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07163 March 20, 2007
Thousands gather in Washington for ecumenical war protest
Six former GA moderators among Presbyterian contingent
by Eva Gray Stimson
WASHINGTON - Calling the war in Iraq "an offense against God" and warning that America is in danger of losing its soul, speakers at an ecumenical "Christian Peace Witness for Iraq" in Washington, D.C., March 16 drew thunderous applause.
Some 4,000 people from 48 states braved rain, sleet, snow and bitter cold to participate in the event - a prayer service in the National Cathedral marking the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, followed by a candlelight procession to the White House.
While hundreds stood vigil past midnight in Lafayette Park across from the White House, 222 of the marchers crossed Pennsylvania Avenue, in a deliberate act of civil disobedience, to stand and kneel on the White House grounds. Considered a potential security threat, according to organizers of the action, they were arrested, charged with failure to obey a lawful order and crossing a police line, and fined $100 each.
Among those participating in the ecumenical event were six former General Assembly moderators of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly. Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator of the 2004 Assembly, helped organize the event and was one of those arrested.
Ufford-Chase said later that he expected most of those arrested to pay the fine - as he did - but some might choose to plead "not guilty" and pursue the matter in court.
Ufford-Chase, who is executive director of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, told those packing the National Cathedral that Christians were gathering for similar services in "nearly 200 churches across the country." An overflow crowd of about 600 watched the service by video simulcast at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, just a few blocks from the White House.
The Rev. Jim Wallis, president and executive director of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, challenged Christians to resist the war as an act of faith. "The war in Iraq was not just a well-intended mistake or only mismanaged," he said. "This war is morally wrong and was from the very start. ... This war is also an offense against God."
Because U.S. leaders have used Christian language and symbols in promoting the war, Wallis said, "millions of people around the world sadly believe this is a Christian war."
He called on U.S. Christians to "repent of this war," which "has hindered the cause of Christ around the world," adding that ending the war in Iraq will take more than politics.
"It will take faith and prayer. This war in Iraq is based ultimately on fear," Wallis said, "and Jesus says that only perfect love will cast out fear."
This fear, he declared, "must be exorcised as the demon it is. This fear must be cast out!"
The Rev. Raphael Gamaliel Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, spiritual home of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., reminded listeners of "Dr. King's witness against the triple evils of racism, poverty and war.
"America needs our moral witness," he said. "Congress by its lack of action [to prevent or end the war] has proved itself totally morally inept. ... On both sides of the aisle the wrong question is being asked: What are we going to do to keep from losing the war?"
Citing the words of Jesus - "that radical rabbi from a ghetto named Nazareth" - Warnock declared: "The real danger is not that we will lose the war. The real danger is that America may well lose its soul."
As evidence, he noted that America has "billions of dollars available to bomb Baghdad, but never enough to rebuild New Orleans.
"We do need a surge in troops," Warnock said. "We need a surge in troops in the nonviolent army of the Lord."
Celeste Zappa, a member of First United Methodist Church in Germantown, PA, described the agony of losing her oldest son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, in an explosion in Baghdad in April 2004. "I'm here tonight," she said, "as a witness to the true cost of war."
Leaders representing 10 Christian traditions - from Catholic to Lutheran to Adventist to the Pentecostal Charismatic Peace Fellowship - led the congregation in a litany for peace.
The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the PC(USA) General Assembly, had been scheduled to read Scripture at the service, but his flight from Louisville was canceled because of bad weather. The Rev. Susan Andrews, moderator of the 2003 Assembly, replaced him for the Bible reading.
Organizers of the event said snow and ice across the northern states made it impossible for some would-be participants to get to Washington, including five busloads of Ohio Mennonites who had been scheduled to attend.
Ufford-Chase said he and the other event planners made last-minute changes "to accommodate God's idea of good weather." Fortunately, they had planned for the marchers to use battery-operated candles and flashlights rather than real candles. Buses were available to transport those unable to walk the 3.5 miles to the White House.
As he watched the weather steadily worsen, Ufford-Chase said, he worried that "nobody would come." But scores of people began gathering outside the cathedral more than an hour before the worship service, huddling under umbrellas in freezing rain, waiting for the doors to open.
In his welcome the Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, dean of the National Cathedral, told those who came, "All the powers of heaven and earth have been trying to stop you from getting here."
Besides Ufford-Chase and Andrews, other G.A. moderators in attendance were Harriet Nelson (1984), the Rev. Herbert Valentine (1991), the Rev. Douglas Oldenburg (1998) and the Rev. Syngman Rhee (2000). Also present was Arline Taylor, whose late husband J. Randolph Taylor was moderator of the 1983 Assembly.
Nelson traveled all the way from Napa, CA, to participate. She said she and her husband, John, had marched against the war before it began and were "saddened and distressed by the lack of progress to bring it to any kind of conclusion."
The two decided to make the trip to the nation's capital, she said, because "Washington is the center of decision-making. Perhaps being here we might have an opportunity to make an impact."
Editor's note: For a resolution and study guide on Iraq approved by the PC(USA)'s 2004 General Assembly, download the pdf file from the Web site.
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