Washington -- President Bush led the nation in a day of prayer and remembrance Friday, mixing a message of sympathy with a call for unity and a vow of vengeance after the worst acts of terrorism on American soil.

"Today we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called the warm courage of national unity," the president said at a noon service in the soaring sanctuary of Washington National Cathedral.
Similar services were held throughout Washington and the rest of the country, and church leaders anticipate full pews this weekend.

"Our unity is a kinship of grief and a steadfast resolve to prevail against our enemies. And this unity against terror is now extending across the world," Bush said.

Four of five living former presidents -- Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George Bush and Bill Clinton -- attended the service, as did members of the cabinet, Supreme Court and Congress and numerous foreign ambassadors. Vice President Dick Cheney, who is next in the line of succession, remained at Camp David in Maryland, where he was taken Thursday afternoon.
Former Vice President Al Gore, Bush's rival in November's contentious election, attended with his wife, Tipper, and a daughter.

The president, arriving with first lady Laura Bush, appeared to fight tears as he greeted his father with a quick handshake. Many of those attending the service wore red, white and blue ribbons on their lapels.

The invitation-only service took place under heavy security. A downpour soaked those who arrived early, but the skies began to clear and the sun peeked out by the time Bush spoke.
Before the service started, the ornate sanctuary, which features massive limestone pillars and intricate stained-glass windows, was amazingly silent as hundreds of attendees filed in and took their seats.

"On Tuesday, our nation was attacked with deliberate and massive cruelty. We have seen images of fire and ashes and bent steel," Bush said. "Now come the names, the lists of casualties we are only beginning to read."

The president noted "eloquent acts of sacrifice" that Americans have undertaken to respond to the devastating attacks. They included, he said, a priest who died giving last rites to a firefighter and two workers who carried a disabled stranger 68 floors to safety.

The president said the nation had been tested but not broken by the terrorists' actions against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

"Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history. But our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil," he said.

"War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger."

Bush left little doubt that America would respond with force, a message the administration has delivered with increasing forcefulness as the week wore on.

"They have attacked America because we are freedom's home and defender," he said. "And the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time."

And he added: "This was a war started by others at a time unknown to us. It will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing."

The Rev. Billy Graham, who has advised many presidents in times of crisis, said the nation will never forget what happened Sept. 11.

"The spirit of the nation will not be defeated by their twisted and diabolical schemes," Graham said.

The very appearance of Graham, 82, spoke to the gravity of the national crisis. He has turned down many recent invitations due to badly failing health.

"A tragedy like this could have torn our country apart. Instead, it has united us," Graham said.

He said the incidents have shaken the faith of many. "You may even be angry with God. I want to assure you that God understands these feelings that you have," he said.

Comparing the resilience of human nature to the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Graham said Americans have a "choice whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation, or (to) become stronger through all of this struggle to rebuild on a solid foundation. And that foundation is our trust in God."

The congregation seemed to draw solace from opera singer Denyce Graves' renditions of "America the Beautiful" and "The Lord's Prayer." The service ended with a heartily sung version of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Students from nearby American University and others lined Wisconsin Ave. outside the cathedral, some listening to the service on their car radios. Several young people sat on the curb, heads resting on their arms folded over their knees.

A large banner held by several silent protesters read "No war, no retaliation" and another said "We mourn all victims of violence" and another, "Help Save America -- God Bless Her."
The ecumenical service was praised by Sheik Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America. Kabbani said the White House invited him to attend.
"Every terrorist has to be stopped in every way," said Kabbani, adding that he warned the State Department in January 1999 that such attacks were being plotted but was ignored.
"They are not only damaging this country, but they are damaging the name of Islam," Kabbani said.

As he spoke, a woman, her face twisted with anguish, slowly moved down the sidewalk with the help of two companions.

Outside the church, two women watched the dignitaries load buses and said they were comforted by the service, which they viewed on TV at a nearby apartment.

"We told our boss we're cutting work today for this," said Mara Stengler, a social worker with red, white and blue fingernails. "And now, we're going to donate blood."
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