March on Washington September 24, 2005

Photos from Rally in Washington
BRETHREN PARTICIPATE IN ANTI-WAR PROTEST

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Around 80 members and supporters of the Church of the Brethren met Saturday morning at the Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office in preparation for the Iraq war protest and rally on Capitol Hill in downtown Washington, D.C., where an estimated 100,000 people from all ages and faiths gathered to express their opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Brethren made signs, read church policy on war and had breakfast before marching down to the Washington Monument grounds to join the thousands of other protesters.

Hundreds of tables and tents lined the grounds of the monument where the masses of people made connections with old and new friends, read anti-war literature and bought t-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers. A giant stage played host to dozens of folk, hip-hop and rock bands and speakers, including Jesse Jackson and Cindy Sheehan, who had Camp Casey, a tent honoring the life of her fallen son in Iraq, and hundreds of white crosses representing the lives lost in the war set up on the monument grounds.

Early afternoon on Saturday, the crowd began to assemble at the start of the march route, preparing itself for the march through downtown D.C. and past the White House. Walking through the crowd, one could not help but have a sense of awe and amazement at the sheer numbers of people and the diversity that accompanied them. Signs, t-shirts and buttons, ranging from the direct, “Impeach Bush,” to the prophetic, “The message of God is love, the gospel of God is peace,” could be read in the busy marketplace, the peaceful multi-peed inching its way down Pennsylvania Avenue. Many in the crowd paused in front of the White House to dance, play music and chant.

Sunday was an intermediate day; a day of grassroots training for the lobbying on Capitol Hill and the civil disobedience at the White House that was to follow on Monday. “I gathered with people at the Ellipse (next to the White House) and my spirit became very peaceful. It’s like getting in a boat and feeling God’s presence moving people forward,” said Illana Naylor, member of the Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren and one of the 374 people, and handful of Brethren, who were arrested in front of the White House. “I felt such a sense of wholeness.” Her decision to get arrested was not planned awhile in advance. In fact, while walking to the Ellipse, Naylor pondered whether she would be willing to risk arrest, even for a cause that, like thousands of other people, was so important for a person of faith and social justice.

When the time came, however, she felt that she needed to act on her faith through the form of activism, which she describes as, “the expression of an ever-deepening faith.” “There was a movement, like angels’ wings, pushing the people forward,” Naylor said. “Though a very public witness, the decision was between me and the Lord, and I had, and still have, Christ's peace about this decision. I had an old, tender woman ask me if I was afraid, and I said, ‘no, because it’s time.’”

Even though the arresting process took many hours Monday afternoon, beginning with the arrest of Cindy Sheehan amid a chorus of cheers, Naylor was impressed with the mood of those getting arrested. “(The mood was) very hopeful; that by our witness, our symbol, we’re just the tip of the iceberg,” she said, “that we represent thousands of other people.”

Early Tuesday morning, when the last few demonstrators were being processed and released from jail, while many in this hemisphere slept and while others around the world suffered, it remained unknown, as it may indeed for many months, to what extent the march, rally, lobbying, civil disobedience, peace vigils, t-shirts, signs, speeches and music will have had on the war in Iraq. One thing is for certain though, the events over the weekend proved a visible reminder to peace, and, as Naylor so aptly stated, “Sometimes we need visible reminders.”

--Article and photos by Todd Flory, Brethren Witness/Washington Office, legislative associate

Phil Jones, director of the Brethren
Witness/Washington Office, speaks
to the Brethren gathering prior to
the start of the march.

Participants read scripts outside the
Brethren Witness/Washington Office
before the protest.

Jake Reid, left, and other students
listen intently to the speakers
during the Brethren gathering.

Church of the Brethren marchers make their way to the Washington Ellipse to join the Anti-War Rally near the White House.

Jones marched with and acted as a support person for one of the many mothers and other family members who joined the White House action on Monday morning. Donna, from Minnesota, is shown here as she carries a flower in memory of her nephew who was killed in Iraq. Jones has with him a portion of the Iraq resolution as passed by the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in 2004.

Rounding their way past a host of orange flowers, around 80 Church of the Brethren members and supporters walked from the Brethren Witness/Washington Office toward Capitol Hill to join the larger rally.

Brethren approach the U.S. Capitol Building along their way toward the Washington Monument grounds.

Brethren Witness/Washington Office staff, Amy Adkins and Andy Miracle, talk with Brethren members at the office table on the Washington Monument grounds.

Hundreds of white crosses were placed on the Washington Monument grounds as part of Cindy Sheehan’s Camp Casey.

A “band” of protesters play outside of the White House along the Iraq War protest march.