On July 2, 2000, three people were physically present on Independence Mall for our prayer vigil for peace.
At the beginning we were only two: Renata and I (Jorge.) She had asked before how many people I thought would gather, and while we stood together holding our signs she continued to ask where the other Friends were and what the probabilities were of somebody else showing up. She seemed disappointed but holding to hope, and standing firm on her ground.
Some passersby seemed touched, perhaps by our small number, perhaps by the witness of a small child. They offered V signs, smiles, words of encouragement.
Weeks ago, while working together on some signs, Renata suggested the content for one: DO GOOD, NOT EVIL. I felt embarrassed by its simplemindedness, and I ignored her idea. Later I regretted my attitude.
Then I found in Psalm 34, 14:
DEPART FROM EVIL, AND DO GOOD;
SEEK PEACE, AND PURSUE IT.And, around the same time, in Isaiah 1, 16-17:
CEASE TO DO EVIL,
LEARN TO DO GOOD ...Resting in the park before the walked to our spot in front or the Liberty Bell, we prepared a sign with the verse from Psalm 34. This was the sign Renata chose to hold.
And then, to Renata's delight, Dan Homan came.
He sent the following comments:
"As I've noticed more lately, young children often seem to be the most attentive to us. Many of them slow to carefully read each of our signs before continuing on. It appears to be a mix of curiosity and maybe practicing newly developing reading skills, much as I did on cereal boxes (and most anything else) when I was first becoming a fairly adequate reader.
"I am often amused as I watch them read. They rarely appear to be at all aware of my interest in their interest, as I observe the seeds being planted and think about how, maybe through talking later with their parents and/or others, these seeds will be watered and brought to fruition."
News concerning July 30:
While we were vigiling, a group of persons were taking pictures and measurements of the area. They happened to be people from the Silent March, one of the groups that had obtained a permit to use Independence Mall on that date. We had agreed to join them and had talked to its local about that possibility. This time the group's national coordinator was there. After our vigil was over, as we walked following Renata's intuition, we found them again. The group's local leader had also arrived by then, and we all discussed our joining the Silent March on July 30 at 4 PM to conduct our vigil. One concern they had was that we might distract attention from their message. We came to see, however, that our messages do not compete with but support each other. The importance of a Quaker prayerful presence was also appreciated by the Silent Marchers. We were told that the second group with a permit to be on Independence Mall that day would be the National Riffle Association, holding a counter-demonstration, and that there was concern about the possibility of friction. I encouraged the Silent March people to approach the leaders of the NRA demonstration to establish a dialogue before hand. The advice was well taken. (There is that of God in every one: there is hope.) As per our request to let us join them, they said they did not expect to be any problem, and that they will get back to us.
Look for an update in our next report.
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