Faith and Resistance at the White House

Sunday August 8, 2004

The venue was the White House at 11:00 a.m. Since Pennsylvania Avenue, the sorth face of the imperial palace has been completely closed to the people, we went to the south face of the building - the new "picture post card" zone. The sidewalk there is narrow but the same rules apply as applied to the north side of the property. Five of us - Liz McAlister, Scott Langley, Sheila Stumph, Susan Crane and Tom Feagley - set up a presence directly in view of the mansion. We held banners that read: "BUSH" "KILLING" "LYING" "PRACTICE PEACE." Immediately, they were confronted by Park Police and told to leave or face arrest. Tourists thronged the area. A few responded with hostility; many with thumbs up and gratitude. Meanwhile, the rest of the community established a presence on the elipse directly across from those in the "picture post card" zone. Back and forth, peacemakers called for peace and justice, using a prayer prepared for the occasion. Several tourists joined in the prayer, reading over our shoulders. The understanding was that resisters would remain in the area in front of the White House (some name it Blight House) for an hour at the end of which they would depart if not placed under arrest.

The spirit of the presence is best expressed by the prayer of the community... NO MORE WAR; NO MORE KILLING; NO MORE VICTIMS

We gather in a world at war, in a country committed to never-ending war. We gather to remember the atomic bombins of hiroshima and Nagasaki. We come, not to debate politics but to open our hearts to the Spirit of Love and Justice and to witness and pray for peace and justice. We gather to call forth peacemakers.

We gather in the spirit of those who have died - as victims of our wars and those who have died because they resisted war. On the anniversary of his death for justice and peace, we think of Franz Jaggerstatter. We pray that God will open the hearts and minds of all of us to a moral creativity that will bring peace without bombing and killing. We gather int he spirit of God who calls us to live in peace from generation to generation. We gather to call for peacemakers.

We gather because we must. We can't keep from singing. We can't keep from praying for an end to violence and the beginning of a new day for our children's children and us. We gather, linked in a special way to sisters and brothers in Hiroshima, in Nagasaki, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Palestine - all who stand under war and our bombs. We gather to call forth peacemakers.

The five peacemakers take up their position in front of the White House with their banners.

Tourists continue to photograph the Mansion and the demonstrators. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the tourists were out in great numbers.

The body of the demonstrators set up a presence directly across the roadway. "Wage Peace. Practice Nonviolence" was the first banner unfurled. Tourists joined the vigil and took spells of holding the banners.

A tourist stands with Tom Feagley for a photo. Others clear the space in front of the vigil.

The presence in the Elipse is filled out with the peace symbol in tie-die and the weather balloons holding up the call to "End All War" and the banner - "We Mourn all Victims of War!" Others held photos of the victims of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and smaller banners calling for justice and peace.

Officer Shannon tells Susan Crane that as soon as he has a sufficient police presence to hand, demonstrators will be given three warnings and then placed under arrest.

The most hideous moment of the day was the decision by Park Police to bring in two mounted officers to clear the side walk in preparation for making their arrests. It was a dangerous, vicious scene - horses pushing against unsuspecting tourists, pinning five against the barricade. At one point one horse lost its footing on the walk and nearly fell onto people. Enraged toursists joined the vigil across the street musing over what the U.S. of A. has come to.

The Park Police laughed about how easy it was to clear the sidewalk with the horses. They seemed utterly unconcerned about the wreckless endangerment of terrified tourists.

Arrests followed quickly - five minutes shy of the hour allotted to the vigil. The SWAT team took over. On the back of his shirt, one SWAT officer sported a skull and cross-bones and the words: "We create chaos in order to effect order!" They were less than gracious. They threatened Central Cell Block repeatedly but all five arrestees were released on citation some hours later with a court date of November 17th in Federal District Court in D.C.

The Community Affirmation - Recited Together - Repeated a Number of Times

We who remember the mushroom cloud of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
We whose lives are threatened by the nuclear cloud that terrorizes all life,
We who mourn the constant warring of this and the last century declare our hope in the future and commit our lives to peacemeaking.
We renew our belief in the holiness of the earth and the sanctity of all life.
We declare that we are at peace with all people of good will.
We affirm that our earth's security rests not in retaliation but
    In the justice of adequate housing and food
    In the justice of meaningful education and work,
    In the justice of an economic order that gives everyone access to the earth's abundance
    In the justice of human relationships, noursihed by cooperation,
    In the justice of safe, clearn and renewable energy instead of in the perils of nuclear power and war.
We affirm people over property, community over privatism,
Respect for others regardless of gender, race, sexual preference, religion or class.
We choose to be friends of the earth and of one another rather than exploiters and destroyers.
We choose to be peacemakers rather than peacekeepers,
We choose a nuclear free future, a weapons free future, and we will settle for nothing less.