Title: 'Church of the Brethren has a really good bumper sticker like that: R eflection on pray-in outside the White House June 12, 2006 Church of the Brethren News Service Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director 800-323-8039 ext. 260 -- cobnews@brethren.org
'THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN HAS A REALLY GOOD BUMPER STICKER LIKE THAT': REF LECTION ON `PRAY-INâ OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE
By Todd Flory
June 12, 2006 (Elgin, IL) -- "The Church of the Brethren has a really good b umper sticker like that. Have you seen those?" His right hand gripped mine i n a firm hand shake, his left index finger tapped the front of my shirt that read, "When Jesus said, âLove your enemies,â I think he pro bably meant donât kill them."
After telling the Reverend Tony Campolo that yes, I indeed had seen those bu mper stickers, we chatted for a few minutes before he had to take the stage for the Pray-In for Peace held outside of the White House in Lafayette Park on May 18, as part of the 2006 Spiritual Activism Conference.
Staff of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office attended the pray-in to show support and to be a part of the continued peace movement to end the war in Iraq, to prevent war in Iran, and to pray and work for peace in all areas of the world.
Rabbi Michael Lerner told the several hundred activists in attendance that t hey were not only praying for an end to war, but for a new spiritual vision for our society. He likened the pray-in to an announcement for the birth of a religious and spiritual left. Too often, he explained, the religious left has not portrayed its message to the public as effectively as the religious right has.
"There hasnât been a frame in the mindset (of the media) for the rel igious left, and weâre here to change that," Lerner said. "We need n ot only to say what weâre against, but what weâre for."
Amid chants of "Donât Iraq Iran," the peace movementâs recen t unofficial spokes-mom, Cindy Sheehan, spoke on the need for separation of church and state. She noted the frustration of using religion as justificati on for the governmentâs war actions. "You put your hand on the Bible and take an oath to the Constitution," Sheehan said. "You donât put your hand on the Constitution and take an oath to the Bible."
Sheehan also discussed the concept of borders and the US administrationâ €™s incessant use of "us" and "them" language. "This spiritual awakening tells us to tear down these walls. We need to erase these borders," she sai d. "When they use the rhetoric, âWe have to fight them over there, s o we donât have to fight them over here,â I ask them, â €˜What makes their babies less precious than our babies?â Peace isnât an absence of conflict; itâs solving the conflict nonv iolently."
Campolo was among the last to address the crowd, which heard around a dozen speakers from a variety of faith traditions. He urged a need for systemic ch ange and a deeper look into the causes of war and terrorism. "You don†™t get rid of terrorists by killing terrorists, any more than you get rid of malaria by killing mosquitoes, " he said. "You get rid of malaria by gett ing rid of the swamps that breed them."
The culture of war and how societies view each other and deal with conflict was at the heart of the pray-in, and in the hearts of the hundreds who turne d out to help ensure that peace becomes a societal and faithful reaction to conflict.
--Todd Flory is a Brethren Volunteer Service worker and a legislative associ ate at the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, a ministry of the Church of t he Brethren General Board.
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continui ng the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in c ommunity. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith trad itions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its 30 0th anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United S tates and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil, the D ominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.
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For more information contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Director of News Services Church of the Brethren General Board 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 800-323-8039 ext. 260 cobnews@brethren.org
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