We walked across the country with the Hiroshima Flame. The flame lit from burning embers of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima over 57 years ago. It was brought back to this country to purify the fire that had been misused by humans. All throughout the walk there were prayer ceremonies and it came with us to vigil at many of our nations nuclear sites such as Hanford, Livermore Laboratories, Lockheed, Los Alamos Labs and Oakridge. We carried it to the April 20, 2002 Peace Rallies in Washington, D.C. where over 50,000 people gathered to stand in unison with their messages of peace to the policymakers of war. The flame journeyed to the building that housed the bomber known as the Enola Gay, the bomber that once dropped a rain of death never before seen on this planet.

We also journeyed to a home in Baltimore that held the deep resonance of peace and contemplation. The very walls themselves held the mysteries, the love and the overwhelming convictions of the handful of people who lived there. The flame was brought to rest there for a few days and we shared prayer and meals and stories. When I first arrived, I had never met Phillip, Elizabeth, Ardeth or Carol before. I had heard the name Berrigan before but knew only he was an activist. They all were, yet they were more or perhaps they embodied the full meaning of an activist. They not only fought for the issues that compelled them to action, they also lived their daily lives in harmony with those beliefs. Taking care to consume less, live sustainably and foster community. They paid for their beliefs in prison terms, over and over again.

After spending three months on this pilgrimage with the flame, Jonah House was truly the perfect resting place before continuing on to the World Trade Center. I remember standing in a circle in their living room, all of us in our own form of prayer and united for our desire for nuclear abolition, for world peace and sanity to return to humanity. I will hold that has a special memory. I intend on learning more of his life, I believe it something worth knowing.

To Elizabeth, his family and loved ones and to all the thousands he has inspired through the years, and to Phillip himself, I bow three times and may we all continue the work that is so necessary.

Namu myo ho renge kyo
Namu myo ho renge kyo
Namu myo ho renge kyo