PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Local Candlelight Vigils for Peace
by Corey Ballantyne Sunday, Mar. 16, 2003 at 4:14 PM
cjbst57@pitt.edu (email address validated) 412 687 3996

From convents to a cocktail-drinking club, Pittsburgh area locales hold candlelight vigils for peace.

Gatherings in the Pittsburgh area will be among those around the world holding candlelight vigils this evening (March 16, 2003) in support of peace. Groups as varied as several area convents and monasteries, First Unitarian Church and the Friends Quaker Meeting House, Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails, which apparently is a drinking club with a chapter that meets in Polish Hill (http://www.lupec.org), and a few gatherings of people with no particular common affiliation are joining in this day of vigils called for by MoveOn.org and the Win Without War coalition.

Local vigil organizers Joann Pratt of the Society of Friends (also known as Quakers) and Rev. David Herndon of First Unitarian have each said that they expect approximately fifty people at their respective vigils. Online registrants (at http://www.moveon.org/vigil/ ) for the Friends vigil have since increased to over 80. Other vigils, such as one at Frick Park, may be as large, but organizers have not been located for comment.

The vigils began in New Zealand and have continued as evening falls in other countries. Pictures from vigils around the world become available at http://www.moveon.org/vigil/ as MoveOn receives them. These events demonstrate the possibilities of the Internet as MoveOn�s communication with its members is largely (if not exclusively) electronic. Pratt and Herndon reported having learned of the call for vigils directly from MoveOn. Herndon said that he had already been thinking about holding a peace vigil and that an email from MoveOn about the global event �prompted� him to hold the vigil this evening.

As a form of peaceful protest, the candlelight vigils attracted some who might be unlikely to participate in more �dramatic� protest activities, to use a word mentioned by Leonora Cayard of the Society of Friends. Two convents, when approached, seemed wary after I began by saying I was �writing an article.� A woman from the Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale who spoke with me this morning emphasized that their vigil would be peaceful, �somber,� and �not a rally.� When asked about organizers, she said that it was some global event but did not name any of the sisters. The telephone operator in the main office of the Sisters of Holy Family of Nazareth stated, and then emphatically repeated, that she could not help me. This occurred after she reported that the sisters responsible for the vigil at their retirement home and care center, Holy Family Manor, would not be available for comment because one of them had been hospitalized due to injury sustained by falling.

As for the nature of these convent vigils, whoever announced the Holy Family Manor event (at http://www.moveon.org/vigil/) wrote, �We cannot hold a vigil as such, but� our retired and sick sisters [will] pray the rosary and light vigils�. Please know we would like to be part of this important event and this is how we can contribute� our limitations and incapacities hinder us from going to places�.�

Quakers often hold silent, legal, nonviolent protest vigils, said (married couple) Leonora and Wallace Cayard of the Friends �meeting,� or congregation, which meets at the Friends Meeting House at 4836 Ellsworth Ave. Quakers are known for pacifism, and this meeting has a committee devoted to �Peace and Social Concerns.� Miriam DeRiso and Joann Pratt were two organizers of tonight�s vigil at the Meeting House. Mr. and Mrs. Cayard both oppose �all wars� and first met at a peace-related activity about fifty years ago. To the question of whether the Quakers �shy away from civil disobedience,� Mr. Cayard responded that it is �hard to generalize� and that the older Quakers are more radical than the young nowadays. He said that Quakers consider all people children of God and prefer to �appeal to� the good in them rather than to attack.

Rev. Herndon said that Unitarian-Universalists (so-called after the 1961 merging of the Unitarian and Universalist churches) do not participate only in vigils but also in marches as they are able. Someone from First Unitarian counted 108 people marching from the church to a march through Oakland in January, he said. (Presumably this was the march on January 26 during the �Convergence.�) In 1991, the church held an evening �Prayers for Peace� service after fighting started in Kuwait. To summarize why UU�s are holding vigil against war tonight, Herndon said that UU�s are socially conscious and have always �affirmed the inherent worth and dignity of every human being�� and have �historically� believed in making the world better for everyone and in the �goodness of people.� He said, �We put our faith in peaceful solutions to conflicts whenever possible. At the present time, most of us here believe that diplomacy and inspections need to be given more opportunity�.�

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Spelling correction
by Corey Ballantyne Sunday, Mar. 16, 2003 at 10:37 PM

Spelling correction: Jo Ann Pratt, not Joann.

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Second Article as an Update.
by Corey Ballantyne Sunday, Mar. 16, 2003 at 11:06 PM

http://www.indypgh.org/news/2003/03/1998.php

This link is to my follow-up article with info. added after the vigils.

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Later Input from LUPEC
by Corey Ballantyne Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2003 at 2:49 PM
cjbst57@pitt.edu 412 687 3996

"Sheryl (brandy"you're a fine girl" alexander) Johnston" kindly submitted the following responses on Monday to inquiries by email:

> *What will your particular vigil be like? For
> example, I see it is to be
> part of a business meeting. Will it be brief?
> Silent? Will you be
> drinking "endangered cocktails"?

The vigil was *After* the LUPEC business meeting. We
just decided that since we would be gathered there
anyway, we would have the vigil at that location. We
met at a members house and she just happens to live at
the corner of Herron Hill, which is a very visible and
trafficked corner. So it was a good location. We had a
silent vigil for about 20 minutes. (Our original
intention had been 15 minutes, but a few people came
after we started so we extended it.) We did not drink
endangered cocktails, but we did have a sign which
read LUPEC says MAKE DRINKS NOT WAR.(after the vigil
we went to gooskis down the hill for some conversation
and cocktails)
>
> *About how many people will participate? May I
> contact you after the vigil
> to find out how many actually participated?

We ended up with a total of 8 people at the vigil.
Only myself and my girlfriend actually signed up, so
it was a pleasant surprise!
>
> *How did you learn that vigils were being called for
> worldwide on this date?

I was sent an email by Moveon.org, after having
participated in an online petition to the U.N. against
the war.
>
> *Has your chapter of LUPEC participated in similar
> or other
> protest/activist events in the past?

LUPEC has not participated in any other protest or
activist events. We try to remain non political, but
there are some issues we as a group feel strongly
about and we will mobilize for them.
>
> *Would you (organizer/s or other participants) like
> to comment on why you
> are participating in a vigil for peace?

Myself and Black Monday(the other member of LUPEC in
attendance, at who's home we were meeting) both feel
very strongly about making a statement against the
war, and we had already scheduled the meeting, so we
decided to turn it into a vigil so we could
participate. We were surprised and delighted that
other people showed up to join us.

>
> *Any other information you would like to share or
> feel is important?
The LUPEC website is at http://www.lupec.org. Thanks so much
for including us in your article!

Sheryl (brandy"you're a fine girl" alexander) Johnston

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