“No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.” Barbara Ehrenreich

“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” Jose Narosky

“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.” John Lennon

See More PhotosMy 17-year-old son Ben and I spent the evening of Friday, March 16^th in the Washington National Cathedral along with nearly 3,000 other people praying for peace on the eve of the 4^th anniversary of the war in Iraq.

“Christian Peace Witness for Iraq” was organized by Sojourners and a vast array of Christian organizations from across the country including Adventist Peace Fellowship, American Friends Service Committee, Catholic Peace Fellowship, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Faith in Public Life, Pax Christi USA, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Lutheran Peace Fellowship, Methodist Federation for Social Action, the Quakers and many other faithful seekers of peace who wished to join together and pray for peace and a swift end to war. We were bound together by faith, frustration, and love of God, belief that a higher power can conquer politics and that prayer can heal our hurts and make us whole again. The pure love that encompassed us all that night is difficult for me to put into words. So many times I have been brought so low and felt so hopeless and lost that I have literally laid down at the foot of the cross and asked God to lift me up and he/she (insert your higher power here) has always been there for me and on this night I felt surrounded not only by this all encompassing love but by the power of his faithful servants and their love and strength and once again I felt uplifted and hopeful in the face of a seemingly hopeless situation.

I also felt the searing pain of this four-year old war. I was forced to confront the pain and loss of everyone who has been sacrificed in this war. Mrs. Celeste Zappala bravely rose to speak of her fallen son Army Sgt. Sherwood R. Baker, killed in Baghdad, Iraq in at age 30. Mrs. Zappala noted that 2,483 more soldiers have died since her precious son left this world in 2004, creating an endless sea of tears, grief that has no end.

Candles were lit, voices were raised in song, children joined with grandparents and parents to pray and rejoice in the Lord and read from the Bible and solemnly ask for wisdom in these troubled times. The Rev. Doctor Raphael G. Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia provided inspiration and levity with his all too brief remarks telling the congregation “America has lost its soul.” The Reverend Warnock said that “American needs our moral witness when a president presses forward with an unjust war and ignores public sentiment to stop and our Congress is too politically compromised to press forward to take action, it becomes the public’s duty to bear witness.” Pastor Warnock said politicians seem overly concerned with losing the war rather than saving American lives, he urged that we reframe the question to focus on not losing the war but the threat that America may lose its soul in the process. When we begin to spend more money on weapons of mass destruction than on social justice, Warnock says there is a real danger of losing our sacred connection to our soul and he says no amount of homeland security can provide this connection. Pastor Warnock posed the pressing question of priorities…why are there billions of dollars to bomb Baghdad but not enough money to rebuild New Orleans? Reverend Warnock called this a tragic symbol of America’s misplaced priorities. He urged everyone present in the cathedral that night to tie together the pressing issues of racism, poverty and war to redeem the soul of America. He asked for a surge in the troops in the Army of our Lord, a surge in consciousness and a surge in truth telling for a change. As you can imagine, Rev. Warnock brought the congregation to its feet many times.

The final speaker of the evening was the man who brought us all together, the head of Sojourners, Reverend Jim Wallis, the author of “Gods Politics” and my own personal hero. Wallis took to the podium to denounce the war in Iraq as a personal affront. Calling the war personal to the Iraqis, to those who have lost loved ones, to those in the cathedral and as Christians a personal matter of faith. Wallis called the war in Iraq an offense to the poor and an offense against God. He called on those present to begin to act not just by politics but also by faith. He said politics led us to war but it is unlikely to lead us out. Wallis said it would take faith to lead us out. He said the deep fear that has paralyzed the nation since 9-11 must stop, only faith can save us now. He called it sad that some people believe this is a “Christian” war. Wallis said this war was wrong from the beginning and it’s still wrong. Following Wallis’s rousing remarks we were given instructions on our four-mile candle lit procession to the White House.

When the doors of the cathedral opened all I could see was snow swirling around the lights and I felt the cold wind cutting through me. But everyone including Ben and I were fired up and ready for our march and so, we collected our battery-operated lights and marched down lovely neighborhood streets accompanied by D.C.’s finest in the bitter cold. The snow and the cold didn’t deter attendance, I would estimate that at least 2,000 marched singing, chanting and talking all the way to the White House. I had never had the opportunity to stroll down Embassy Row and we enjoyed that, we made it a point to wave at the people in the windows and many of the neighbors came out to greet us and wave in support or peer at us our of curiosity. When we reached Lafayette Park you could feel the excitement start to build and when we caught a glimpse of the White House in the distance we realized the long walk in the cold with all of our new friends was almost over. Even though I knew George W. and Laura weren’t home, I still felt like we made our point standing outside with our signs in the dark, chanting and singing for peace. It felt good to do something, to stand outside President Bush’s house and say we want peace and we want it now.

Next up…the rally at the Lincoln Memorial and the counter demonstration the gathering of the Eagles.