Streams of Justice Lenten Vigil 1

This coming Monday evening (Feb 18th) will be the first of our three Lenten Vigils. These vigils are public events that highlight unjust social, political and economic arrangements of power that operate all around us, often in a hidden or normalized way, and generate considerable human suffering. The vigil creates a time and space for rendering visible systemic injustice and acknowledging our participation in it. It is a time for awakening our vigilance to injustice, recognizing our complicity in it, and renewing our resistance to it.

On Monday, we will gather at the southeast corner of Broadway and Commercial at 6:00 pm to set up the visual display. Last year we used the gallows as a symbol of the criminalization of the poor. This year we will be working with scenes or tableaus that depict economic inequality and social exclusion. The first will highlight the connection and contrast between the Olympics and homelessness. On a stage we will have an Olympic athlete on a podium, and underneath will
be a homeless person in a sleeping bag. Standing around will be masked people with faces that express anger and confusion.

Standing around this scene, some of us will hold a candle silently while others will hand out leaflets that speak to the issue presented.

Setup begins at 6:00 pm and the vigil runs from 6:15 to 6:45 pm. I hope that many of you can make it to this event of public witness.