budgets are moral documents

this morning i had the amazing experience of particpating in a vigil at the Cannon House Office building to protest the budget cuts that harm the poor. this specific building was chosen to symbolize the lack of leadership in the House. i began the morning at 8:30 with a nonviolence training at the Lutheran Church of the Restoration. i estimated about 200 people of faith and religious leaders who filled up all the pews.
several people spoke about the days mission and gave us the facts we needed to make the vigil and the civil disobediance run smoothly. we partnered up and practiced getting arrested. i was interested in participating in the civil disobediance portion but i was there to take photos and report back to the UUA about the days activities and the involvement of Rev. Rob Hardies, seminarian John McCarthy and Rev. Jennifer Brooks that were participating (L to R in the following photo). there may have been more uu's there but i couldn't find them.

at 10 we left the church and marched to the Cannon House. it was below freezing and as a minnesotan i was horrified to see that many people were not wearing hats or mittens. even though i was relatively prepared i was still cold. we rallied outside for about an hour and then held a press conference. there was a great article in the washington post this morning http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/13/AR2005121301764.html and i hope that the large amount of press that attended will continue the coverage with a positive report tomorrow.

so after 2 hours of standing outside freezing, i was really cold. my toes were numb, my nose was red and i was horrified that this budget would cut heating subsidies for among the poorest americans and that it failed to address the issue of homelesness, for the people that live outside all the time in these extreme conditions.

at this point the people who chose to participate in the civil disobediance portion moved onto the entry way steps leading into the building. the knelt down and began praying. people were singing and chanting and offering their words to god and to the group. it was very powerful to watch so many people, from so many religious traditions, praying together over their shared convictions. the ground was cold and many of them were physically shaking and shivering, a little like people overcome with the spirit of god.

after their three warnings by the capitol police the arrests began. it took a while to get everyone and people just kept praying while surrounded by the press and their supporters. after our three UU's were arrested i sent out one last prayer for those still huddled on the steps and i hurried to the nearest heated metro station, thankful that i had some place to take shelter.
i am very glad that i was able to participate in the vigil. our nation's priorities are completely out of line and this budget, taken as a moral document, clearly demonstrates this. it felt really good to come together with other people of faith and know that there is support for a better america.