Maryland InterFaith Peace Vigil January 2007
PHOTO CREDIT: George Hagegeorge    TO SEE MORE PHOTOS CLICK HERE
On Sunday, January 28, 2007, I was blessed to participate in the Interfaith Vigil of Commemoration and Commitment to Peace service held at the Cathedral of the Incarnation here in Baltimore.Â
This was an effort spearheaded by the American Friends Service Committee and I was asked to serve with others to plan this event. Under the umbrella name: Marylanders of Faith for Peace and Justice; this coalition was made up of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Congregation Beit Tikvah, Homewood Friends Meeting, Maryland Christians for Peace and Justice, Murphy Initiative for Justice and Peace, Muslim Cultural Center of Baltimore, Pax Christi of Baltimore, The Presbytery of Baltimore, Tikkun/Network of Spiritual Progressives, Viva House Catholic Worker, and Young Clergy for Social Change.
The service was powerful with participants from various Faiths who spoke to that unifying and universal message of PEACE. We came together to commemorate the lives of over 3,000 U.S. Service Personnel killed in Iraq and the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed or wounded.Â
This is the type of crowd and these are the types of efforts necessary to help build the groundswell of voices who will demand that the United States Government and its president George W. Bush bring an end to the ongoing occupation of Iraq. Even as I type this, the U.S. war machine is attempting to engineer a pretense for war with Iran. Instead of challenging unverified reports from anonymous U.S. officials or presenting peaceful images of that sovereign nation; mainstream media (called the “Fourth Branch of the Government” by rapper/activist Immortal Technique) is going along with the war machine’s propaganda without question.Â
We’ll need many more events like this to reclaim the direction of our government’s foreign policy. I fear that the only way that we’ll take back our government and defeat its never-ending appetite for war is with sustained prayer, organized people, and the power of the purse strings.
As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to debate Bush’s “new” Iraq policy and the Senate debates about whether there should be a debate about it, I am hopeful that those in Congress would find the courage to execute the will of the people. This won’t come without consequence and great pressure, but there are times when we are required to stand tall on the sure foundation of truth and justice no matter what the cost. I am reminded of the words of Senator George McGovern who in 1970 proposed an amendment to end the war in Vietnam. Before the vote on the amendment he said the following:
“Every senator in this chamber is partly responsible for sending 50,000 young Americans to an early grave. This chamber reeks of blood. Every Senator here is partly responsible for that human wreckage at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval and all across our land - young men without legs, or arms, or genitals, or faces or hopes.There are not very many of these blasted and broken boys who think this war is a glorious adventure. Do not talk to them about bugging out, or national honor or courage. It does not take any courage at all for a congressman, or a senator, or a president to wrap himself in the flag and say we are staying in Vietnam, because it is not our blood that is being shed. But we are responsible for those young men and their lives and their hopes.And if we do not end this damnable war those young men will some day curse us for our pitiful willingness to let the Executive carry the burden that the Constitution places on us.
So before we vote, let us ponder the admonition of Edmund Burke, the great parliamentarian of an earlier day: “A contentious man would be cautious how he dealt in blood.”
I urge all people of Faith and/or Conscience to do your part to end foreign occupation of Iraq (militarily and corporately) and to block Bush’s weapon of mass distraction in the form of “war talk” directed at Iran.
July 6th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
My brother, I respect you very much and I admire you for your work in the Lord. I do know you personally but I would like to remain anonymous because of personal reasons. I have immensely enjoyed reading your blogs and I intend to continue even if I do disagree with some of your approaches. I am an ordained minister and I believe that we have to be careful when we try to mix our socio-political and cultural views with those of God. Let me give you some examples:
1. God is no respecter of persons. We can help our fellow man without having to publicly and “unashamedly†boast our “blacknessâ€. Doing that just alienates other races and cultures and promotes the sad truth that most of churches continue to be segregated. If segregation was immoral and ungodly for everything else, ie. restaurants, movies, workplace, restrooms, how can we justify segregation in the church? I love my people and I am proud to be black, however, I do NOT focus on my blackness. I focus on my humanity and the fact that before a righteous God, we are all the same. The church needs to be careful. QUESTION - Where were our black “so-called†mega church pastors when Jerry Falwell died or when Billy Graham’s wife died… I imagine they will show up in full force when someone like Louis Farrakhan exits the scene… I hear more quotes in my church from Brother Malcolm X and then I hear nothing but criticism, among dead silence, when Ruth Graham and Dr. Falwell passed away. When we make an obvious decision to be absent to events such as these, we, as black clergy, become just as racist in our behavior and as extreme in our partisanship as those who we criticize… Think about it…
2. To vehemently bash Israel for their treatment of Palestine is dangerously crossing a line that God has crossed. God’s Word is clear and emphatic concerning a nation’s support of His people. As far as their sins are concerned, they are God’s to address. I understand your points and I agree to an extent and I am concerned. However, it is not the Christian church’s job, nor has God sanctioned the church to issue any PUBLIC criticism of His chosen people. We are to pray for them and we are to stand with them. God will handle their atrocities in due time. He has a plan to reconcile that nation to Himself but in the meantime, he will reward the nations that stand with Israel during His Millenial reign.
3. We must hold MINISTERS accountable for their witness. All of us have issues but we are held to an extremely HIGH standard. I am concerned that we seem to focus only on the WHITE CONSERVATIVE politicians and our disdain for them and we ignore the arrogance, intentional sin and the financial looting that some of our black pastors perpetrate on their congregations. Contrary to what many believe, God does allow us to judge. He just tells us to remember ourselves before we do. As my uncle always says, who is a pastor as well, WE ARE CALLED TO BE FRUIT-INSPECTORS. Some fruit out there is ROTTEN to the core.
4. Finally, we must be careful how we denegrate the office of the President. I agree fully that we should be concerned and outraged with a lot of the activity of this present administration. However, other than proclaiming it to be a “private matterâ€, where was the black church when Clinton was defaming the office with his abominations? We become hypocrites in the public eye. We need to hold up the banner and the standard all around. We cannot be partisan and we cannot ignore God’s command for us to respect and honor those in charge of us, civically. To hear preachers call the president and vice president a “jokeâ€, a “moronâ€, etc…, does not help our witness but draws it into scrutiny even further. It does not matter what they do, the questions are WHAT SHOULD WE DO and HOW SHOULD WE GO ABOUT MAKING IT BETTER. Which leads me to one more observation… We had a great opportunity in MD to elect a BLACK senator… Where was the activism then? Where were the invitations given from our so-called “black mega churches†to support this brother? If we are so pro-black, where was our support of Him? But NO, we elect more of the same in Ben Cardin and never gave Steele a chance. ALL BECAUSE OF HIS PARTY AFFILIATION…
Some things to ponder…
I love you in the Lord…
July 6th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
One more thing… I noticed you used the term “other faiths” concerning those who worked along with you at this “Interfaith” event at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. Thank God for the support they lended. However, the WORD of GOD states clearly that there is ONE LORD, ONE FAITH and ONE BAPTISM… In my book, that eliminates ISLAM, BUDDHISM, ect. from being called a “faith”…
Advice from an elder minister…
July 6th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Things keep crossing my mind… This is my last…
We, as a people, especially a great majority of black churches, have also continued to vote on platforms and for candidates that endorse SIN. Homosexuality, abortion, same-sex marriages, etc. are grave sins against God. How do we justify this????