Peace Walk

Margareta, Zach, Me, Ben, and Anton before the walk to the SOA rally.

The banner

Brother Utsumi

The whole gang plus a few more.

Simply put, last week was life changing. I had the opportunity to participate in a 100 mile Peace Walk. Actually, I wasn't even going to go at first. Going would mean not being at my service site, not working with my kids, and not sleeping in my own bed. Thankfully I reconsidered and decided this year is about experiencing NEW things, why in the world would I not JUMP at this opportunity.

Last Saturday night we drove to Koinonia Farm, about 15 miles outside Americus, Georgia. Cool bit of info, Koinonia Farm is the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity. For the first 3 nights of the peace walk we stayed at Koinonia Farm. Yes, this did mean we had to back track and drive to our actual starting point but it was great not having to pack up our belongings each morning. I think this year was the 10th annual peace walk for this particular group. Our walk was led by 3 Buddhist Monks from Atlanta from the order of Nipponzan Myohoji. At first I really wondered what it would be like to walk with monks. For the entire walk I knew they would be drumming and chanting.

As part of our Mission Year curriculum we are studying solitude and contemplation. Anton thought this peace walk would tie in beautifully with the idea of contemplation, which it did. The whole week, not just the actual time spent walking, but the entire week was an amazing time of contemplation for me personally. We had the opportunity to meet peace/ non violent activists from all over the country who have commit ed their lives to pursuing justice for the marginalized and oppressed. Listening to their stories was inspiring. These were people who didn't just talk about peace, they lived it. Some of the people I met were so passionate they actually went to jail as a prisoner of conscience for their beliefs. This makes me think of Paul. Paul was continuously imprisoned for the the sake of the gospel. He didn't practice his faith in a way that was safe or easy. He spoke out against the Romans, the leaders of his time, and he wasn't afraid. The men and women I met this week weren't afraid to speak out against our policies and the parts of our government that are frankly plain wrong. It was also challenging to see the dedication of the monks. Every morning at 6 am morning prayers would begin. Once we even started at 5:30 am.


JulesBobThe four women we are pictured with were Prisoners of Conscience.

Each day we would walk about 15 miles. I'd like to say I was able to walk that everyday, but that would be untrue. This walk was hard. After the second day my blisters were so huge and so uncomfortable I could hardly walk at all. By the fourth day I had a swollen ankle due to forcing myself to walk incorrectly just so I didn't have to quit. I ended talking Thursday off completely. I helped drive the support vehicle and prepare lunch and snacks. While in the support car I had a chance to talk with Jim, the founder of Footprints for Peace. He has led and participated in peace walks all over the US and Europe. He told me this walk had the largest group of people of faith, specifically Christians, that he had ever walked with. I wasn't surprised at this statement, but it did make me think. Why aren't Christians involved in more things such as this Peace Walk? Why are we led to believe that questioning the status quo is somehow wrong, anti Christian or worse anti American? This week did make me question and reflect on my faith. What am I called to pursue? What is it that I want my life to reflect? As a Christ follower I want my life to reflect Jesus' love. I want my life to reflect the compassion Jesus showed to the outsider, the stranger, the poor and oppressed. I am proud to have been part of an interfaith group this week. It was beautiful. This week has given me a new sense of hope and inspiration for the future.