On October 1, 2000, a beautiful fall day, eight Friends maintained our weekly prayer vigil, including Bill Ludlow of Chestnut Hill meeting. He has decided to be a regular participant of the vigils. Sitting on a folding chair, he holds a large, colorful sign that reads:
Pray for Peace
in the world
your life
and your [big red heart symbol]One of us engaged in a long conversation with two young people who identified themselves as Christians. "Have you read the Book of Revelation?" they asked. They weren't sure it was a good thing to pray for peace, because they believe there will be peace in the world when the Antichrist rules. The question was asked: "If you don't pray for peace in the world, what do you pray for?" After a lot of talk about other things, finally an answer was given by the young man: he prays for understanding, for knowledge to get along in life.
For the third time, the vigil was followed by the Dances of Universal Peace, led by Jeanne Ayesha Lauenborg. Vigilers were joined by Dancers from around the Philadelphia area. We sang and danced some familiar favorites and some new ones as well. A passerby named Margaret, possibly in her seventies, sat and watched us for a long time, making some of the arm movements and smiling, but declining to join the dance circle. Peace, joy, and love were passed from hand to hand, eye to eye, as we circled together on Independence Mall, under the wide blue sky.
Vigil report #77 evoked a passionate response from reader Erica Runkles of Lancaster Meeting, who teaches in a prison. Erica has written several thoughtful and challenging responses to our reports since we began sending them. In her comments about report #77, she questioned whether the issue of how we stand at the vigils was relevant to the cause of making peace.
Erica wrote:
... I just spent 12 hours yesterday at the prison looking at real issues in the face.... Heavy on my mind is whether the dear, dear Haitian woman I had in my GED class last night is going to lose her immigration case and get deported to the same blasted Haitian prison that most of these deportees get sent to. Marcelle, bless you, what do we have the time or energy to devote our efforts to? I want someone out there teaching AVP and reflecting on how or if it turns some inmate's or corrections officer or police officer or warden's viewpoints around.
Marcelle responded:
For me, the report I wrote was not just about how we stand physically when we are at the vigil. It was about how we orient ourselves to the world in our spiritual communities, in our worship and prayer, in our consciousness, in our daily lives, in our commitments....
While living in North Philadelphia and while teaching GED and remedial writing classes in West Philadelphia to high school dropouts who wanted to create a better future for their children, I asked myself the question you ask: what do we have the time or energy to devote our efforts to?
I also asked: what is the cause of the problems in the world?
What is the deepest cause?
Can I address my efforts to the source of the problem, as well as to the grievous symptoms?...
Over time, it has become more and more clear to me that the ultimate cause of all the terrible problems in the world is our alienation from God, which cannot be separated from our alienation from each other and from the planet. We are so little aware of God, of our relationship to God, of the power that God can work in our lives and in the world if we are open to it. We don't know how to open to it....
Erica, thank you for the work you are doing. I hope that as you do it you feel supported and sustained by God, and that you do not feel alone in your dedicated efforts to relieve suffering, empower others, and make changes in a terrible system.
This was Erica's reply:
I feel so blessed to have work in my life at this time which really uses me. I believe that my Calling is indeed at the prison and sometimes the overwhelming needs there can make me very fierce..... We all need openings to share still more and more of this seeking Peace business we are all on and we need to speak with authenticity while we are on it....
There is a story I want to share with you. This one has been a keeper for me and I come back to it again and again with its meaning ever deepening for me.
Many, many years ago (20?) I was at an interdenominational candlelight vigil ...on a blustery, frigid night in March. It was, of course, a wonderfully meaningful night, but it was not until I heard a message from one of our beloved elders [Ray Trayer]...that that night was put in a truly holy light for me....
Ray took careful note of a division of labor that was somewhat unconsciously taking place, probably influenced, he thought, by the personality of the individual candleholders. It was a very, very windy night and he saw that some people were very guarded with their candles (I forget whether they were in cups or not.) while others where very bold and brazen, holding their candles very openly. These openly displayed candles inevitably burned-out more quickly, and Ray noticed that instead of having to go back for their matches these candleholders were able to quickly reignite their lights with the carefully guarded candles of those more reserved. What he saw became a beautiful metaphor for how the roles of different people support each other and how interdependent we are on each other....those out laboring in the fields and those tending the home hearths and resources.
Marcelle, sometimes I see this metaphor playing out even within each of us as we strive to balance the inner and outer realities. I also see it playing out in the different ways that we fulfill the Spirit. I picture you and your other Friends using, guarding, nurturing and displaying that Holy Light in a very different way from the way I do....as almost an eternal flame on a street corner... a counterpart to the one burning in Arlington Cemetery, to a different kind of Peacefulness and I must remember that you are seeking ways to maintain that Peace that you and others can carry elsewhere. I have this strong image of you there... the small still persistent voices on the very public sidewalk and I am very appreciative of your presence there....
Marcelle replied:
Thank you for sharing the metaphor of the candle flames at the vigil, and the different roles that are required, both within each of us and within the community. When those who focus most on prayer and keeping the spiritual flame burning steadily and those who focus most on shining the light for the world and directly serving those in dire need become too separated from each other (as I think has happened, in general, in the Religious Society of Friends) then everyone loses something necessary for the vitality and effectiveness of all.
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