know. We have witnessed unspeakable horror and loss of life. We have seen untold devastation, and yet, we have also witnessed the great acts of kindness, mercy and courage, particularly evidenced by our firefighters and police officers, countless volunteers, medical personnel, government officials and countless others.

In the midst of death, we have seen hope. Hope is a divine gift. For Christians, our hope is founded in the resurrection of Jesus in who death and evil is overcome. Hope moves us to survive. Without forgetting the pain in our hearts, hope energizes us. Without forgetting those who died, hope moves us to affirm life in the face of death. Hope moves us to see light, when we are tempted only to see darkness. Hope transforms fear into courage. Hope forges heroes and heroines in difficult times. Yes, hope moves us out of ourselves for the sake of others.

We have witnessed great acts of hope in the generosity, in the heroism of the firefighters, police officers, rescue workers, blood donors, government officials and volunteers beyond counting. The way to conquer the enemies of life is to survive and celebrate life with a renewed sense of purpose. Our greatest enemy is fear. Let us take the Lord at his Word: "Be not afraid. I am with you always."

(APPLAUSE)

Let us pray. Lord, God, Father of all nations, we praise you for your presence with us. Our hope is founded in your Word. We ask you to continue to send us your Holy Spirit. In the days, ahead help us to walk by faith, to live in hope, and act in love. Mary queen of peace, pray for us. Amen.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: The Most Reverend Thomas V. Daily is the bishop of Brooklyn...

WINFREY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Sikh faith, he is Dr. Inberjit Singh of the Sikh Temple in Richmond Hills.

BROWN: ... who said before, this is perhaps the most diverse city in the world. And the next prayer being offered is a Sikh prayer and reflection -- Dr. Inberjit Singh of the Sikh Temple.

DR. INBERJIT SINGH, SIKH TEMPLE OF RICHMOND HILLS: (SPEAKING UNIDENTIFIED LANGUAGE). In the name, our Father, God, who is true, who is without fear, who is without (UNINTELLIGIBLE), who is timeless, who is self-created. This understanding comes to us from our first guru and founder, Guru Nanak.

I am here on behalf of the Sikh community and would like to share with you the pain and suffering that we have seen in the last week. This pain has changed us forever. The people who did this horrible act to America did not know that this country, which was conceived in liberty and which comprises people from all over the world, is strong in its diversity, it's strong in its sacrifice, and wants to send a message to all those who listen across the seas and all over that we are strong. We will not be bowed, and we are here as a symbol of the best that man has to offer.

(APPLAUSE)

In the spirit of this greatness and in gratitude to God Almighty, we will pray.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please stand up for prayer (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(PRAYER CHANTED)

(APPLAUSE)

SINGH: Dear God, the world is going up in flames. Dear God, the world is going up in flames. Shower it with your mercy and save it -- and save it and deliver it by whatever method it takes. In your mercy, oh God, you care for all beings and creatures. You produce food and water in abundance. You eliminate pain and poverty and carry all across over all difficulties. The Great Listener will listen to our prayer. Bless the president of the United States, the governor of the state of New York and the mayor of the great city of New York.

(APPLAUSE)

Dear God, take us into your embrace and take away all the pain of those who are no longer with us in physical body, but they will always be with us in memory, love and comfort. God bless. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Dr. Inberjit Singh of the Sikh Temple of Richmond Hills, New York -- prayer and chanting, a hug from the mayor.

The Harlem Boys and Girls Choir is next.

WINFREY: Now let's hear from a great group of young people from right here in New York City, the Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem.

(MUSIC)

BROWN: "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the Harlem Boys and Girls Choir.

We've seen them a number of times. They always strike us as having the freshest faces and beautiful voices.

(MUSIC, "WE SHALL OVERCOME")

BROWN: The Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem. Everyone standing. Here by the request of the mayor specifically, the Boys and Girls Choir.

And now the Governor of the State of New York.

WINFREY: It is my honor to introduce to you...

BROWN: George Pataki. WINFREY: ... a man whose leadership has, indeed, been an inspiration during our hours of trial and catastrophe, the governor of the state of New York, George Pataki.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: They've been in the city -- the Governor's been in the city since Tuesday morning, from his office in Albany -- Republican.

GOV. GEORGE PATAKI, NEW YORK: Cardinal Egan and the distinguished (UNINTELLIGIBLE), to President Clinton, Secretary Mineta, Governor DeFrancisco, my colleagues in government, and in particular, to our mayor who has lead us with strength and compassion for these past 12 days...

(APPLAUSE)

PATAKI: ... it's an honor to be here with you this afternoon.

September 11 began like every other day. New Yorkers woke up to a bright sun and the promise of a brighter tomorrow. They packed their lunches, walked their children to school, and hugged them goodbye. Life every other day, husbands and wives kissed one another, said I love you, and left for work.

Moments later, thousands of moms, dads, and children, became innocent victims of an evil war they didn't know existed. The sun disappeared behind a skyline of terror. Great symbols of freedom were reduced to graveyards of dust, part of America died that day.

Within our darkest hour we turn to one another and to God. With a united voice we proclaimed that evil and death would not have the final say.

(APPLAUSE)

PATAKI: We are -- we are powerless to bring our loved ones back. But it is well within our power to bestow on them the honor they deserve. The highest honor we can pay them is to rise above the evil that claimed their lives. In this...

(APPLAUSE)

PATAKI: ... in this hour of adversity we must eulogize them with our strength. And let us draw that strength from them for we know that their eyes are upon us. Looking down they must be proud. They must be proud of their fellow New Yorkers who gather at vigils and line the streets to cheer police and rescue workers. They must be proud.

They must be proud of the tired firefighters who toil in the rubble, digging with their hands, refusing to quit. They must be proud.

(APPLAUSE) PATAKI: They must be proud of the thousands of brave children in Lower Manhattan who fled their schools in fear on Tuesday, then defiantly return nine days later. They must be proud.

(APPLAUSE)

PATAKI: They must be proud of the Muslim deli owners and cab drivers who proudly wave the -- wave the American flag from their cars and shop windows.

(APPLAUSE)

PATAKI: They must be proud to see this city, their city, and this nation, their nation, so united. United as never before. They must be proud.

(APPLAUSE)

PATAKI: And let us have faith that they, too, are united with one another and with God. Let us have faith that on that fateful morning from the fury of violence, the souls of thousands rose up from the cloud of dust and above freedom's harbor they traveled through the sky towards God and left the vivid air signed with their honor.

God bless them. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Governor George Pataki, "they must be proud," he said, "to see this city, their city, and this country, their country, so united."

The program moves now to the Muslim prayer portion. Again, it will be first in Arabic and then translated in English.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) most merciful, He summons you.

(MUSLIM PRAYER IN ARABIC)

There's only one God. God bless America. God bless this planet.

BROWN: Again, this is the beginning of the Muslim portion of this prayer service.

IMAM MOHAMMAD SHANSAY ALI: God is greater. God is greater. God is greater. I bear witness that there's nothing worthy of worship except God. I bear witness that there's nothing worthy of worship except God. I bear witness that Mohammad is the messenger of God. I bear witness that Mohammed is the messenger of God. Come alive to prayer. Come alive to prayer. Come alive to success. Come alive to success. God is greater. God is greater. There's nothing worthy of worship except God.

BROWN: Imam Mohammad Shansay Ali (ph). WINFREY: And now the recitation from the Quran from our Imam Mozi Ali (ph) and Sister Zaimah Sabree (ph), who will be followed by Imam Fadre Ansari (ph), from the Masjid Nu'man in Buffalo, New York.

IMAM MOZI ALI: (SPEAKING ARABIC)

(APPLAUSE)

SISTER ZAIMAH SABREE: I seek refuge in God from Satan the rejected. With God's name, the merciful benefactor, the merciful redeemer. Oh, mankind, we created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes so that you will get acquainted with each other and learn from one another.

Surely the most honored amongst you in the site of God is the one who has more regard for God. And God is all knowing and is well acquainted with all things. Oh you who have faith, stand out firmly for God as witnesses to fair dealings, and do not let the hatred of others towards you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just. That is next to piety. And be regardful of God for God is well acquainted with all that you do.

When comes the help of God and the victory, and you see the people enter the way of God and (UNINTELLIGIBLE), then glorify the praises of your Lord and ask His forgiveness. Surely, He is the most forgiving.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: When this portion of the service is over, the singer and actress Bette Midler will perform.

WINFREY: Izak-el M. Pasha.

BROWN: Another prayer and reflection.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Flag in the lapel.

IMAM IZAK-EL M. PASHA: In God's name, the merciful benefactor, the merciful redeemer, it is God we beg for assistance, we beg for strength and guidance, and His mercy. We witness that He is one and we witness to all of his messengers and profits.

Dear God, creator of all things in heaven and earth, guide us this day to bring comfort to those who have lost loved ones and give hope to those who are still waiting to hear.

We, Muslims, Americans, stand today with a heavy weight on our shoulder that those who would dare do such dastardly acts claim our faith. They are no believers in God ...

(APPLAUSE) PASHA: ... at all. Nor do they believe in His messenger Muhammad, the prayers and peace be upon Him. We condemn them and their acts, their cowardly acts, and we stand with our country against all that would come against us.

(APPLAUSE)

PASHA: They are members of (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

BROWN: People rising.

PASHA: ... one human worth. That worth that God has given to us, the goodness that He has created us in, no single group or nation will be able to destroy that. We are one with the Creator of the heavens and the earth. We are one with members of faith, both Jewish, Christian, and others here today and those who are absent. We are believers.

(APPLAUSE)

PASHA: We will not be deterred. So let those of you who are here today take this word out that we are one America made up of all the beautiful face and beautiful persons and beautiful colors, and that's what make us unique in the world and we will not change.

(APPLAUSE)

PASHA: God is bigger. God is greater.

These families here today, we are here for you and we will ever -- forever be here for you. We are among those who are saddened and troubled by the world we have today. We call on all of our religious leaders, all of our political leaders, we call on all good people, this must stop. We cannot tolerate oppression of any type.

(APPLAUSE)

PASHA: I close by saying a short surah from our holy book the Koran. And it says in it's English translation, in that surah, which is called "Time Through Ages," it says, "By the time verily mankind is in loss, except such as have faith and do righteous deeds and join together in the mutual enjoining of truth and of patience and consistency."

May God guide us. May God bless our mayor, our governor, and our president and all of you. Do not allow the ignorance of people to have you attack your good neighbor.

(APPLAUSE)

PASHA: We are Muslims, but we are Americans.

BROWN: Imam Pasha is a chaplain with the New York City Police Department, there with Cardinal Egan and Rabbi Gellman, and the Rev. Calvin Butts' left. Very prominent ...

WINFREY: We thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen ...

BROWN: ... clergymen here.

WINFREY: ... it's time for music. And a woman who has moved and inspired and entertained people around the world for more than 20 years, she is a real friend of New York City, Ms. Bette Midler.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Almost galloping up to the stage now.

BETTE MIDLER, SINGER AND ACTRESS: (SINGING, "WIND BENEATH MY WINGS")

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Bette Midler.

MIDLER: Thank you, New York.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Below us we saw two firefighters hugging one another. There were people hugging and crying.

Ms. Midler stopping, people standing. A Moment.

The bell again. The transition.

WINFREY: Here to read from Psalm 34 is the Rev. Carolyn Holloway of the DeWitt Reform Church of Manhattan.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: It's a series of readings from the Council of Churches of the City of New York.

REV. CAROLYN HOLLOWAY, DEWITT REFORM CHURCH OF MANHATTAN: "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together.

I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Look to Him and be radiant so your faces shall never be ashamed. This poor soul cried and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble. The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them.

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Happy are those who take refuge in Him."

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be unto God.

(APPLAUSE)

HOLLOWAY: And now the Rt. Rev. Mark Sisk, Episcopal Bishop of New York, will come and offer a prayer.

(APPLAUSE)

RT. REV. MARK SISK, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW YORK: Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, creator and sustainer of all humankind, be with us and comfort us in this tragic hour. Give us the assurance of your presence. Strengthen and heal the brokenhearted who must now face the future deprived of the companionship of those most dear to them. Guide our president, his advisers, and the leaders of all the nations of the world that the decisions which they must make will be in accord with your will, that justice be done, that the poor and defenseless be lifted up, and that peace prevail.

We give thanks to you for this great land and for the ideals for which it stands. But most of all we give thanks to you for the grace, courage and sacrifice of so many, our mayor and other state and municipal officials, the firefighters, police officers, emergency care workers, construction workers, and so many others whose names we will never know who have served so faithfully. Most especially we give you thanks for the witness so many who have sacrificed their lives in this service have made.

And finally, Almighty God, we ask you to drive from our hearts all hatred and prejudice. Grant that through the pain and tears of these days we may come to see evermore clearly that we are all one human family, living together in the presence of the one God who reigns over the living and the dead, in whose name and by whose power we offer this and all our prayer. Amen.

(APPLAUSE)

SISK: A passage of scripture will not be read by the Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Senior Pastor of the Riverside Church.

(APPLAUSE)

REV. JAMES FORBES, SENIOR PASTOR, RIVERSIDE CHURCH: A reading from the gospel of Matthew, chapter five, verses one through 16.

"When Jesus saw the crowds He went up the mountain, and after He sat down His disciples came to Him. Then He began to speak and taught them saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Bless are you when people revile you and persecute and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for in this way they persecuted the profits who were before you.

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket but on the lamp stand that it may give light to all who are in the house. In the same way let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven."

The word of the Lord.

(APPLAUSE)

REV. FORBES: And now it is my honor to present to you for prayer his eminence Archbishop Anania Arapajian of the Armenian Church in America.

(APPLAUSE)

ARCHBISHOP ANANIA ARAPAJIAN, ARMENIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA: Lord Jesus Christ our God, in this time of fear and turmoil we turn to you. Hear our fervent prayer. Have mercy on the souls of all the men and women who perished in the recent terrible calamities in New York, Washington and in Pennsylvania. And take them into the peace of your heavenly kingdom. Console their loved ones who grieve for their loss.

Lord, bring peace and stability to our country and to our world, and restore justice among your creatures through justice that comes only from you. By the mystery of your all-powerful and miraculous holy cross transfer the pain and devastation into life and hope. Let us not lose faith but bring us closer to you and embolden us in the assurance of your loving care and mercy for you are our God, the creator of heaven and earth, our hope and refuge. And to you we give glory, honor and worship, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and into the ages of ages. Amen.

(APPLAUSE)

ARAPAJIAN: And after my prayer as a human being I want to raise also my admiring to all American people to this great spirit and great optimism. And may God bless America.

(APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts.

(APPLAUSE)

REV. CALVIN BUTTS: This memorial service is for you and I hope that at this time you will take the hand of the one who is sitting on either side of you. You may know them, you may not, but if we're going to stand in unity we must unify by at least the joining of our hands and hearts. And I want you to turn to your neighbor and I want you tell them, together we'll get through this, together we'll get through this. Now let me tell you want I mean, in the harbor of New York there stands a lady. She is the Statute of Liberty. And I thank God today that while I regret and mourn the loss of life and the destruction of the World Trade Towers, that those cowards did not come near Lady Liberty. One her tablet...

(APPLAUSE)

BUTTS: ... listen, on her tablet are penned the words that have come to symbolize our nation. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores. Send these the homeless tempest tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

And I want to pause now and thank the Mayor of the City of New York for working so hard to keep that door golden and shining and bright for all of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

BUTTS: But listen, let me tell you this, we have said together we will get through it because we have come through it before. Madmen have assassinated four of our presidents, we came through it. Madmen have assembled missiles against our country, we called it the Cuban Crisis, we came through it. Someone erected a wall in eastern Europe trying to divide east from west, but the wall came down. We came through it.

(APPLAUSE)

BUTTS: And even though now we're facing cowards who hide behind the terror of secrecy, I want you to know that as a nation, even though the president said this will be a hard fight, there was a great poet who said, "Harder yet may be the fight and right may often yield to might. Wickedness a while may reign and Satan's cause may seem to gain. Oh, but there is a God who rules above and He's got a hand of power and a heart of love. And if I've right that God will fight my battles." We'll get through it.

(APPLAUSE)

BUTTS: I take my hat off to the firefighters and the police officers, and the emergency workers, and all of those brave women and men.

(APPLAUSE)

BUTTS: And listen, I want you to know America, and I know that our governor and our mayor and our president will see to it we will build a monument. Their names will be etched in granite. There will be an eternal flame burning. But I'll tell you what's more important than that, and that is that we show them as they look down upon us that we are not afraid today. Get back on the airplanes. Go back to work. Rebuild America. We are not afraid today. We are not afraid.

(APPLAUSE) BUTTS: One last thing, I have said together we'll get through it. We will get through it because we are the United States of America. And I will say this, we have died on every battlefield. We died in Normandy. We died on every battlefield. We died in the deserts of Arabia. We've died on every battlefield. We've marched through Tripoli. We've died on every battlefield that the world has ever known and our beloved sisters and brothers lost their lives on the battlefield of the World Trade Center. But listen, they are patriots of America.

And before we leave here today we must sing "Oh beautiful for patriots' dreams that sees beyond the years. Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears. Oh, America, America, God mend thine every flaw, and confirm they soul in self control, they liberty in law." Together we will get through it because we are the United States of America. God bless America.

(APPLAUSE)

BUTTS: Thank you, America. Listen, there's not a finer hour. And now I want to bring to you the Rev. Dr. David Benke who is President of the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church, the Missouri Senate. God bless you.

(APPLAUSE)

REV. DAVID BENKE, PRESIDENT OF THE ATLANTIC DISTRICT OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH: We'll stronger now than we were an hour ago. And you know, my sisters and brother, we're not nearly as strong as we're going to be. And the strength we have is the power of love. And the power of love you have received is from God, for God is love. So take the hand of one next to you know and join me in prayer on this field of dreams turned into God house of prayer.

Oh, Lord our God, we're leaning on you today. You are our tower of strength and we're leading on you. You are our mighty fortress, our God who is a rock. In you do we stand. Those of us who bear the name of Christ know that you stood so tall when you stooped down to send a Son through death and life to bring us back together. And we lean on you today, oh, Tower of Strength. Be with those who mourn the loss of loved ones. Bring them closer to them -- to us day by day.

Oh, Heavenly Father, we pray at this time that you might extend Jacob's ladder for those who ascended the stairways to save us as others escaped the fire and flames. Oh, Tower of Strength, open innocent and victimized hearts to the sacrifice of the innocent one. Poor your consolation upon the traumatized, especially our children.

Oh, Heavenly Father, unbind, unfear, unscorch, unsear our souls. Renew us in your free spirit. We're leaning on you our Tower of Strength. We find our refuge in the shadow of your shelter. Lead us from this place strong to bring forth the power of your love wherever we are.

In the precious name of Jesus, amen.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Next is Lee Greenwood, country singer, "God Bless America."

WINFREY: There are so many dignitaries with us today we cannot name them all. But I did not want to leave without acknowledging the former leader of this great nation, former President William Jefferson Clinton.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Like we said earlier, enormously popular in New York City. His office is now in Harlem at the northern edge of Manhattan Island. His wife, of course, the junior senator.

He's walked a very fine line these last two weeks, a very fine line.

WINFREY: His signature song has come to be an American anthem now especially in our troubled times. Here to sing, "God Bless the U.S.A.," Lee Greenwood.

LEE GREENWOOD, COUNTRY SINGER: (SINGING "GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.")

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Lee Greenwood, "God Bless the U.S.A." on a late Sunday afternoon in Yankee Stadium, New York. This memorial -- you can probably hear the chants, "U.S.A., U.S.A.," urged on by one of the big screens in center field, as Lee Greenwood leaves the stage.

WINFREY: Lee Greenwood.

Thank you, New York. You know, I believe that when you lose a loved one you gain an angel whose name you know. Over 6,000 and counting, angels added to the spiritual roster these past two weeks. It is my prayer that they will keep us in their sight with a direct line to our hearts. May we all leave this place and not let one single life have passed in vain. May we leave this place determined to now use every moment that we yet live to turn up the volume in our own lives, to create deeper meaning, to know what really matters. What really matters is who you love and how you love.

Everyone of those people who got up last Tuesday, no doubt thought it was going to be an ordinary and by 8:48 we all knew nothing was ordinary anymore. We all know for sure now how fragile, how uncertain yet extraordinary life can be. May we always remember. Thank you, New York.

Here with the benediction for today's service, his eminence Archbishop Demitrios, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America. Archbishop Demitrios will be followed by Pandit Roop Sukhram, of the Hindu Sharam (ph) Temple in Brooklyn, who will offer a Hindu prayer.

(APPLAUSE) ARCHBISHOP DEMITRIOS, GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHBISHOP IN AMERICA: Let us bow our heads in prayer. Almighty God, God of our salvation, who alone works wonders, look down upon us with mercy and compassion, and out of your enduring love hear us and have mercy on us. Oh, Lord, we have gathered on this day in your presence to remember those who were taken from us, to comfort those who are grieving, to find strength for the tasks that are before us, and to seek wisdom and peace in this difficult hour in the life of our city and our nation.

Again we ask give rest to the departed souls of the innocent victims and to those who lost their lives in the heroic attempt to save others on September 11, may their memory be eternal. Further, as we have offered here today, may be continue in our prayers and service to the families who have experienced such great loss and sorrow. And our great physician bring comfort and peace to them through your divine presence and in our acts of ministry.

We give thanks to you, oh, Lord, for in your mercy you have filled our hearts with love and compassion. The sacrifice, generosity and concern of all people throughout the world has been a visible sign of the bonds that lead us to you. Continue, Lord, to grant to us from your inexhaustible power the strength to meet the challenges and needs of the days to come.

We give thanks to you, oh, God, for the enduring peace that you have given to us from above. In the assurance of your guiding presence may we seek divine wisdom so that our decisions and our deeds reveal our love for justice and life for one another and for you. For you are the help and victory and salvation of all of those who place their hope in you and to you we offer praise, honor and glory, now and forever and until the ages of ages. Amen.

(APPLAUSE)

PANDIT ROOP SUKHRAM: (SPEAKING UNIDENTIFIED LANGUAGE). Brothers and sisters of earth, I great you in the name of the Glorious Father God. Someone once said that no nature form has ever brought such destruction on the face of this planet as the humankind. This statement, with the recent tragedy, clearly demonstrates how humankind can become a lethal weapon.

On September 11, we have seen two kinds of humans. We have seen the humankind who would go to any length, giving their own lives to hurt others. And yes, we have seen kinder humans, who sacrificed their lives in an effort to save others.

(APPLAUSE)

SUKHRAM: To the families who have lost loved ones or are missing someone that is not accounted for, we bow our heads and we pray.

(SPEAKING UNIDENTIFIED LANGUAGE)

For oh, Lord, may you lead them from darkness to light and from death to immortality. Take these souls and bring your light with them, that they may find everlasting peace. As a child, I remember my father voicing this very short poem to me, and all week long it came to my mind. "Here we are all together, as we sing our song of victory and sadness. Here we are, thoughts together, as we pray we will always be. Join them and sing. Let us celebrate liberty and freedom hand-in-hand. Keep the fire burning."

America, we shall prevail. America, we shall prevail. Today we pray.

(SPEAKING UNIDENTIFIED LANGUAGE)

Give me the devotion, give us the knowledge. Give us the strength. This is a dawn of a new horizon, a new reality. An evil that is quite beyond the imagination of any sane, God-fearing individual has descended upon us.

But the same grit which has sustained us and withstood wars waged against this great nation for centuries shall declare us victors once again.

Thus, we must stand together to conquer this evil which threatens the very foundation of our freedom. We must support our president, we must support our leaders, and we must support our law enforcement agencies in their endeavor to bring the guilty to justice. We must stand together, for remember these final words: A nation's power lies only in the strength of unity. God bless you all!

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: And now the final moments of this memorial here in Yankee Stadium, the singing of "America the Beautiful."

WINFREY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Marc Anthony.

BROWN: Singer Marc Anthony making his way to the stage. Two and a half hours after the beginning of "A Prayer for America."

(APPLAUSE)

MARC ANTHONY, SINGER (SINGING "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL")

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Singer Marc Anthony and thousands more. The flag in left field being raised to full staff.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: CNN's coverage "Spirit of America" continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: People filing outside of Yankee Stadium now. Stadium got about half full. Slow to arrive, but it filled up to I would 20,000, 25,000 people who for two and a half hours heard prayers and songs, and cried a lot through it all.

This service was broadcast to several other stadium locations in the outer boroughs of New York. Yankee Stadium is in the Bronx. It was broadcast out at Staten Island as well. Richard Roth is out there -- Richard.

ROTH: Yes, Aaron. I think the attendance here, one would say, was smaller than expected on this sunny Sunday afternoon, but still very poignant for those several hundred who were inside the stadium watching by remote transmission. And it was very painful also, because they sat in the stands here at Staten Island, New York and looked directly on the Manhattan skyline minus the World Trade Towers.

One police officer just said he found it a little difficult to stand guard here and watch over the site. He also thought that it was a little too soon perhaps to have this type of memorial service, but other people we talked to said it helped. Many of them had lost friends, particularly firemen, and lot of other people who were here with their children said they wanted to bring their kids here, they said, to learn and to see what had happened here in American history -- Aaron.

BROWN: The Staten Island has a large police and fire community. One of the organizers told us, we mentioned at the beginning of our program today, that they really had no idea how many people would come. They didn't plan it like a political event. They just felt if people wanted it here, it was here. If they wanted to go play on a Sunday afternoon, that's fine too, if they wanted to watch the ball games.

But if they wanted it, the city felt a responsibility to have it here, and here it was, and it was quite a remarkable afternoon.

Martin Savidge has been around the stadium, and he joins us now -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: Well, Aaron, as I watched that service there, I was struck by really two words that may seem very much opposed to each other, but yet is symbolic what is the United States -- those words are diversity and unity.

You saw so many faces from so many different races and different places, backgrounds and faiths, and yet they were all holding hands, united in voice, and at times sharing tears together, and perhaps nicest of all to see the occasional smile that was on a person's face.

You know, we talk about a plume of smoke that has hung over lower Manhattan from the disaster of the World Trade Center. It was really a cloud that extended far beyond the horizon of New York. It covered much of the United States. It was a cloud of fear and it was a cloud of grief. This service would seem to go a long way to try to dissipate that cloud by reminding many people in this nation not just of the tragedy but what it is they stand for, what it is they are about, and how even in perhaps the darkest of hours they still can have the brightest of moments -- Aaron. BROWN: Former President Clinton, you can see surrounded by his security detail. Mrs. Clinton, Senator Clinton -- I would say next to the mayor, it is former president who has generated the most excitement when he comes near the people who have gathered here. And I cannot see who he is talking to. He is obviously talking to someone down there.

We said earlier that the former president has walked a very fine line here. He is a New Yorker, he has offices here, yet he is not the president. He is the former precedent. Yet anything he does creates quite a stir. He made a brief television appearance in the first week after the September 11 tragedy, but other than that -- let me check that -- he actually went to the Armory at one other point as well in that first week, but other than that he has stayed clearly several steps back leaving the stage to President Bush.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: But you can hear down below us -- I believe you can hear the people, the applause as the former president and the first lady, Senator Clinton -- habits die hard -- Senator Clinton leave the third base dugout. And I believe we will actually hear the words of former president a little bit later.

Mayor Giuliani, as we have said, the mayor was really heading toward the difficult end of his eights years in office. He had been sick, he battled prostate cancer, he had a run for the Senate that never quite got offer the ground because of the cancer treatment, and he has been involved in a very messy divorce that was tabloid fodder for months. All of that now a chapter gone.

The mayor, who is writing the last chapter of his mayoralty in New York, has ridden it grandly. He has been everywhere. He has been accessible to everyone -- transportation secretary in the background there we see -- he has been accessible to everyone. It is hard to figure when he slept, when he has rested. Certainly hasn't rested much.

And he has a special bond with the police and the fire departments here. He has been a vocal defender of them through some difficult times. The police department, as we suspect many of you know, has had a couple of difficult and nasty incidents in the last couple of years, and the mayor has had to defend the bulk of the police department -- Don King, the fight promoter on the center of your screen there -- he has defended the vast majority of police officers.

And as we said earlier, his uncles was a New York City fireman in Brooklyn, so he has always had a special bond to the New York City fire department, and he said a week ago at a fire department ceremony, he looked out to all of the firemen and women gathered there, and said, "you all, you all are my heroes." In that, no one doubts the mayor.

People file out as we head toward 6:00 Eastern time. One of these late summer Sundays in New York. Admiral Robert Natter just on the upper left of your screen, who is the Atlantic commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet.

Marty Savidge -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Well, you were talking about Mayor Giuliani, and as we know when this tragedy occurred here in the city of New York, there was an election that was under way and then brought to a very quick halt.

One of the issues that has been brought up at a number of news conferences that the mayor holds on a daily basis to inform the public, the New York media had been asking whether or not the mayor or people supporting the mayor might try to introduce into the legislature of the state of New York some way to overcome the term limits issue. Any time political questions came up about his future, about that possibility, he quickly said, "this is not the time and this is not the place to talk about that," and moved onto the next subject.

It is expected that even when he leaves office, he will probably be placed at the head of some oversight committee that has to deal with the cleanup and recovery effort. So he will continue to have a very guiding role, as some people like to refer to him as General Rudy. As he heard, he was referred to today as the mayor of America.

BROWN: Well, I would dare say the mayor can have just about any job he wants in the city, except mayor. And I might just add, he in some cases says this isn't the time to talk about it, but on "LARRY KING" last week he certainly did not rule out the idea that he would be interested in another term.

This is a guy who is a New Yorker. He was born in many ways to be the mayor of New York. He has the right temperament I think, even as people may not necessarily always agree with him -- they don't -- but he is a New Yorker, and this was his town, and this was his moment.

CNN's coverage "Spirit of America" will continue after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: As the orchestra now filing out of Yankee Stadium, most of the people who were here this afternoon filing out.

We said several hours ago that this stadium is the place for most of the last century where New York came to forget the most difficult times. During the Depression, Ruth and Gehrig, just before and during World War II, the great Yankee teams of that time -- DiMaggio, Romik (ph) at center field, and then later Mickey Mantle -- it was always Yankee Stadium, this wonderful, old and historic place, where the city came to forget the worst of what was out there and celebrate the best.

Today, it was a very different moment. Today, the city came to Yankee Stadium to remember -- it's 6,000, more than that, lost sons and daughters, to honor its firefighters and police officers.

The Yankees will come back here on Tuesday, but it won't be the same stadium. It will look the same, it just won't be the same.

Out on Staten Island, Richard Roth -- Richard.

ROTH: Yes, Aaron. You mentioned the Yankees right now -- it is a bittersweet moment, of course. They are playing right now Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York," a theme song you hear inside Yankee Stadium, especially after a Yankee victory, and there have been a lot of those over the last few years.

Perhaps many will consider this day a victory, a sign of unity here in New York and the United States. This Staten Island baseball stadium, a new stadium, it has emptied out now, several hundreds people here, and the view hazy over my shoulder of that skyline that people sat here and watched without the Twin Towers.

I thought very briefly noting -- the prayer service, the biggest ovation here at this remote site for Mayor Giuliani, standing ovation. And perhaps some of the comments that got the strongest reception here, the commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Natter, when he said, "you picked the wrong city, you picked on the wrong country."

Also, Bette Midler, I think the most moving, with her famous song, "Wind Beneath My Wings," from the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) movie. A lot of tears shed here inside the Staten Island Baseball Stadium, and a lot of people here glad they were here. Some said -- they all said it helped, but there were still a little bit stunned.

Many carrying roses, carnations, filing out of the stadium, into the early Sunday evening night -- Aaron.

BROWN: Well, it's not surprising the mayor would be especially warmly received on Staten Island. That has always been -- it's perhaps the most Republican part of New York -- a Democratic city, but the mayor has a political base there, and it's not surprising that he would be warmly received.

I -- a couple of just quick observations: I thought that when the Harlem Boys and Girls Choir sang "We Shall Overcome," you could feel time stopping at Yankee Stadium. You looked around, and no one was talking to one another. They were so into the moment, for lack of a better term.

And Calvin Butts, the Harlem preacher, former congressman, with the great rhythms and cadences of the African-American churches across the country, an absolutely stunning moment. It sounded more like a sermon than a reflection as it was billed, but everyone stopped and heard it all.

CNN's coverage of "America's New War" continues in a moment.

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