Taking a stand - and taking faith to the streets

There are times to organize,

write letters and contact elected officials.

There are times to gather as community and,
with your bodily presence, 

say I am here.

This is what I believe.

Knowing that the church, 

through its silence,

was complicit as the Nazis gained power in pre-WWII Germany, 

there has been a growing push
for history NOT to repeat itself.

'Elders' from various faith traditions gathered during Lent

and crafted a declaration

This statement SO resonated with me that I knew
 when people of faith gathered in Washington DC,
I would be among them.

And I was.

As I was sitting in the pew waiting for the service to begin,

I felt surrounded by my tribe.

A priest from the Diocese of Newark (my childhood home diocese);
a single woman, a retired banker,
who flew in from CA because, she too had been moved by the declaration;
a young attorney who had grown up in St Louis,
now working for the Federal Reserve in DC;
her friend, a physician
who was on extended personal leave from her government job
"because I can't work for a fascist".

Everyone was eager to speak with each other,
everyone was excited for the opportunity
to be counted and,
by their presence say that the biblical distortions
being touted by so many so-called  'Christians'
does not represent what we believe to be the central message of Jesus's teachings,
which is love.

The planning and execution seemed to be flawless;

at least as far as the congregation could determine.

I suspect that behind the scenes it might have been different, 

but the program went off without a hitch.

We listened to impassioned speakers including

Father Richard Rohr

Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann

Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry and the Rev. Jim Wallis.

We were inspired and moved by the music provided by the Howard Gospel choir.

And then we walked;

in silence.

2500 people moving en masse quietly.

For a city used to loud protests, shouting slogans and disruptive participants,

we were an anomaly.

People came out of buildings, stood on balconies, 

in front of restaurants, got out of cars - 

all curious about what we were about -

and we kept moving...

until we reached our destination.

Then, after the elders read the declaration,
on the sidewalk in front of the White House,
we were all asked to pray aloud,
in our own words, in our own voices,
in our own languages.
We were asked to give voice to our concerns for the world
and for our country.

The next few moments,
were as close to 'Pentecost' and the Tower of Babel
as I'm ever likely to experience.

Immediately surrounding me were 9 different languages,
by speakers of various ages,
with different vocal tones;
all of us praing,
 trying to add our light to the darkness that surrounds us.

 It was a powerful experience.

Walking away and returning to our hotels, cars and individual lives was hard.

There IS strength in numbers
and, with an Administration that prides itself on fostering division,
it's more important than ever that we remember
we are NOT alone.