The following report of the vigil held on March 12, 2000, was written by a vigil participant who has strongly expressed a desire to use a pseudonym, Ret Z. He has been a frequent participant in the vigils since they began last April, wearing a net over his head and shoulders and holding a sign with a Biblical quote. This report is an expression of his views about the prayer vigils. After the vigil he interviewed participants, recording the conversation on his tape recorder. Some highlights of that conversation have been included in this report.
Stirred by some of the affirmations made in it, we have been confronted with some important questions. What is it that unites us in these prayer vigils for peace? What are our political views? Do we have any? How do we express them? How do they relate to the common pursuit of peace and our reliance on the Divine as the only and true source of peace? We have wrestled with these questions as we discerned about the presentation of this report to you. We hope that this report will contribute to our reflection and dialogue.
by Ret Z.
A chilly wind helped distribute literature — all over the place! — as five people, Friends and others, stood under a cloudy sky, silently praying for peace, on March 12, 2000. Hanging on to my flapping sign with both hands, I regretted not bringing gloves.
A group of young Christians stopped by, early in the vigil, and inquired.
"We're just praying for peace. No political positions," I volunteered.
"Religious positions?" asked the young fellow.
"Uh, we believe in prayer," I answered. "That's about all we have in common."
"What about the Bible?"
"Well, personally, I'm a Bible-believer. Not necessarily all of us are, but we certainly believe in prayer!"
"Do you wear a net everywhere you go?" asked the questioner, referring to the net I was wearing as I held my sign, "The kingdom of heaven is like a net ... bringing together all kinds. Matt. 13:47"
"No." I laughed.
A girl asked, "How do you get out?"
"Piece o' cake," I replied.
Looking back, I prefer an answer more like this: "Get out? I don't wanna get out. This net symbolizes the kingdom of heaven, where love, joy, and peace prevail. No, I don't wanna get out; I want to bring other people in."
It was a large group, these young people. "Please pray for peace," I said, hoping that they would multiply our prayers.
A lovely couple in their 40s or 50s approached a bit later, dancers from the St. Patrick's Day parade which had just ended.
The woman looked at my sign and read, "'The kingdom of heaven is like a net.' ... It's also like a party," she said with a charming smile.
The man was saying to other vigillers, "As a Catholic, I'd like to apologize to all the people, that we ... the Catholics have put in jail of the Quaker faith, including William Penn. ... In honor of reconciliation between the Catholics and the Quakers, we do this little dance." [Editorial note: Please check your history book about the accuracy of his assertion.]
Yes, right there in front of us and for us, this lovely costumed couple performed an Irish dance!
"Happy St. Patrick's Day observed!" said the man as they left; "God bless you!" said the woman.
Later a group of five older tourists came. One of the tourists said, "I'm freezing, but I'm gonna stand and pray with you for five minutes." He stepped into line with us, and the others followed. True to his word, they stood with us for at least five minutes, doubling our number.
In our closing circle, Dan noted that we had an avian absence: A red-tailed hawk usually flies around across the street. The bird was nowhere in sight this week.
"I always pray for my own peace of heart and my own ability to love my neighbor," said Jorge. "I loved the gift that that Irish couple gave to us — the dance, and the apology that man offered to Quakers — although maybe the Protestants were more abusive to Quakers than Catholics. I think that was a very nice sign that the idea of acknowledging our own sins is taking root, at least in the Catholic church. ...
"I was also moved by my conversation with that African-American man [who dropped by], who happened to be my neighbor; he lives in North Philadelphia. To talk with him about our witness was meaningful to me, and I think it was interesting for him. ... He was curious about what we are doing and whether we include other faiths, and that led us into the issue of inclusion of other races in creeds and opinions. And I think this vigil is about that, too, about inclusion."
"Well, my sign is certainly about inclusion," said I.
"That struck a chord in him," Jorge continued, "And it was also an opportunity to talk about our witness living in North Philly and sharing the lives of the neighbors [via Fairhill Friends Ministry]."
Jorge also pointed out how the tourist said he'd join us and the other people followed. Sometimes that's all it takes, for one person to make that first bold step.
"I was very moved by those five people who joined us in prayer," said Marcelle. "Seemed like it was even more than five minutes. My heart was warmed, on this very cold day, by the people praying beside us, people who had just joined us to pray."
Further, Marcelle and I got into a discussion:
I'm not a Quaker, and Marcelle attends the vigils, in part, to witness to her Quaker faith, and this causes her a bit of a struggle. She was praying about that: "What would Jesus do?" Then she felt more open to the mysteries of how God works and the fact that peace involves embracing people in many ways;
Being a radio host (and amateur-talent recruiter), I tend to hold forth gregariously: "Come join us!" With my net and sign I draw tourists' attention. "If it were up to me, I'd be running around buttonholing everybody!" But Marcelle wishes to achieve deep centeredness in prayer, and it's hard to do that with an aggressive promoter nearby doing his bit. Thus we have what I call a creative conflict: If we focus on prayer exclusively, we might as well do it in the meetinghouse; if we focus on the public witness exclusively, little praying will get done. So in my opinion:
Marcelle and I are like poles in a fence to keep war at bay. The vigil needs people like Marcelle to hold the center, lest everything fall apart. The vigil needs people like me to reach out and gather all kinds.
The vigil ended, our prayers having ascended to the Spirit, and the sun came out.
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