Christians Worship, March in Protest of Iraq War

About 3,000 Christians gathered at the Washington National Cathedral Friday, March 16, before marching to the White House to protest the war in Iraq.

"This kind of a Christian witness was long overdue," said the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, one of three dozen groups represented in the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq.

"Just going to secular demonstrations wasn't enough for them. They wanted to express their faith on the Iraq war."

At the cathedral, attendees heard remarks from Wallis, the Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, a U.S. representative of the World Council of Churches, and Celeste Zappala, a Philadelphia United Methodist whose son, a National Guardsman, was killed in Baghdad in 2004.

Most in attendance then took to the streets, as snow and wind subsided, and marched to the White House while holding electric candles.

March organizers said 222 people were arrested and fined $100 each, charged with leaving their planned protest site at Lafayette Park and stepping across Pennsylvania Avenue directly in front of the White House. Wallis said an additional 600 people watched a simulcast of the cathedral worship service at a Presbyterian church near the White House and later joined the march.

Rick Ufford-Chase, executive director of Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, another partner in the march, said he felt the event marked a turning point in Christian opposition to the war.

"There was clear, strong resolve and consensus that Christians will not rest until this war comes to an end," said Ufford-Chase, a former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

He said representatives of the various partner organizations involved in the march plan to meet to determine their next steps. "I expect that something more will grow out of this," he said.

Close to 180 related Christian protests were planned across the country over the weekend, organizers said.

President Bush spoke from the White House Monday, on the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, reiterating his commitment to the war. "It can be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home," Bush said, after several marches occurred in Washington over the weekend.

"That may be satisfying in the short run, but I believe the consequences for American security would be devastating. ... Four years after this war began, the fight is difficult, but it can be won."

Wallis and Ufford-Chase said Monday that religious leaders involved in the weekend's events disagree.

"The war can't be won," Wallis said. "The war shouldn't have been fought in the first place. In fighting this war, America is losing its soul."