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Light a Candle for Peace
It now appears that a war may be very close. The Bush
administration has abandoned the diplomatic process at
the
United Nations. The United Nations has begun pulling
its
inspectors out of Iraq. President Bush has given Saddam
Hussein 48 hours to leave Iraq or face war. This is a
very
sad day. We must remember in this dark moment that we have come
a long
way. By working for peace around the globe, millions
of
people have successfully challenged the justness of this
war
on a world stage. We have persuaded governments to heed
their
peoples' call to peace, and helped the United Nations
maintain
its integrity. We all have been part of a historic
mobilization of the citizens of the globe. It will change
everything. And in the end, we will win.
We will continue waging peace, even if war comes. We
have
joined together to articulate a vision of how the world
should
be -- of how nations should treat each other, of how
we can
collectively deal with threats to our security.
One simple way to show your continued commitment to this
vision is to put a light in your window. It could be
a
Christmas string or candle, a light bulb, or a lantern.
It's
an easy way to keep the light of reason and hope burning,
to
let others know that they are not alone, and to show
the way
home to the young men and women who are on their way
to Iraq.
We'd like to keep a list of the places and people who
are
joining in this simple act. Please sign up now at:
http://www.moveon.org/windowlight/
On Sunday, people came together in thousands of towns
and
villages around the world -- a truly global vigil for
peace.
The vigils came in all shapes and sizes. There were vigils
with ten people and vigils with thousands. There were
vigils
in homes, in churches, and in open fields. People joined
together to share their commitment to making a better
world.
For some amazing pictures of the vigils around the world,
go
to:
http://www.moveon.org/vigil/
The Global Vigil was made possible by the efforts of
thousands
of volunteers. Some worked tirelessly to make modest
but
important vigils happen in small towns and villages.
Others
merely chose a location for a vigil on our Web site and
handed
out extra candles as hundreds of strangers showed up.
Several
dedicated volunteers staffing the MoveOn help desk worked
countless hours answering questions and solving problems.
All
of us give our most heartfelt thanks to these fantastic
volunteers for their good spirits during such an intense
project.
Here are a few of the thousands of reports we've seen
from
vigil coordinators. They give a real sense of the scale
and
power of this event.
"
We are planning to take the fire of one of the candle
and
[keep it burning], as a symbol of the light of the conscience
of humanity." --Fabian Freire, Barcelona, Spain, over 100 attended
"
The calm, moon-lit night provided an incredibly beautiful
setting where persons could visualize the devastation
a shock
and awe attack would bring to their beloved city." --Chester L Guinn, Des Moines, United States, over 1,000
attended.
"
Tonight, at 7, I was alone with my candle on the place
of the
village, when an old lady, Misses Wery arrived walking
with
her stick. So old, limping and desiring strongly to say "No
war". We ended
up with more than 20 people." --Jacqueline Beraud, France (no village name)
"
It is so important for the world to realise that most
Americans are, like the rest of the world's people,
peace-loving, fair-minded and good-hearted people." --Al Harris, Cairns, Australia, more than 200 people
"
People were lining the edge of the fountain, holding
candles
and signs well before 7pm, and many stayed until 9pm
even
10pm, for live coverage on local news channels. Drivers
of
cars, even metro busses, were honking wildly with fingers
in
peace signs out their windows." --Kayte (last name not given), Houston, United States,
over
1,000 people
"
We had 40 participants attend, all ages. People spoke
about
peace; one participant with her native drum led us in
a chant,
'Peace in our minds, peace in our homes, peace in the
world,'
we sang. All in all it was a great success. We plan to
have a
vigil next Sunday as well, same time, same place." --Joyce Lachance, Musquodoboit Harbour, Canada
No one has ever said that waging peace is easy. It may
take
days, or months, or years. But moving forward together,
we
will make history.
Thank you for all you do,
Sincerely,
--Carrie, Eli, Joan, Peter, Wes, and Zack
The MoveOn Team
March 17th, 2003
This
is a Christian site with an excellent idea – the most
practical and realistic I’ve seen! Philip
Sojourners
We are at a critical moment
in time. A real possibility exists to prevent war on
Iraq. However, in one week it could be too late.
If you have ever wanted to
take action, the time is now.
High school and college students
across the country are boycotting school and shouting, "Books not Bombs." Hundreds of thousands of Americans have gathered in New York, San Francisco,
Washington, D.C., and other cities declaring, "War is Not the Answer!" Great Britain witnessed the largest march in its history as more than 1 million
people pleaded, "Don't Attack Iraq!"
Germany, France, China, and
Russia openly oppose war without U.N. support, and Great
Britain could change course.
Now, for the first time, a
clear and compelling third alternative has emerged. Following
an hour-long meeting of U.S. church leaders with British
Prime Minister Tony Blair, led by Sojourners executive
director Jim Wallis, we have outlined a six-point plan
that details a more effective way to remove Saddam Hussein
from power without killing innocent people. Jim shared
this vision with Tony Blair and now shares it with you.
Please take a few minutes
to read the complete six-point plan and e-mail it from
our Web site to President Bush, Prime Minister Blair,
and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. You will then
have the opportunity to send this same e-mail alert to
others.
Sojourners urges you to contact
as many people as you can.
We encourage you to:
1. Read the plan at http://www.sojo.net/action;
2. Send it to your family, friends, teachers, pastors,
denominations, and others;
3. Encourage them to do the same;
4. Write or call local newspapers, radio and television
stations, and politicians and tell them about this new
alternative to war;
5. Lift up this effort in your prayers.
The more people that hear
about this third way, this alternative to war, the greater
the chance that war might be Averted.
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