Five Friends gathered for our weekly prayer vigil for peace in the world. It was a cool afternoon with drizzle towards the end. There were relatively few passers-by, but several stopped to take our literature and some called out words of solidarity and encouragement. Many smiled at us.
A group of three people from Croatia were excited when they saw the vigil. One woman took a sign and joined our line, while her friend photographed her. "We needed this years ago!" she said. They were offered a copy of our flyer explaining the vigils and were overjoyed to see mention of concern about the NATO bombing in Yugoslavia. The other woman joined our line, holding up a sign that asked to find the way to peace. They left with our literature about Quakerism, expressing gratitude for the vigil.
Several of us have begun to hang our signs from strings around our necks, so that we can keep our hands warm in our pockets. Some have been hanging signs both in front and on their backs, enabling those inside the glass Liberty Bell pavillion to read the signs, too. For the early part of the vigil, ten year old Renata read a book, sitting with her back against the pavillion. One of the Park Rangers inside looked over Renata's shoulder through the glass, then came out and kindly offered a piece of cardboard for Renata to sit on, to insulate her from the cold pavement.
Alice Hoffman of Merion Meeting writes:
Thank you so very much for the prayer vigil reports. The thought has taken hold of me that I should be printing them out and posting them on Merion Meeting's bulletin board, which I will now start to do. Perhaps others will be led to join you. I am more than grateful to the Spirit that has led you to this vigil.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE
Independence Mall Vigil for PeacePlease join us at our weekly prayer vigils for peace in the world, held in front of the Liberty Bell on Market St. between 5th and 6th, every Sunday from 4 to 5 PM. For more information, contact cityquake@aol.com.
In our reports, participants share their experiences of the prayer vigils and explore beliefs related to their participation. Reports reflect the experience of each author and do not necessarily represent the beliefs or practice of all vigil participants. We welcome your responses, which are forwarded to the individual authors (when possible). We sometimes include part of a response in a future report, unless you ask us not to.
It is meaningful to us that you share in the vigils by reading these reports and in other ways, such as joining us in prayer.
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM