Ed Bacon at Camp Casey
Part I: Forging a Path to Peace
Crawford Journal, August 21-22, 2005
Sunday, August 21, 2005
I have come to Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas to support Cindy Sheehan in her courageous effort to have a conversation with president George W. Bush challenging the notion that the war in Iraq, which took the life of her son, is a “noble cause.”
I arrived at the Crawford Peace House in time to catch a shuttle to Camp Casey II where a Sunday morning service was scheduled. The trip to the Camp from downtown Crawford takes a winding road into the beautiful flatlands of west Texas. We passed by the original camp established by Cindy Sheehan on August 6. It is still a beehive of activity of tents, campers, and information tables. Some have preferred to stay there instead of moving to the more spacious, technologically friendly, and established campsite.
Located at the corner of Prairie Chapel Rd and Canaan Church Rd., Camp Casey II was made possible through the generosity of the third cousin of the man who fired his shotgun into the air near Camp Casey I last week. I was surprised at the sophisticated multipeaked central tent where large rallies and concerts are now being held. Tonight, Joan Baez will give a concert there.
I immediately went to a circle of chairs in the middle of the big tent where a variety of prayers, chants, readings, and songs were being offered in a radically egalitarian way, presided over by a woman in a clerical collar. I learned later that the egalitarian nature of the service was in fact a victory after quite a lot of tension experienced in the camp after Friday’s worship. A group of clergy had led a procession, the impact of which had been quite negative to many because all the clergy were male and the “followers” were largely women. Through much heated processing this morning’s circle was quite the opposite: a circle instead of a hierarchical procession; a woman presider; spontaneous offerings from Sufis, Buddhists, Jews, as well as Christians.
Apparently quite a “community spirit and mind” has evolved over the days since the camp’s founding. Two daily meetings are held to iron out any issues. And the complex division of labor is astounding, all stemming from the nerve center in downtown Crawford at the Peace House. Computer people, office managers, cooks, information givers, shuttle drivers, finance people, and on and on. There is a constant stream of new people coming in. I have had conversations with a shuttle driver who dropped everything in Boston to come help the enterprise, folks from Washington state, a sawmill operator from Georgia, and there are hundreds of Texans adding warm southern hospitality. A beehive could not be organized more effectively.
At the center, of course, is Cindy Sheehan. While she is away in Los Angeles caring for her hospitalized mother, the Gold Mothers for Peace organization embodies Cindy’s spirit. They occasionally step to the microphone to bring a message from Cindy or convey a report on her mother’s medical status (which is improving).
I stepped away from the worship circle to attend a service held concurrently by relatives of those who either have died or are still serving in Iraq. They prayed before the dozens of crosses, Jewish stars of David, and Muslim crescent symbols. Each introduced him or herself. Then they were led into the center of the worship circle inside the tent for a prayer. It was at this point that I could no longer hold back my own tears. This is the first time I have cried over the deaths of those Iraqi and American children of God in Iraq. The U.S. in large part is in denial of death – particularly in Iraq. This is not only the epicenter of the peace movement right now. It is also the center of the coming to mournful terms of the appalling death incurred in this immoral war of aggression.
“Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted,” were the words of Jesus read as the gospel lesson at a Eucharist held immediately following the circle worship. More traditional than would fly at All Saints, nevertheless the two Catholic priests who organized it invited the woman cleric and me to concelebrate with them and made sure that communion was open to everyone. I agreed to concelebrate because they invited the woman in as an equal participant and understood Jesus’ table as an inclusive one to all. Those who received were demonstrably grateful to have the Eucharist offered and thanked us profusely afterward. One lady later told me that people sitting next to her who said they were atheists then said they were going to return to church. Once again, the power of the Eucharist in the context of peace and justice to heal and transform.
After the Eucharist, I shuttled back to Crawford to receive the petitions signed by worshippers at All Saints this morning. Almost 500 worshipers signed the petition. As I read their names, I had such a feeling of affection for each person, knowing how passionately each person feels about being an instrument of peace.
Before leaving Crawford to return to Camp Casey I visited the labyrinth the peacemakers at The Crawford Peace House had made. I also took photos of the person who has made all the crosses, stars of David, and crescents as symbols of soldiers lost in Iraq.
I later returned to Camp Casey I and II. At Camp I, I took photos of crescents and stars of David as well as other memorials.
As I got into my car, an earnest young Christian man approached me for a conversation. I was deeply appreciative for his time. His position was that anyone who thinks the President is a liar is himself a liar. He said that because I had not familiarized myself with a website about persecution of Christians in Iraq, he could not respect me. I responded that I sympathized with those who are persecuted but that Jesus would not condone bombing those who persecute. Rather he said to bless them. He asked me if I didn’t believe that the Jesus of the book of Revelation didn’t condone being an instrument of the wrath and justice of God. I said that I did not. We were called to be instruments of reconciliation, forgiveness, bringing people together, and not retributive justice. The book of Revelation is a symbolic reflection on the Roman Empire and the religious complicity with it, rather than being a predictor of the future. He was appalled. When I stated that there were more terrorists in Iraq than when we invaded, he asked me where I got my information. I said that that report was on NBC. He said I needed watch FOX news. I said that I did, along with other news. There was much more in our exchange including give and take about the ineffectiveness of the war, the increase in terrorism in the world, the lack of wisdom of using the American Revolution as an analogy supporting our invasion of Iraq. Finally he said he didn’t see any reason to continue talking because I am a liar, I don’t believe in Scripture, and I am not an honorable person. He would not shake my hand and gave me his name only in such a garbled way as he was walking away that I couldn’t hear it. A sad, stunning, and important conversation which gave me a sense of why I had come and what a part of peacemaking must entail: speaking clearly and compassionately across the divide.
My next message is more about the heart of the gathering here with a report on the Joan Baez concert. Part II: Blessed Be the Peacemakers.
Other Crawford links of interest: