This Sunday, October 1 at 5 PM, after the vigil, join us for Dances of Universal Peace. The easy movements and simple songs used for these dances will all be taught. The Dances are another way to pray for peace in the world. Everyone is welcome!
From Marcelle Martin:
Nine Friends joined together on Independence Mall for the vigil on September 17, 2000, including Carolyn Schodt and Howard Lesnick of Chestnut Hill Meeting, and Robert Drake of Arch St. Meeting. Robert, who was in a wheelchair, is slowly recovering from serious head injuries sustained in a violent assault against him more than a year ago. The sign he liked best and chose to hold was: "Open the Way for Peace in Your Heart and in the World." The sign proved too big for him to hold comfortably, however, so he switched to a smaller one, "Be Peace." Howard examined the signs carefully to find one that he could stand behind, and chose: "Seek Peace." Another Friend, unable to join us at the Liberty Bell, vigiled on a corner in North Philadelphia.
We hadn't created such a long line at the vigil in many, many months. On July 30th, when we shared the space with other groups, we were clustered into a dense group, in many short rows. Today I noticed that several individuals and groups walked slowly in front of us, reading our signs, so close that I wondered if they were walking within an invisible corridor of peace and blessing generated through the act of our praying.
I am one of the people who frequently steps forward to talk with interested passers-by who approach our literature table. Usually I hand them the flyer about the vigil and say, "We're praying for peace in the world. We come here every Sunday afternoon." Then, if they seem interested, I also hand them a pamphlet about Quakerism. I am often moved by the people who tell me that they pray for peace, too. One man told me simply: "I pray for peace every day."
During our closing circle after the vigil, one person who was there for the second or third time said that she had found it uncomfortable to hold the vigil in a straight line, instead of in the semi-circle formation we had used during the first two or three vigils back in April 99. Another Friend, also an infrequent participant, later told me that she, too, thought a semi-circle might be a better formation. "It depends whether your focus is on the meeting for worship or on the witness," she offered.
Afterwards, I reflected on these helpful comments with another regular vigil participant. Questioning the formation we use was an invitation to look into the purpose of the vigil and our relationship with prayer and with each other. I could no longer remember how the decision was made, way back near the beginning, to stand in a line facing the sidewalk rather than in a semi-circle facing each other. I do remember, though, that the first several times I stood in the line, I missed the semi- circle. I felt more alone, less held by the group. During the first two vigils, attended by forty people or so, there had been a lot of vocal prayer. We had stood in a large semi-circle, and my eyes had been primarily on the other members of the group. I had felt strength from being in a large group. My vision had only intermittently taken in the place and the passers-by.
We became a silent vigil at the time when we began to face the street instead of each other. Facing the street instead of my fellow vigilers left me feeling much more exposed. Now I had to stand for the words on the sign I was holding in a new way. At first I kept my eyes closed much of the time, to keep my focus on praying. When my eyes were open, my vision was now directed at the world around us: on the street, the traffic, the buildings, the trees, the sky, the people walking by. My prayer for peace in the Balkans (the original focus of the vigil) and later more generally for peace in the world, encompassed everything I saw. Even when I was praying specifically for peace in the Balkans, I knew that peace there was intimately connected with what was happening in the minds and hearts, the daily lives, the government, and the weapons factories of the people in this country. By the time a peace agreement was signed and the NATO bombing had stopped, I knew that the need to pray for peace in the world was just as great as it had been during the bombing. I believe that I had come to realize this, in part, from the act of praying in public, facing "the world" rather than my own little community.
There is something wonderful and powerful about praying in a close circle with one's fellow believers. Many times I have felt my heart strengthened and enlarged by such prayer. Yet during the weekly prayer vigil outdoors, facing the people from all over the world who pass in front of the Liberty Bell, I have felt God breaking open my heart in a different and equally important way. My sense of who God is and the magnitude of God's peace-making action has expanded as I have been asked to take into my heart, in prayer, the whole world, at the same time that I have been asked to stand — not alone — but facing the world and offering my witness to it.
I have been learning to realize that God loves all of the people I see, each and every one of them, and wants to create peace everywhere, in every part of the world. In a basic way, by recognizing a bit more how big the world is and how many different people it holds, I have seen more clearly my own powerlessness to create peace everywhere. Paradoxically, I have learned to feel, more and more strongly, God's immense capacity to make this happen.
Recently there was a blessed moment while I was standing on Independence Mall, prayerfully watching some women walking by on the other side of the street, when I received a glimpse of how God sees us: with infinite love, compassion, tenderness, patience.
My heart wanted to shout. God is here! God is here among us! God sees us! Yet I also felt something else: God's infinite humility. God is always here, always attending to us, always ready to guide the affairs of the world in a way that will bring well-being, meaning, and joy to every person and community, human and non-human. Yet God is not forcing this on us. The infinite Creator and Sustainer of All that Is is waiting for us to desire true inner and outer peace, to actively seek it, to choose to participate in it.
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