I joined Mennonites calling for ceasefire in D.C.
I joined Mennonites calling for ceasefire in D.C.
Wenger shares his personal experience advocating for a ceasefire in the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict on Capitol Hill.
On a wet, chilly Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., Mennonites gathered to sing on Capitol Hill. Employees on their way to work, tourists exploring the city, and families going sledding all stopped to watch as people from around the country took turns speaking, praying, and singing together.
This was no typical worship service, though. Across the street from the 200 of us gathered on the grass, Mennonites sat on the floor in the Cannon House Office rotunda, singing as they awaited arrest.
My journey to D.C. to join those Mennonites on the Capitol lawn began two days before, at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14. After an icy drive to the Wichita airport, I departed. My layover in Chicago was hectic, a herald of the days to come. Eventually, I arrived in D.C.
No gathering of Mennonites would be complete without a potluck, so, after locating where I would be staying, I made sure to attend one that night at a local church. There, I connected with a few of the people I would be spending the next two days with.
The next morning, our group’s preparation began. The organization responsible for the event, Mennonite Action, had a full day of training planned. All of us in attendance had come to D.C. to call for a ceasefire in the conflict in Israel/Palestine. To do this, Mennonite Action took care to express exactly what we were advocating for.
Adam Ramer, one of the organizers of Mennonite Action, said, “Our Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim, and Arab friends and loved ones are demanding a ceasefire even while they are forced to reckon with unspeakable tragedies. We believe we have a duty as pacifists and Christians to join public action for peace and justice whenever and wherever we can. We are calling for a permanent ceasefire, a return of all hostages, and a day when our Palestinian and Israeli siblings can live in peace — free from fear and pain.”
“We believe we have a duty as pacifists and Christians to join public action for peace and justice whenever and wherever we can.”
Adam Ramer
As the day went on, the energy in the group seemed to grow higher and higher. Some people, referred to as the “red team,” planned to take part in civil disobedience in the Cannon House Office Building. Others, myself included, were part of the “green team,” participating in an outdoor protest next to the Capitol Reflecting Pool. We parted in the evening feeling excited, proud, and a little scared for what was to come.
Tuesday morning, after a brief commute to a church in the area of Capitol Hill, we began our final preparations. The green team gathered to send those participating in civil disobedience off with hymns, assuring them that they were “marching in the light of God.” We then waited, before setting off to begin our own protest across the street from the office.
As we stood in the ankle-deep snow on the lawn of the Capitol, we began to hear the sound of singing from across the street. As Capitol police raced up the steps, the open doors to the Cannon Building let out the voices of the Mennonites inside. Strains of the “My Souls Cries Out,” drifted across the road, seeming to take on a new power as we began to see our friends led out of the building in zip ties.
Eventually, our permit for protest expired, and we began the slow walk back through the streets of D.C. All of us, thinking about those people still being loaded onto buses to be processed.
By nighttime, all those who had been arrested had been released to the Mennonite Action members waiting for them outside the detention center. By Wednesday evening, most people had left D.C., returning home to tell their friends and family about their experience of being arrested in the nation’s capital.
More information about Mennonite Action can be found on their Facebook, Instagram, X, or web page at mennoniteaction.org.