'Camp Casey' makes a witness for peace in Fort Wayne.

By Tom Benevento

We had a steady stream of people coming to visit Camp Casey to think together how to end the war in Iraq. Each day brought 30 to 50 people from early morning to late at night. Many brought food, like homemade cookies or donuts. Others come to sit by the fire and feel the calmness of the camp.

I was amazed at the diversity of people who came. One late afternoon we had a university professor of peace studies, a grandmother from a poor neighborhood, a man who has been living on the streets, two middle school boys, and an army veteran--all sitting together at our camp fire discussing the war. As we talked my eyes rose to see the quarter moon that was lifting above the trees. Its light glistened down on 59 white crosses we set out in honor of the Indiana soldiers killed. Smoke from the fire made its way into the sky, screening the crosses as I listened to the many voices speak.

At that moment it struck me how the dead represented by the white crosses, and the thousands of Iraqis buried now, were being honored in our work together to end the war. It was an unplanned sacred ceremony.

--Tom Benevento, Latin America/Caribbean staff for the General Board's Global Mission Partnerships, and Cliff Kindy, longtime Brethren volunteer for Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), helped organize "Camp Casey" in Fort Wayne, Ind., for two weeks in October. The camp called for the end of the war in Iraq. They invite others to join an "Iraq Public Witness Delegation" in northern Indiana Nov. 26-Dec. 10 to raise awareness about the situation in Iraq through a tent encampment and nonviolent action at sites such as munitions factories and military recruitment offices. Participants should be prepared to spend 14 days camping in arduous winter conditions or in simple accommodations. Participants will raise prayer support and $250 to cover costs, and arrange their own transportation to South Bend, Ind. Apply by Nov. 20; e-mail delegations@cpt.org or see www.cpt.org/.

Source: 11/18/2005 Newsline
top