We meet the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at St. Gertrude's Ministry Center
(6214 N. Glenwood), beginning at 8:00 p.m. Folks are welcome to join us at anytime.

Friday, May 1, 2009

An Echo from D.C.

From an interview with J. Bambrick

"We kind of got two or three experiences. Jake, me, Anna, and Jerica went to the Temple vigil, so we got to experience that again. Wednesday we went to the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq event when they got arrested and then Thursday when we did. So there were a number things together; it was very powerful.

"I would echo [what Luke was saying about the Wednesday Speaker at the CPT event, Tony Campolo, who was preaching away" and "basically sharing the mantra that 'it's Friday but Sunday's coming'. We're living in the darkness but the week does not end with Friday."]. The more we learn about torture and government, the Empire of the United States, the more it's like it is Friday, we're crucified. With the environment and things that get worse and worse it's tough to see that it is Sunday. But being there was an experience of both Friday and Sunday.

"To be with hundreds of people, to pray together and say 'I will put my life on the line [for this], giving up...power and control for love of these men in Guantanamo or in Iraq, to enter into solidarity with these people; it was very powerful and moving.

"Often we don't see a lot of people [doing this]. A lot [of people] might be against it, but how many would give up [what they're doing], and that's a judgment, but it is a small number of people [with such] a sense of courage. Seeing the witness of all these people...the age bracket, seeing the 80 year-old man taken away in hand cuffs; people in their fifties, sixties and seventies [saying] 'No, this is not okay. I'm going to risk myself in doing this.'

"Personally risking arrest for the first time, it was an experience of being a real big deal and a small deal [at the same time], thinking about ] 'What will people say' [like, 'O that] horrible person' and 'your future'.... [Yet] the amount of time to enter in and do it was not a long time.

"The training and then doing it was uncomfortable, emotionally, physically, spiritually. [Sure,] my wrists behind the back start to hurt and the muscles start to hurt, but it's not so big that I can't do it, or that all of us can't do these kind of things more often. [It's like,] 'Yeah, I could do more of this' 'It's not that hard.'

"The experience of being on the bus was, 'I'm pretty sure that I am f*'d, ruined for life; my path is going this way, totally screwed over, just another step of my life...turned, willing, entering prison, giving up power and control...and [the sense that] my life is going to mean very different things. [At the same time I had] a grin on my face. So it was "Wow, I'm f*'d, but in a good way."


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