Another big week for peacemaking: working to end the war

March 17th is celebrated as a holiday in many U.S. communities, and as the descendant of Irish immigrants -- and having been named after an ancestor who was a renowned Irish-American patriot during the Revolutionary War, Ethan Allen -- normally I'd like to feel a measure of pride in our nation. But with the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq approaching this week, my pride instead turns to those who are resisting the country's military excesses.

This week will be the third straight week that peace activists and military veterans are coming together -- in Washington, D.C., and across the country -- to publicly call for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and preventing war with Iran. Our friends at the War Resisters League are coordinating one important nationwide effort this Wednesday, seeking to "Shut Down the IRS," since our tax dollars are funding the occupation of Iraq and the arms that incite and prolong the violence there.

Since "Tax Day" is now less than a month away, shutting down the IRS is indeed an appropriate focus. My partner and I are planning to do war tax resistance for the second consecutive year -- a serious and major decision for us. We have been grateful for the emotional and structural support of many people in the midst of this process, especially the Society of Friends.

I recognize that making such a decision is not only a challenging one, but somewhat of a privileged one. A week ago, when I was in Washington, DC attending the Interfaith Peace Witness organized by the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership (of which the Fellowship of Reconciliation is an active member), I was reminded that people who come from recent immigrant communities usually don't feel safe enough to attend public protests (much less get arrested in civil disobedience). So for those of us who do join in nonviolent C.D. -- and I say this to all those who will be out in the streets protesting this week, as part of the "5 Years Too Many" effort being coordinated by our colleagues at United for Peace and Justice -- we must always be thoughtful of "for whom we seek to speak" ... and if doing such an action can potentially put an ally in danger.

Nevertheless, our witness in Washington was significant. In terms of raw numbers -- on a day that would dissuade most people from going outside at all -- a series of religiously-centered vigils and worship services between noon and 4 p.m. on Friday, March 7th, drew some 1,500 people from across the country together to pray and call for peace. In freezing, pouring rain, close to 400 interfaith activists stood outside the U.S. Capitol, and marched to the Hart Senate Office Building, where 42 individuals were arrested as Senate staffers looked on from their offices.

In terms of base-building, we can celebrate the unique and significant gathering of religious leaders who came together into one circle. A half-dozen Muslim organizations joined Jewish representatives from a variety of networks and congregations, who joined the 30-some members of the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq (CPWI), who joined FOR and the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) and friends who claim a spiritual path but affiliate with none of these institutions. Three dozen of these key individuals sat down for two hours on Thursday, March 6th, to build deeper personal ties with one another and to lay a foundation for ongoing collaboration.

The process was ably facilitated by Mark Johnson of FOR and Rabia Harris of the Muslim Peace Fellowship, with significant contributions by Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center, David Hart of NSP, Jean Stokan of Pax Christi, Rick Ufford-Chase of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, Rob Keithan of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Samina Faheem of American Muslim Voice, and Diana Francis of CPWI. I felt incredibly privileged to sit in a small group with a member of the national Muslim Students Association, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ, the director of advocacy and outreach for NSP, a leader with the National Council of Jewish Women, a key activist in the California-based Interfaith Communities United for Peace and Justice, and others. What a dialogue group!

Clearly, there is much to be done. Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan continue on a daily basis; the White House has got mainstream media talking about the war within the context of the relative "success" of the "surge"; none of the three remaining presidential candidates have a plan to remove U.S. troops in the neear future, much less to seek to organize a multi-lateral, multi-national, Iraqi-led peace effort; and many people in the peace movement itself have become focused on the presidential campaign at the expense of ending the war. But there is hope, and new commitment, and new partnership, in the midst of it all.