Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership

Dear Interfaith Peace Witness supporter,

Thank you for your engagement with last week’s Interfaith Peace Witness – whether in body and/or in spirit! Even as the skies wept upon us, the event as a whole was deeply moving and for many people among the most powerful public demonstrations in which they have ever participated.

Each person seems to have a particular highlight that was important to him or her, such as the workshops, religious services, the prayerful tone of the civil disobedience, meetings with the offices of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and the powerful speakers during our rainy and spirit-filled main event. Hearing from those who have "touched the wounds of this war" was compelling for all of us. If you’d like to be reminded of the power of the event, please click here to see some photos.

Of course an event like this costs money. All of our speakers came because they felt called to be with us. We offered no honorariums, but we do need to pay their travel expenses. Most houses of worship shared their space without charge, but there are still rental fees for the stage and sound system at Upper Senate Park. All told, we still need to raise about $10,000 to pay our bills. Will you make a one-time special donation to support this effort? We ask that you give at a level of personal significance. Some will be able to give more, but we hope that each person will give something. Click here to donate online right now!

We thank you for adding your voice to the Interfaith Peace Witness. Your active presence in DC strengthened us all. Community organizer Van Jones said that, "The hope of humanity now rests in the convergence of active people becoming spiritual and spiritual people becoming active." We must carry on this vital work to build a peaceful future. Each of us and each of our organizations has a vital role to play. Together we know that we can make a difference. Together we can create a better world.

We came together in Washington, DC, with a bold and loving spirit. As we move forward, the light you shared will guide us onward. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership Steering Committee


P.S.: Please make your donation now, while it is fresh in your mind, and don't forget to visit our web site www.olivebranchinterfaith.org where we are continuing to post photos and stories from last week, and will be sharing updates on future interfaith actions for peace.

This event touched people in so many different ways. Below, please find two brief reflections that have come to our attention. If you’d like to share your thoughts, please send them to us.

From one of our organizers:

This is what I’m jazzed about...

1. Telling the Story. My story starts by celebrating the new relationships. And the singing echoes of the Hart building atrium. And the myriad of worshiping styles. Even the “cast party” interfaith coffee house held a strange beauty of faithfulness and solidarity.

2. Relationships. With a little distance from the event, I can celebrate the new emergent relationship, the new interfaith relationships, and the new relationships with Pelosi and Reid’s office. I think like all new relationships these relationships must be fanned.

3. 4:00 on Friday. I also think one story is the beautiful confluence of witnessing. Capital delegation and Hart delegation. One witnessing in word, the other in deed to the urgency of our cause.

From a participant:

The experience of participating in the seminars and the rally was well worth our trip from Washington State. The rally was powerful from beginning to end, with all the speakers and then the prayer circle, first outside and ultimately inside the Hart Senate Building. I've participated in several peace rallies but this was the first one I felt really reached some of the key people that need to hear our pleas, our songs and prayers.

Yesterday Mike and I attended the local/regional "where do we go from here" discussion group of the Christian Peace Witness group. One older man, Roger from Duluth, MN, who was arrested at our action in the Hart Building, was at this discussion. He said he had been to many rallies over the years and had been arrested several times. He also said it was most powerful protest he'd ever participated in.

It was very moving, peaceful and powerful. We sang softly and for a long time in the Hart lobby atrium - This Little Light of Mine, We Shall Overcome, Oh Freedom,. Peace Salaam Shalom, Siyahamba (in English) - and applauded as each of the 42 protestors sitting in the circle surrounded by the Capitol police was led away in handcuffs. It was totally peaceful. All the protestors and all the police were respectful and a lot of people peered over the office balconies to see what was going on. I felt strongly that this is what we need to do - to get in the faces of the people that need to hear our prayers and pleas for peace, but in a peaceful, respectful, and beautiful way. This event was, in my opinion, the epitome of that.

My heart is so full. I look forward to seeing you all again, soon I hope, and to helping the NSP vision reach more people.