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School of the Americas protest, Nov.
2001 |
| As the "war against
terrorism" continues, Presbyterians and others still protest the
US-based training for terrorists at Ft. Benning
a special report from Anne Llewellyn Barstow
dated 11-29-01
| Updates:
Latest
reminder of November 15-17, 2002 rally and nonviolent civil
resistance actions [10-15-02]
Update on
8-23-02: The two PC(USA) ministers will be going to prison
Sept. 10
Two
Presbyterian pastors sentenced for protest against School of the
Americas [7-19-02]
Note: PresbyWeb has posted a very different
view of this situation. Click
here for a summary, and some of the debate following. You
may want to join in the discussion.
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[5-21-02]
Two protesting pastors indicted
Two Presbyterian Church (USA) pastors are among
43 protesters indicted in federal court last month for
trespassing on a military base in Georgia, in the protest action
at the School of the Americas reported below.
The Rev. Chuck Booker-Hirsch, of Ann Arbor,
MI, and the Rev. Erik Johnson, of Maryville, TN, were arrested
during the annual School of Americas Watch (SAW) protest last
November.
We have posted two reports:
Marilyn White,
past chairperson of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, puts the
protests in a wider context of actions against US militarism.
Alexa
Smith of Presbyterian News Service offers other details of
the situation and the people and churches involved. |
Since "everything changed" on Sept. 11, the
annual SOA protest changed too. Despite dire doubts as to whether it
would take place at all, with Ft. Benning on high alert and no permit
from the city of Columbus, between 7,500 - 10,000 persons came to
Georgia anyway. We turned the time of national crisis to advantage,
adding new rituals to old.
Most important perhaps was our legal victory in
Federal Court on the eve of the protest. With ACLU help we challenged
the denial of permit. The judge finally ruled that in 11 years of
peaceful exercise of our right to free speech, we HAD EARNED the right
to protest at the gates of Ft. Benning, and ordered that we have access
to the entire area, not just one lane of the road. This affirmation of
our disciplined activism buoyed us up for an unforgettable protest next
day.
The main "new" feature was The Wall, a
wire-mesh fence across the entrance to the base. Well, wire mesh was
just what we needed! Since most of us could not climb the high fence, we
DECORATED it. It took over 3 hours for the huge crowd to complete its
task, but finally everyone of us had placed her cross (and flowers,
pictures, rosaries, you name it) on the fence. The extra time required
to do this made the deep silence all the more awesome. Meanwhile, the
traditional ritual of calling the names of the dead and the response,
"Presente," went on. It was as always moving. Many were in
tears. When the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship group finished a prayer at
the gate, we realized that 40 or 50 people had gathered around to pray
with us. We prayed for "all victims of terrorism."
One group did a "die-in" at the gate, and
others built a Global Village at the foot of the wall. People brought
cooking grills, spread blankets, even tried to add a toilet and TV set -
it made a fine display. Later there was fantastic dancing and drumming.
But for about 100 the more serious encounter was just beginning. As
darkness fell, the die-in folks did not move. Finally the Columbus
police arrested them (about 30). They began a fast that lasted about 48
hours. About 70 others managed to get around the fence and to trespass
on the base. They were booked and released, but not before a number
received ban and bar notices (Charles Booker-Hirsh was a Presbyterian
among them). Fourteen will face possible jail sentences. The court was
flooded with faxes from across the country and finally on Tuesday night
even the fasters, having pled guilty to "obstructing a road,"
were let go.
We proved that not even the national emergency could
stop us from pursuing the closing of SOA. We will be back next year -
and will gather in Washington on Apr 20-21 as well. As our chanting and
singing was interspersed with calls to "End the war in
Afghanistan" and "Punish the terrorists, don't bomb the
Afghans," we joined SOA Watch with the larger peace movement.
Anne Llewellyn Barstow |
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Visit
our lively
new website! |
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GA actions
ratified (or not) by the presbyteries
A number of the most important actions of the 219th
General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries,
confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.
We provided resources to help inform the
reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.
Our three areas of primary interest have been:
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Amendment 10-A,
which removes the current ban on
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender persons being considered as
possible candidates for ordination as elder or ministers.
Approved! |
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Amendment 10-2,
which would add the Belhar Confession to our Book of
Confessions. Disapproved, because as an amendment
to the Book of Confessions it needed a 2/3 vote, and did not
receive that. |
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Amendment
10-1, which adopts the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. Approved. |
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If you like what
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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