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Christians prepare for war protest

WASHINGTON — From pulpits and pews across America, a multitude of anti-war Christians congregated in the nation's capital Friday and began a long weekend of prayer and protest for peace in Iraq.

"I believe that my faith calls me to be a peacemaker and that this war in Iraq is not only unjust and illegal, it's immoral," said George Taylor, a retired preacher who attends St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in far North Austin.

"We believe that Christ stood for peace, and we want to do anything we can to make a statement," said Anne Sayre, a retired Presbyterian minister and missionary from Tucker, Ga. "I know Methodists who are very concerned and involved. I know some Baptists who are very upset about the situation in Iraq. We all really believe in Christ, the Prince of Peace."

On the eve of today's massive anti-war march on the Pentagon, about 3,500 of the faithful came to pray at the Washington National Cathedral and then carry candles to the White House, where 700 stood ready to be arrested in a nonviolent protest.

The Christian Peace Witness members came the night before tens of thousands of protesters were set to march from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon to mark the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and to commemorate the 40th year since the historic Vietnam War-era march on the Pentagon in 1967.

A competing These Colors Don't Run cross-country caravan of Iraq war supporters is also scheduled to demonstrate today on the nearby National Mall.

All Thursday night, bus loads of anti-war Christians rolled through the heartland, belying the notion of a Bible Belt church community consisting of a solidly pro-war religious right.

In his Episcopal congregation in Dayton, Ohio, the Rev. John Paddock said, "We have people who support the war in Iraq, and we have people who are opposed. I think the number of those opposed has grown over the last four years."

Sue Jackson quoted Scripture — Matthew 5:9 — in explaining why she endured "a very long trip" from Georgia to join the prayer vigil.

"Blessed are the peacemakers," said Jackson, who came from the Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga.

Taylor, who served in the U.S. Navy in the 1960s and is active in Austin Veterans for Peace, came with the intention of being arrested outside the White House.

"In the best traditions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., church folks have always been involved in peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience," he said.

The movement displayed denominational diversity, with sponsors including the Baptist Peace Fellowship, the Methodist Federation for Social Action, the Pentecostal Charismatic Peace Fellowship and the Catholic Peace Fellowship. One bus came from Plains Mennonite Church in Hatfield, Pa.

bdart@coxnews.com

Click here to see this article at its original site: Austin American-Statesman

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