Rita Brock reports on Camp Casey

The Rev. Dr. Rita Brock, who has been deeply involved in Faith Voices and other groups working for the end of the war against Iraq, reported recently about her visit to Camp Casey and Cindy Sheehan.

She now tells of her latest visit there for an interfaith rally and prayers for peace.    [8-31-05]

The sledgehammer of triple-digit, humid heat did not deter the 3,000+ who showed up the Camp Casey II for a rally Saturday afternoon. Even at 9am, the line of parked cars extended about a quarter mile up the road. A man who arrived at ten, drenched in sweat and smiling, said he had "to park in the next county!'

The first of many full buses pulled up from Austin at 11. Each bus was greeted by a smiling, cheering crowd shouting, "Welcome! Hooray! Welcome!" Mothers with babies, fathers with their children, gray-haired veterans, elderly women and men, a constant flow of peace-loving Texans poured off buses until early afternoon. As people arrived, others, some with planes to catch or jobs to report to, left. During the main part of the rally, beginning around 1pm, the huge tent was packed. It held 3,000 standing. Counting the tables near the food line, there were probably 2,500 at one time, but people flowed in and out of the tent all afternoon. At 2pm, I joined a long line of cars leaving from my parking spot in the ditch, I could see the line of parked cars disappearing up the hill a half mile away. The usual 10 minutes to Crawford center took 30. I went to Waco to pick up Rabbi Gamoran arriving from Seattle. The line of arriving cars didn't shorten until around 4pm, when I returned, grateful for a couple of hours in an air-conditioned car.

I was there until 10 pm, occasionally venturing out into the stabbing sun to spend a half hour in the weak shade of the Peace Chapel tent. On one foray, I found Mona, who had attended our Break the Silence Bus Tour in June in Columbus, OH. At that time, she had felt alone and isolated in her opposition to the war and frantically worried about her son, who was going to Iraq in September. The local paper had interviewed her for their story of the Bus Tour. They did a story about her when they found out she was headed to Camp Casey. The story generated financial support for her from her friends and neighbors. At Camp Casey 15 days, she had joined Military Families Speak Out. While she was still worried about her son, she no longer felt alone.

Later, Rabbi Gamoran joined me in the Chapel, and 14 year old, red-haired Sammichelle from Temple, TX, joined us. Her family was Jewish, and she commented on the irony of an absence of temples in her home town. She reported that, a week ago, their air conditioning and hot water heater failed simultaneously, so her parents had decided to spend the week camping at Camp Casey, much to her delight. She told us of her conversations with "infiltrators," whom she had detected by their unfriendly, sour looks and inability to converse about the war beyond a few syllables.

At 7:30 pm dark clouds on the horizon arrived with spectacular lightning and fierce winds. The Chapel blew down, though we salvaged the altar and most of what was on it. The huge main tent swayed and shook, but stayed up.

The storm gave us a merciful break in the heat. As I walked from my car Sunday morning, I passed one of the sheriff officers standing in his Kevlar vest along the roadside, smiling at the people arriving. "Thanks," I said, "for ordering us a cooler day!" "You're welcome," he responded cheerfully, "but we did it mostly for us." None of the law enforcement officers assigned to Camp Casey received any overtime pay, even during nights and weekends, though they protected it 24/7. In return, the residents of Camp Casey followed their instructions carefully.

It was only 90 degrees when Sunday's interfaith service began. The organizers of the Saturday rally thought perhaps 200 would be there, so volunteers put about 250 chairs in concentric circles in the center of the huge tent. A table with flowers and candles were at the center.

As I was conferring with participants about the order of the service and their various responsibilities, Glenn Smith told me that 4,500 roses were arriving for the service. Working Assets had organized mothers to pay $3 each to provide them. They put the huge buckets, stuffed with roses in every color imaginable, on the tables behind the circle, so that one whole area was bathed in the fragrance of roses. The cameras had the flowers as a backdrop to the whole service. Several buckets stood around the center altar table.

Before we began, the chairs were full and more were added. By the time we started, a large group was standing around the perimeter 500 had gathered, including babies, the occasional dog, and some press.

We began with the Muslim call to prayer. Then, Jeff Key, an Iraq veteran, rang a bell to remember the fallen -- a ringing the National Council of Churches urged as a nationwide project for churches on Sunday. A poem by Archibald MacLeish, called "The Young Dead Soldiers" was followed by a solo, "Remember Me."

A religious leader from each of seven faith traditions invited those of that tradition to gather around the altar while the leader spoke of their commitment to peace: Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Muslim, African American Christian, and Unitarian Universalist. Then, those who had no religious tradition were invited to the altar, welcomed, and thanked for their solidarity and support for people of faith in our common struggle for peace.

A trio, the Burns sisters from Binghamton, NY, sang the prayer of St. Francis as we entered a time of meditative prayer. We were invited to name the fallen, those in harm's way, and those who give us hope for peace. As so many, many names were spoken aloud, from everywhere around the circle, I felt that a great cloud of witnesses had joined us under the tent, and I was deeply moved.

Rabbi Dennis Shulman from New York led us in the reciting of the 23rd Psalm and Kaddish, the Jewish prayer of mourning for the dead. As we stood in a close circle of 500, many openly weeping, we held each other at the finish of Kaddish, and sang "Wade In the Water." After the benediction by Rev. Al Sharpton, everyone was invited to follow Cindy and Jane, Gold Star Mothers, to take a rose and place it on one of the white crosses of Arlington West. When I announced that mothers had provided the roses, a great cheer rose up.

Rev. Sharpton reminded us that 42 years ago to the day, August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had delivered his "I Have a Dream Speech," and we must carry on the dream. He blessed us to go out and work for peace. We sang as we took up roses and walked out to the crosses. Jeff Key stood in the midst of the mourners and crosses and played Dr. King's favorite hymn, "Precious Lord," on his trumpet, his tall lean frame silhouetted against the cloudy prairie sky. Soon, the field of crosses looked like a rose field.

An hour later, a group of us, including Jeff, held a service at the original Camp Casey. We took more buckets overflowing with roses. The crowd of 100 or so stood in a group on the asphalt road, in front of the tent where Cindy originally camped in the midst of white crosses. I had stood in the same place twice before to lead a service at Camp Casey, on August 15 and 23, and many of the faces were now familiar to me. I knew their stories, their commitments to each other, and the grief and fear they carried. I felt a deep gratitude for their presence in the world.

As we began the service, we stood in front of the cross of Sherwood Baker, the son of Celeste Zappala, who had spoken with Cindy at the Riverside Service April 4. When I mentioned the anniversary of King's speech, a gasp of wonder arose. Some commented about the importance of our gathering on the same day -- we could feel the power of our responsibility to carry on the legacy. As at the service at Camp Casey 2, many, many names were spoken in prayer. And many, many roses were put on crosses. Jeff played taps at the end.

When I drove by two hours later on my way to the airport, people were still putting roses on crosses, standing in groups by the edge of the road, talking and comforting each other. It is an image I will never forget.

Among those religious leaders who provided leadership for the Sunday services:

Dr. Rita Brock, Protestant, liturgist, Oakland, CA
Ms. JoAnne Henry, Protestant, music organizer, vocalist, Oakland, CA
Rabbi Hillel Gamoran, Jewish representative, Seattle, WA
Rev. Heather Starr, Unitarian Universalist representative, Portland, OR
Fr. Joseph Mulligan, Roman Catholic representative, San Antonio, TX
Rev. Emilee Whitehurst, Presbyterian, Protestant representative and prayer leader, Austin, TX
Rabbi Dennis Shulman, Jewish, leader of Kaddish, New York, NY
Rev. Al Sharpton, Protestant, parting commission and benediction, New York, NY

The Bush Administration has moved as usual to smear a critic – this time the mother of a soldier who died in Iraq. That has worked in the past against such Vietnam veterans as John McCain, Max Cleland, and John Kerry. This time, says Frank Rich, it may not work as well. Even if the media continue to parrot the White House line, the people are catching on.

Don’t give Bush an exit strategy

Jake Young, pastor and Witherspoon Vice President, is on his way home to South Carolina after visiting Crawford, Texas, and "Camp Casey," with a group from his congregation. He sends this quick report:    [8-20-05]

When we arrived we were saddened to learn that Cindy Sheehan was preparing to leave because her mother had suffered a stroke. We were concerned for her mother and family. And, obviously, there was much disappointment that the leader of the vigil would have to leave. What would happen now? Will this energy just dissipate? Will the media attention ebb? The answer to the last question is, "Of course!"

But what we saw emerge over the brief time we were there, was a renewed sense of energy and commitment to support our troops by advocating for peace. Just two or three hours after she left, people were no longer saying, "Will Cindy be back? When?" Instead, they began saying, "Cindy does not need to come back. She has been the catalyst. She can't be here holding our hands." And we began to look around and discover others right there at Camp Casey who could speak with the same moral authority as Cindy because they had lost sons and other family members in this immoral war. It was no longer a "cult of Cindy" but the emergence of a sharper focus on the topic that united all these people on a Texas roadside in the first place: peace.

Thousands rallied for last night’s vigils

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Turning Out to Support a Mother's Protest

Elisabeth Bumiller reports from Crawford, Texas:

Supporters of Cindy Sheehan held more than 1,500 candlelight vigils across the country on Wednesday night in solidarity with this mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, who has set up a protest encampment down the road from President Bush's ranch here.

The vigils, coordinated by the advocacy group MoveOn.org, were held in places from Lafayette Park across from the White House to Rockefeller Center to Clover Park in Santa Monica, Calif. MoveOn.org organizers said that they had received 50,000 R.S.V.P.'s via e-mail by midday Wednesday and that they expected the turnout to be double that.

Organizers said the response showed how Ms. Sheehan had become a catalyst for an antiwar movement that had been relatively unfocused since the 2004 presidential campaign.

The whole story in the New York Times >>

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One Twin Cities vigil draws over 1000

Over a dozen others were held in the area.

More >>

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Photos from around the country >>

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Reuters has carried a good report >>

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NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar invites Bush to join Gold Star families at interfaith prayer service Friday outside his ranch

If you plan to go to Crawford, travel logistics provided by the Sheehan support team can be found here. 

The prayer service has been called by Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan "as an opportunity for Americans and others across the world to pray for our soldiers in Iraq, their families and in particular the mothers of our fallen."

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Sheehan blames the Jews?

We received this anonymous note on Monday, August 15:

Given all the expressions of concern and outrage over the purported anti-Semitism of the Presbyterian statements and possible actions regarding Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, your WebWeaver was concerned about this charge. I responded to the e-mail note, asking the writer if he or she could tell me more about the charges. There has been no response.

But apparently such charges have been circulating, perhaps as part of the Administration’s usual campaign of attacking anyone who dares to raise a critical voice.

Today brings a response from Shalom Center, a Jewish and interfaith peace center in Philadelphia. The letter is authored by Rabbi Arthur Waskow. It’s fairly long, but the Rabbi thoughtfully highlights the crucial paragraphs in color.

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A very personal visit with Cindy Sheehan

Rita Nakashima Brock, following her appearance at the Faith and Freedom rally in Nashville, visited Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas.

Here’s a very personal glimpse into what’s happening there:

Our time with Cindy on August 15, Monday, went well. A van of people representing DriveDemocracy (www.drivedemocracy.org), Faith Voices for the Common Good (www.faithvoices.org), and Clergy and Laity Concerned About Iraq (www.unitedforpeace.org) drove out from Austin, a sort of mini Freedom and Faith Forum Bus Tour, the second leg of which she had joined in June. First, we talked to some of the 50 or so people who seemed to be on site at various booths set up along the roadside. Eventually, we stood behind her as she taped live segments for Hardball and CNN on Monday evening. We then held a short service of worship for Cindy and about 30 of the people who were there with her, including a devastated Vietnam vet, who raised his son alone and lost him in Iraq on the same day as Cindy lost Casey, 04/04/04. He and I talked a long time. After that, a couple of us who know her spent about a half hour alone with her, checking on what she might need for herself.

We have a regular commitment to check in with her to give her some breathing space from all the pressures and to help her get through the next two weeks.

While we were there, we got a sense of what she has been doing all day every day for two weeks already. Not only does she do press interview after press interview (one of our Beloved Community coalition members decided to help her with press by hiring a PR firm to manage all the requests, which has helped with that part of her time), but there is a constant flow, sometimes a tidal wave, of people who come to talk to her. Just while we were talking to her for about 20 minutes--on a slow day!--we were interrupted by a couple who'd lost their son in Iraq and had driven, as I recall, from Pittsburgh and by a man who had flown in from out of town and came out for an hour because it was the only time he could take off work--he wanted to thank her. The last interruption was by a Middle Eastern woman and her husband. They had lost their son in the World Trade Towers, where he was rescuing people. They had his picture and wanted to tell her that they did not think their son's life was avenged by her son having to die in an immoral war. They were heartbroken about what was happening in Iraq.

Cindy, despite her exhaustion after ten days of heat, torrential rains, fire ants, thousands of visitors, angry locals, and right wing hecklers, listened carefully and compassionately to each person and offered support. She does this even with those who come to disagree and argue with her. She truly has the spirit of love in her. Pray for her that God will continue to give her strength for the important work she is doing. By the way, Cindy will be at the big anti-war rally planned for Washington DC Sept 24-26. She will be with us on Monday the 26th, when our Beloved Community coalition is planning to have a large group of religious leaders get arrested protesting the war. Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq is the main organizer of the protest action. We welcome anyone who wants to join us. Contact Rev. Sekou at sekou@sbcglobal.net.

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Bad Iraq War News Worries Some in GOP on '06 Vote

A New York Times report by Adam Nagourney and David D. Kirkpatrick points out that Sheehan’s vigil and the wide response to it is part of a larger picture of growing impatience with the war and rising disapproval of President Bush's Iraq policies. And some Republican party officials are even acknowledging this.

And a few Democrats are even finding it possible to raise their voices!

The whole story >>

[8-17-05]
 

If you’re following the many reports of one mother’s act of conscience on behalf of her son, killed in Iraq, here’s one great collection of articles and photos, including Ms. Sheehan’s own comments.

And William Pitt reports on the creation of the "Arlington West cemetery" by the activists who are accompanying Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, TX – and the harassment of the group, expanding finally to the deliberate desecration of the grave markers by one Larry Northern of Waco, Texas.   More >>

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Nationwide vigils tonight Wednesday, August 17

TrueMajority urges:

The peace movement is standing up.

In an e-mail to members they write:

Last night a pickup truck dragging chains ran over the rows of white crosses on the side of the road next to Cindy Sheehan's vigil in Crawford, Texas.[1] And you probably already saw the news yesterday about President Bush's neighbor firing a shotgun into the air trying to scare the mothers of fallen soldiers who have gathered around Cindy.

Cindy and the other moms in Crawford have vowed to stay, and now a neighboring rancher, who is a veteran, has offered them some of his nearby land if they need it. He is standing up. Tomorrow night all of us can do the same, at more than a thousand candlelight vigils across the country.

Here's a page where you can find the vigils planned near you.

(If you don't see one near you, sign up to host. All it takes is a candle and a box of matches.)

The spirit of that rancher in standing up in his own pro-Bush community is the sort of spirit against the war that is growing across America. Tomorrow's vigils for Cindy Sheehan will be your chance to do the same. By standing together we will show the president and the media that our nation is against this war.

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Friday August 19, 2005
Noon - U.S. Central Daylight Time
Camp Casey Memorial
Crawford, TX

August 15, 2005

Dear Religious Leader:

Family members of fallen soldiers, who have joined me in Crawford, and I invite you to attend a moment of silent prayer at 12:00 noon (Central Daylight Time) this Friday, August 19^th at Camp Casey just outside the Presidents’ Ranch. We’re holding this moment of prayer as an opportunity for Americans and others across the world to pray for our soldiers in Iraq, their families and in particular the mothers of our fallen. We have also invited President Bush and the first lady to join us in praying for the troops.

Several family members of fallen soldiers have joined with me in Crawford and will take part in the moment of silent prayer. Outside the President’s ranch we have set up a temporary camp named "Camp Casey" and a memorial of crosses with names of fallen soldiers has been erected, which is where the prayer service will take place.

If you cannot attend our service in Crawford, Texas please consider hosting a prayer vigil in your city. We ask you to join us in a simultaneous moment of silent prayer to honor all who have been affected by this war. You are welcome to contact your local media and inform them of your vigil.

My son, Casey Sheehan, 24, of Vacaville, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 4, 2004, when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. When President Bush began his 5 week vacation, I decided to camp outside his ranch in hopes of meeting with him to ask some unanswered questions about the war and the needless loss of lives of so many. Thus far the President has refused to meet, but my resolve is strong and I will remain in Crawford until the meeting takes place or his vacation ends.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and support of this interfaith prayer service.

Respectfully,

Cindy Sheehan
Mother of Casey Sheehan

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FROM CAMP CASEY

CRAWFORD,TX

NEAR THE WESTERN WHITE HOUSE

DEAR FRIENDS

COME TO CRAWFORD TO BE WITH US. FLY SOUTHWESTERN FOR BEST RATES. TWO HOUR DRIVE FROM DALLAS. CRAWFORD IS 20 MILES WEST OF WACO. LOTS OF CHEAP MOTELS IN WACO.

CLERGY WEAR COLLARS AND BRING A COLORFUL STOLE. MEET IN CRAWFORD AT 11 AM TO GO TO CAMP CASEY 5 MILES AWAY.

PASS THE WORD!!!!!

IF GOD MOVES LISTEN TO HER VOICE

ANDREW WEAVER

QUESTIONS? CALL MY CELL – 212 920-9296

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A suggested prayer from Rabbi Arthur Waskow, of the Shalom Center in Philadelphia:

Suggestions for a prayer for those so moved to use during the vigils in support of Cindy tonight, or at congregational gatherings this Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. It stems from a Jewish prayer (as is obvious from the Hebrew) but is universal and on point .

Shalom, Arthur

Rabbi Arthur Waskow
The Shalom Center
Www.shalomctr.org

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May You Who make peace in the ultimate reaches of the universe teach us to make peace within ourselves and between each other — among all the families of Abraham, all the families of the human race, and all the forms of life that You have created on our planet.

May the day soon come when strength and gentleness will be woven together, and may You give gentle strength to women and men who today — as in the ancient stories of the midwives who faced Pharaoh and the prophets who faced kings — dare to face those leaders who make war.

And may You give such leaders the wisdom not only to hear and see the pain of those stricken by war, but to bring that suffering to an end by doing Your will and making peace.

Oseh shalom bimromav, hu yaaseh shalom alenu, v’al kol Yisrael, v’al kol Yishmael, v’al kol yoshvei teyvel.


The Shalom Center www.shalomctr.org voices a new prophetic agenda in Jewish, multireligious, and American life. To receive a weekly on-line bulletin, click on --
http://www.shalomctr.org/index.cfm/action/subscribe.html

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Cindy Sheehan’s vigil is of course being attacked from the Right.

Norman Solomon, author of War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death, writes in TomPaine.com:

The surge of antiwar voices in U.S. media this month has coincided with new lows in public approval for what pollsters call President Bush’s "handling" of the Iraq war. After more than two years of a military occupation that was supposed to be a breeze after a cakewalk into Baghdad, the war has become a clear PR loser. But an unpopular war can continue for a long time—and one big reason is that the military-industrial-media complex often finds ways to blunt the effectiveness of its most prominent opponents.

Right now, the pro-war propaganda arsenal of the world’s only superpower is drawing a bead on Cindy Sheehan, who now symbolizes the United States' anti-war grief. She is a moving target, very difficult to hit. But right-wing media sharpshooters are sure to keep trying.     More >>