Unitarian Universalists Join Anti-War March on Washington

An aerial view of the rally Photo by Bronwyn Fryer

Members of Unity Temple, Oak Park, Illinois Photo by Adam Gerhardstein/UUA

Jan Tommila and Ed Scheiderer, Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville, Maryland Photo by Adam Gerhardstein/UUA

(Washington D.C., January 27, 2007) In the wake of President George W. Bush's state of the union address announcing an immediate escalation of U.S. troop presence in Iraq, hundreds of Unitarian Universalists converged on the U.S. capitol on Saturday for an anti-war rally and march organized by United for Peace and Justice  and supported by the Win Without War  coalition. UU participants joined an estimated five hundred thousand others, united in their opposition to the war in Iraq and their support for bringing our troops home.

Many UUs attended the interfaith service which was held before the march at the Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill. The service, organized by the Network of Spiritual Progressives , including a chalice lighting by Rev. Rob Hardies, Senior Minister of All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington D.C. The All Souls Jubilee Singers led the overflow crowd in songs of peace and justice.

Janice View, a member of All Souls, attended the interfaith service and was inspired: "It was wonderful to have an interfaith grouping of people responding to the war, calling for peace and justice… It was not as multi-cultural as it should have been. But we're working on that too."

The UU Congregation of Fairfax in Oakton, VA, mobilized fifty congregants to participate in the march and rally. Participants ranged in age from one to eighty-three, and the adults spoke of how important they felt their presence was as a way of letting Congress know that they do not support the continued occupation of Iraq nor the escalation of troops and funds to support that occupation.  They also expressed their continued support for the troops and their sorrow at the deaths that continue to mount.  (This congregation built an Iraq War Memorial Cairn  in May 2004 to honor U.S. military deaths alongside Iraqi civilian deaths.)  Some Fairfax members expected to visit and send letters to their senators, John Warner and Jim Webb, to thank them for their opposition to the escalation of the war. 

After the service UUs gathered on the national mall, hoisting their congregational banners. Participants, all wearing UU stickers, came from Maine, Illinois, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, North Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland, and marched behind a UUA banner.

The rally and march were aimed at telling Congress to fulfill their mandate for change. Over eight hundred of the protesters participated in a lobby day on Monday, January 29, focused on encouraging U.S. elected officials to stop the war's escalation and start bringing the troops home now.

UUA Web Coverage on the War with Iraq

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