wfn.org | United Methodist missionary to perform peace walk

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov.  22, 2002 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
    10-71B{542}

By Cathy L. Tollefson*

TACOMA, Wash. (UMNS) - As a response to global violence and the growing
threat of war, Adam Bray, 23, will walk 95 miles from Seattle to Olympia to
show his support for peacemakers. 
 
Bray is a United Methodist social justice missionary working for the campus
ministry program at the church-related University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. 
In his position as social justice coordinator for the Center for Spirituality
and Justice, Bray became overwhelmed with the magnitude of peace and hunger
issues. After months of local actions and letters to Congress, he grew
frustrated and decided to make a bolder statement.  

Inspired by the 211-mile peace walk from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. by
Mennonite pastoral intern Peter Eash-Scott, Bray felt called to do a similar,
yet smaller, walk in Washington state. He will start his four-day trek
Thanksgiving morning.	  

Though initially a response to the threat of war between Iraq and the United
States, Bray's peace walk will also focus on violence in many parts of the
world, including Colombia, the Palestinian territories and Israel, and the
United States.	
And if walking 25 miles a day isn't enough, Bray plans to eat the rations
allotted to an average Iraqi citizen, consisting of meager amounts of rice,
flour, oil, beans and cheese. The Mennonite Central Committee published the
Iraqi rations in 1999 in response to sanctions on Iraq.

"I'm beginning the walk on Thanksgiving morning for personal reasons more
than anything," Bray says. "I think I am guilty for taking what I have for
granted. I rarely consider how lucky I am for having access to necessary
things like food, shelter, water and the luxury of transportation. What
better way to harness genuine thankfulness for what I have than to take some
time experiencing the hunger and weariness that most of the world feels on a
day-to-day basis?"

Bray invites people to join him along the Nov. 28-Dec. 1 walk, whether for a
few hours, a few days or the entire trip. "I hope that many people will join
me in proclaiming that violence is not the answer," he says. "You cannot end
fear and suffering in this world by causing more fear and suffering. Every
religion and every great philosopher and prophet has emphasized this: you can
only defeat evil with good. The movement towards peace starts in the hearts
of individuals and requires tough love and tireless work in the name of
peace."

The Peace Walk will follow U.S. Route 99 to Tacoma and then smaller roads to
Olympia. Bray plans on spending nights in various churches along the way.
More information is available at www.tacomapjh.org/peacewalk or by contacting
Bray at (253) 879-2846 or abray@ups.edu.
# # #

*Tollefson is the communications coordinator in the University of Pugent
Sound's Office of Communications.

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United Methodist News Service
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http://umns.umc.org