Four people gathered on July 16, 2000, for our prayer vigil for peace in front of the Liberty Bell on Market Street.
Paul Sheldon, from Lansdowne Friends Meeting, wrote: "... I was glad to be there. I thought of the vigil when I was at the Liberty Bell a few days earlier with a group of foreign visitors that were in this country for a war tax resistance conference." Here is his contribution:
I chose signs to hold that said Live Peace and Peace Starts Within. I found this particularly appropriate because my experience has been more with "demonstrations" than "vigils" and thus I saw this as an opportunity to seek inward for the resources and insights that sustain one in working for peace. Being more accustomed to handing out literature and speaking directly with passers-by, it was a discipline for me to wait for visitors to come to us. A couple that were visiting from China came over to us and asked if they could take our picture, while the man held my Peace Starts Within sign.
It seemed ironical that a small delegation from the Philadelphia office of Civil Affairs would be sent to ask about us, while at the same time they expressed polite interest and almost apologies for having to inquire about the group. I was grateful for their visit, as I experienced it as an opportunity to speak about our reasons for being there.
It was a beautiful afternoon, with thunder, rain and sunshine...
I, Jorge, have frequently considered the contrast between the safety and comfort that surrounds my witness, and the scenarios of war and violence where many suffer and die everyday as they stand for God's love, compassion and justice. (We are even protected by the National Park Service guards, who once intervened to deal with a mentally disturbed visitor and ask us if everything is okay when interactions with passersby seem somehow troublesome.)
Perhaps this relative or apparent safety and comfort have allowed me to pay attention to the wars within and the fears and lusts that breed them. So, much of the time my prayer has been for my own purification, healing, peace, and transformation.
On the days prior to the vigil I had been confronted by the story of John the Baptist, anticipating and announcing the gospel himself through his own humility and self-denial: "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of this sandals." (Mark 1:7) Could I say the same? I had wept, painfully convicted.
During the vigil, as rain poured over me, I found myself praying not for cleansing, although the image of the divine waters that wash sins away was still present in the background. Instead, I opened my heart and my whole self in prayer of thanksgiving and receptivity to the grace of God, who loves us all, the wicked and the righteous alike, making the sun rise and the rain fall over all of us... Who was kindly visiting us, and whose visit I needed so much...
Update and correction about July 30: As we announced in our last report, we do have a permit to use the space in front of the Liberty Bell Pavilion to hold our weekly prayer vigil for peace on that day. My (Jorge's) guess about the real name of one of the groups sharing that space with us on that day was wrong: It's name is not the "Moral" Majority, but the "Oral" Majority. It is a gay rights group. The acronym PCCY identifying another group stands for Philadelphia Committee for Children and Youth (Pat McBee has confirmed this information).
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