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We joined in the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq service at the National Cathedral last night and marched down to the vigil at the White House. The service was inspiring and I appreciated the explicit Christian emphasis. Interfaith gatherings have their place, but there was something powerful about the fact that it was a Christian peace witness, that we were gathered there because of our faith...maybe because the war and US foreign policy have often been couched in language and imagery that has been misappropriated from Christianity. I appreciated the Jim Wallis soundbyte about how America is not the light and hope of the world -- Jesus Christ is the light and hope of the world. Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, spoke passionately about the moral dimension of the war. The greatest danger was not that America might lose this war, he said, but that America might lose its soul, and he contrasted all the money being dumped into an immoral war with the lack of money provided to rebuild New Orleans and care for the poor.

Also particulary moving were the series of parallelisms they put together, contrasting a biblical passage with a modern-day reflection (such as the two stories of a man being stripped, dressed in other clothes, laughed at, mocked and beaten...the first a gospel reading of Jesus before the crucifixion and the second a detainee's recounting of the treatment he received in Guantanamo).

It was amazing that the service held together so well considering the great diversity of churches that participated and people that attended. Apparently one group was driving from Washington State to attend and they were involved in an accident in Ohio which totaled their car--so they hitchhiked the rest of the way so they could be there. After the service we marched down to the White House and held a vigil there while a few hundred people engaged in civil disobedience in front of the White House.

I'll post a few lo-res images I snapped on my cell phone throughout the evening.

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Washington Post: Christians Gather in D.C. to Protest War

By SARAH KARUSH, Saturday, March 17, 2007; 9:53 AM
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Thousands of Christians prayed for peace at an anti-war service Friday night at the Washington National Cathedral, kicking off a weekend of protests around the country to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq.
...
John Pattison, 29, said he and his wife flew in from Portland, Ore., to attend his first anti-war rally. He said his opposition to the war had developed over time.

"Quite literally on the night that shock and awe commenced, my friend and I toasted the military might of the United States," Pattison said. "We were quite proud and thought we were doing the right thing."
He said the way the war had progressed and U.S. foreign policy since then had forced him to question his beliefs.

"A lot of the rhetoric that we hear coming from Christians has been dominated by the religious right and has been strong advocacy for the war," Pattison said. "That's just not the way I read my Gospel."

The ecumenical coalition that organized the event, Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, distributed 3,200 tickets for the service in the cathedral, with two smaller churches hosting overflow crowds. The cathedral appeared to be packed, although sleet and snow prevented some from attending.

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laryn - Update: God's Politics   | 68.165.246.xxx | Mar 19, 2007 (13:22:13) More Than 200 Arrested in Christian Peace Witness Quote: With much hard work and prayer - and despite frigid temperatures with rain and sleet - the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq was a moving and inspiring event. More than 3,000 people gathered at the Washington National Cathedral and then walked in a candlelight procession nearly four miles to Lafayette Park across from the White House, where more than 500 additional people (who had watched the service in an overflow location at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church) joined them. While the main group of people continued walking around the White House with candles, more than 200 crossed Pennsylvania Avenue to pray on the sidewalk and were arrested. Jim Wallis: Quote: And so we are here tonight, very simply and resolutely, to begin to end the war in Iraq. But not by anger, though we are angry; not just by politics, though it will take political courage. But by faith, because we are people of faith. Reply | Quote 0   0

laryn - Cathedral peace service   | 68.165.246.xxx | Mar 21, 2007 (11:28:25) The Cathedral has released photos and video of the vigil service: Click here via Reply | Quote 0   0

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.