On March 19, 2000, five Friends gathered for the weekly prayer vigil for peace in the world. The following is a contribution from the journal of Viv Hawkins:
Peace Vigil, Independence Mall, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Earth
I had been reading the peace vigil reports for months. As I pulled up on my bike, I remembered one of those reports and thought to myself, "Huh, they don't look stupid to me." I chose the sign that read "Seek Peace." And my crazy monkey mind began as I sought peace.
Seek peace. Pray for peace. Peace on Earth.
What a big flag. Nationalism. And I flashed back to early summer 1971, Camp Lou Henry Hoover, Washington Rock Girl Scout Council. Pre-camp counselor training was to begin the day with flag ceremony as was planned for the remainder of the camp sessions. Some of us refused to salute. Flag ceremonies were canceled for the duration of the summer.
Seek peace. Love one another. Observe no boundaries.
It was a small march for peace in Plainfield, NJ. I was in high school. My one brother had sought a 4F classification. The other, having served in the Peace Corps, was drafted; he managed to be assigned to the Navy. I called him a murderer and, in so doing, hurt him deeply. I met a gentle man, Fuji, who was receiving treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder at the nearby Veteran's Hospital. He had re-upped with the Marines in order, he said, to keep someone else from having to experience what he had in Nam.
Seek peace. Bless those who are not blessed with peace.
Look, there's the Religious Liberties Monument. What a blessing to leave Arch Street Meeting House that night with representatives to Interim Meeting, walking alongside Arlene on my first Quaker vigil. Priscilla Adams led us on the walk as she did in her war tax resistance court case. The quiet and candlelight enwrapped me as we walked the city streets and gathered before that statue at Mikveh Israel.
Seek peace. Become peace. Choose peace as the only solution.
There's the Free Quaker Meeting House. They didn't choose peace exclusively. That was the meeting house, the one on the Philadelphia map, to which I first came about three years ago seeking Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. The lives of two elders called to me. They had been traveling overseas teaching non-violence. I followed that gentle lead and became a Friend. I learned Alternatives to Violence from three other elders. My life is rich with lessons.
Seek peace. Settle. Be one with those around me.
I remembered last night, in a dream, I saw a kettle of raptors — hundreds of birds mixing, bubbling up in a huge vertical space. I relished the sight and shared it with someone near me. Perhaps that is what I want to see where I work. The soaring, the effortlessness, the interplay, the rising on the current. What a vision of the way beings can relate!
Earlier in the day, I listened to Margaret Hope Bacon read from her memoirs, Love is the Hardest Lesson. She spoke of her experience joining her husband during his conscientious objector service at a mental hospital. She spoke of the effects peace had in relation to the patients, soothing them, returning some semblance of self-dignity. She read a passage where she watched a hawk and felt renewed.
Seek peace. Let it take wing. Sail with the Spirit.
A couple stopped and inquired at the literature table. They said they were visiting from Coventry, England, which they said was rather decimated during World War II. At Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, the Yugoslavian student talked to us of her experiences in Kosovo. Her tears streamed as she sought to convey the horror she experienced. The sounds of bombing. The flashes in the night. At Germantown Meeting, I heard Ricardo Esquivia speak of his peace work in Colombia, and through the translator, I learned how this Mennonite man, having been driven around blindfolded for hours one night, believed that he was about to be executed in front of his family and home. Words came to him that he believes caused the soldiers to spare his life.
Seek peace. Heal. Be one.
A hawk actually soared overhead. I shared with Tony next to me. Here in Center City, gliding around that huge flag so close that I thought it might land on the tip of the flagpole. White belly and underwings, I wondered if it was a red-tail. It turned for me to see it was. I rejoiced at the thought of a kettle forming. The weightless dancing with each other. Flap, flap, glide and it moved north along the mall. Over the place where the Women's Abolitionist Society met before the mob burned the building down. I lost sight of it but imagined it traveling further north over Fairhill Friends Ministry where neighbors feel loved, over Alfred Griffin's garden ministry for the homeless which is about to break ground for another season, over Burlington Meeting House and Conference Center where Young Friends will assemble next weekend and where young people learn about Help Increase the Peace.
Seek peace. Sink into it like a warm bath. Relax.
Here we are on this planet we English-speakers call Earth. We move through the air similarly to that hawk. We are joined as travelers on this vehicle that circles our sun in this vast solar system in a glorious universe. How can nationalism survive? A young girl walked by with her family. I could see her reading our signs. Her lips mouthed, "Seek peace."
Seek peace. May young and old experience it. May it come effortlessly.
The group of young people approached us, some with skateboards. "What are you about?" asked the fellow with the camera. "Peace," I answered. Some of his friends asked if they could hold a sign, too. I smiled and answered, "Yes." The one with the camera took their pictures. As the young woman left, she offered, "God bless you."
Seek peace. The tears came.
We expect to send out vigil report #50 soon. We're sorry for the delay.
Our vigils began on the first Sunday of April last year, so on Sunday, April 2nd we will be celebrating a year that the vigil has been maintained. Please join us!
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