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Feast of the Holy Innocents Retreat
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Feast of the Innocents Faith and Resistance 2008
Washington, DC
During his sharing at the retreat, Ammon Allen-Doucot said that, in Guatamala, he learned that there's a big difference between charity and justice. The community of more than 100 people gathered at St. Stephen and the Incarnation in Washington D.C. to commemorate the feast of the massacre of the innocent and to stand for justice - against the relentless slaughter of the innocent around the world that is our reality. Art Laffin opened the retreat, inviting us to consider how we respond to today's Herods who deem children expendable and to reflect on how empire and war affect children? All of us know, deep down that
- nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction imperil all life and creation itself.
- war is perpetual and unending - driven by an imperial claim to control the earth's resources;
- dehumanizing poverty is a consequence of a greed-driven economy now in catastropic collapse;
- global climate crisis and ecological destruction are consequence of our addiction to consumer life-styles.
In contrast he implored us to consider what kind of world we want to build for children. And he invited us to respond to the words of Jesus: "Let the children come to me!" (Mk 10:14)
During the retreat we heard stories of people from our communities encountering victims of our empire. Clare Grady reflected on her time in Iraq; Paul Rehm spoke on the suffering he saw in Hebron; Micah and Ammon Allen-Doucot shared some insights they gleaned from their time in Darfur and Guatamala respectively and Justin Colville spoke of what the Guatamala trip meant to him. In another session, Bernadette and Maura Ryder-O'Neil shared the ups and downs of life in a Catholic Worker Community. All their families seek to model a way of life that embodies Gospel peacemaking, nonviolence and social justice.
We prayed - always accompanied by the music of Lydia Wylie-Kellerman and Luke Mattson, often enriched by Marie DeMott Grady and Oona Grady DeFlaun. Ardeth Platte, with Peter De Mott and M.J. and Jerry Park, led a moving liturgy on Tuesday morning.
We acted - a voice for the voiceless. On Monday we were at the Pentagon confessing our need to act more consistently against the weapons and war that make that institution such a curse against humanity and the earth. Eleven people - Beth Brockman, Danny Burns, Mary Jo McArthur, Peter De Mott, Bill Frankel-Streit, Mary Grace, Brian Hynes, Sr. Margaret McKenna, David Ryle, Kim Williams and Steve Woolford - were arrested attempting to block entrances to the building. All appear in Federal District Court in Alexandria, VA March 6, 2009.
Lydia Wylie Kellerman led the children in preparation for their witness that afternoon. After they shared their scenario with the group, all traveled to the Iraqi and Afghani Embassies. No one was home at the Iraq Embassy; the children sang, read their statement, held posters, and had a die-in. After the die-in, they got up and sang. Tim Ryder-O'Neal was the coordinator of this action outside the Iraqi Embassy gates. All were welcomed into the Afghan Embassy. The children sang and and brought messages of peace. where parts of what we wished to share were welcome but other parts were not.
In a huddle outside the embassy, we determined to the Israeli Embassy to witness against Israel's murderous conduct against Gaza. We held the sidewalk for a time before being commanded to cross the street. For many it was hard to leave. For three women, it was impossible to respect that distance. Ellen Grady, her sister Clare and Heidi Schloegel crossed the street and took up their post at the fence with signs facing the embassy. The women were arrested and held until late the next afternoon. They'll plea to charges of crossing a police line on Jan. 29 in the D.C. Court.
Meanwhile, the rest of us prepared for a witness at the D.C. Headquarters of President Elect Obama's Transition Team. We agreed to the simple message - "Yes we can (!Si Se Puede!)"...
- Create peace without weapons...
- end the war in Iraq...
- bring peace to Afghanistan...
- stop war everywhere...
- care for veterans rather than create them...
- dismantle nuclear weapons...
- lead the world in nuclear disarmament...
- halt nuclear weapons research...
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stop making and selling weapons...
- study peace...
- raise children in a nonviolent world...
- practice nonviolence!"
We lined the sidewalk with these messages, handed out leaflets, sent a delegation to bring the message to the Transition Team (alas, all were denied access), sang and gave personal statements of our will to struggle for a disarmed world in 2009 and to hold Obama to his promises. In the hour we were there, we passed out more than 700 leaflets with the above message. Our closing circle was held between Obama's headquarters and the court. As many returned to their homes, some went to welcome the arrested sisters from lockup.