September 11th: A day for PEACE. A day for COMMUNITY.
On September 11th, I was blessed to commemorate an unforgettable day in America’s history by making a radical statement in a public demonstration - I answered the call made by Women in Black to stand for PEACE on Charles Street. For the past few years, WIB has organized this peace witness by encouraging people to line up along Charles Street from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor all the way out to the 695 Beltway. The effort is an expression of our desire for a world without violence and bloodshed.
I announced in the pulpit on the previous Sunday at church that I would be standing with WIB and others committed to peace along Charles Street. I invited the entire congregation to join me.
No one did, but a few of the church members drove by and saw their pastor on the street holding a sign that said, “Blessed are the Peacemakers!” I pray that leading by example will help those congregants who are unaccustomed to nontraditional Christian witness to start living our their Faith in intentionally, public ways.
I was standing with the Sisters of Notre Dame out front of the Cathedral of Mary our Queen and of course mine was the only Brown face in the crowd. I had a great time with the Sisters and next year we pledged to come together again with my church in tow so we could stand shoulder to shoulder along our portion of Charles Street. What a sight that would be!


