PRESS RELEASE: Clergy Bear Witness for Peace at OP

The following is a message from the media committee:

PORTLAND, ORE.–

At about 10 PM on Saturday night, November 12, a group of up to twenty local clergy will converge on the encampment. According to Rev. Kate Lore, Social Justice Minister for First Unitarian Church, and and Rev. Chuck Currie, of United Church of Christ, the clergy are coming “to bear witness for peace during the eviction.”

Rev. Lore explains, “Many of us are veterans of the Civil Rights era, so we understand the significance of this day, and we are familiar with nonviolent civil disobedience. We’re coming to bear witness; we know that we don’t have control over what happens.”

Rev. Chuck Currie was present at the encampment yesterday when a young man who appeared to be staying at the encampment but not part of the movement suffered from a drug overdose. Currie explains, “I was right beside this young man, and I saw that police were having a hard time getting to him because others, who also were not protesters, campers who were not part of the Occupy Movement, were harassing the police as they tried to save this man’s life.”

Currie says he and other clergy are aware that there are some in the camp who are not protesters, and who, he says, “are not committed to the principles of nonviolence that the camp has established. These individuals are of particular concern to the clergy, and we call on them to abide by the spirit and wisdom articulated repeatedly at general assemblies: principles of nonviolence and peaceful protest.”

One such comment was made to General Assembly on the night of November 11, as a speaker from the Safety Committee said: “Take time to tune into your heart and consider what peace is. Think about how you want to act on a day when you’re part of history. Think about peace, make peace in your hearts, and run it all day tomorrow and all night, as long as it takes.” He got cheers and twinkles from the assembly.

Currie keeps a blog where he has included an Interfaith Statement concerning the Occupy Movement, signed by nine “faith leaders” and released November 11, which says, in part,

We therefore commit ourselves to the restoration of justice for all in our economy and compassion in our politics and that together we might behold a revolution of values for all of our people. We ask all Oregonians to join us in this commitment and to listen attentively to the needs, hopes and dreams expressed by all who are suffering and dispossessed. In doing so, we join together in democracy renewed and the building of a nation of possibility for all persons.

Clergy who have pledged to attend the eviction of Occupy Portland will meet at First Unitarian Universalist Church at SW 12th and Main, at 9 p.m. to plan and develop strategies before going down to the encampment together. Currie explains, “We may decide to lead a prayer for those who are interested, but we don’t want to do anything that people might consider inappropriate or offensive.”

Clergy who have committed to attend and bear witness, in addition to Lore and Currie, include Rev. Marilyn Sewell, Minister Emerita of First Unitarian Church, Pastor Robin Wisner, Albina Ministerial Alliance, Rev. Gene Ross, former conference director (now retired) for the United Church of Christ, Rev. Brooks Berndt, minister of First United Church of Christ, Vancouver, WA, Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons, Community Minister affiliated with First Unitarian Church, and Rev. Anton DeWitt, First Congregational Church. Other clergy, including those from Jewish and Muslim communities who have not yet named their representatives, are expected to join.

This entry was posted on November 12, 2011 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.