Saturday, October 26th, 2002

A small Christian Community at St. Joan of Arc had an idea - “Let’s have a Peace March for the average citizen who wants to voice their opposition against the war on Iraq”. Three months later - they did! And what a Peace March it was!!!

It was a cold, blustery MN day. The day after our state, our nation and our world learned of the death of a great man, Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife, friend, partner and peace advocate, Sheila.

We marched because we can’t support a war against Iraq. We marched because we know how violence breeds violence and how this war would destabilize the Middle East and cause more war. We marched because we feel our government isn’t being forthright about the reasons for this war. We marched because we can’t afford a war that will keep our homeless forever homeless, our schools forever poor and our nation forever stained by more blood of innocents on our hands and hearts.

This was my first march against war. It was kind of scary at first. There are so many people who have made it their life’s work to protest against injustices and how dare I come in to this process so green? Well, it’s because I can’t sit by and just let this war take place without a heartfelt attempt to stop it. We all have too much at stake.

I recently took part in a peaceful protest on the Marshall Street Bridge which happens every Wednesday at 5:00pm. I just sat there on the bridge with a “No War on Iraq” sign for an hour and felt like it was exactly what I needed to do. You could see some drivers deep in thought, taking in the signs, seeing the growing numbers of people opposing this war and wondering to themselves, “What do I believe in?” “Am I for this or against this?” There were still others who felt compelled to give an obscene gesture…, which I embraced, because I felt that it was a free country and they had a right too, to voice their thoughts. And there were those who were in clear, supportive solidarity - honking their horns, waving the peace sign and giving the ‘thumbs up’ as they drove by. All of it felt right, because I was taking part in bringing awareness to a serious issue that needs everyone’s undivided attention.

I’ve been also writing to my congress people about my opposition to this war and even sent in some editorials to the paper and the MPR soapbox about my feelings. What was so heartening to me is that after all of those letters written to Senator Dayton, Congresswoman McCollum, and of course Senator Wellstone, I truly believed that my little letter was somehow heard. And guess who listened - Paul Wellstone. He opposed the resolution to wage war on Iraq. He did it despite the risks it imposed on the election. He did it, because he knew in his heart of hearts, that this was wrong. This act of courage by Paul Wellstone solidified my commitment to the peace movement.

If you’re thinking about taking part in a protest, marching for peace, writing to your legislator or sending a letter to the editor of your local paper, I would say, “Go for it!!!” It feels good, because you can finally stop saying, “I can’t do anything about it, nothing will make a difference, I can’t control what’s happening around the world”. Those messages are just untrue. The fact is: we are still living in a democracy and it is our responsibility to take back our government and voice our concerns. Taking action makes you feel like you’re alive again, that you do have some control and by activating your rights as a citizen of the United States, you just may change the trajectory of our government’s actions and policies. Let us pray we can.

We still believe that peace is possible and with every person standing beside me at that March for Peace, I felt the hope that exists in a community of believers. We made our voices heard and our conscience known.

Paul would have loved it!

MarySue Hansen has been a parishioner of St. Joan of Arc for over 11 years. She lives in St. Paul and treks over to S. Mpls every Sunday Morning for 9 o'clock mass, community and spiritual renewal. She lives and breathes community, loves children, and believes strongly in the power of collective learning and action. She is the Director of a collaborative community working to improve protective factors for children in Suburban Ramsey County.


Speakers at the March included:
  • Anh Pham - Anti-war committee
  • Omar Jamal - Executive Director, Somali Justice Advocacy Center
  • Jen Randolph Reise - Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)
  • Paul Freid - Benilde-St.Margaret High School and his students, Sheila Pecachek and Laura Lulic-Tempain
  • Jess Sundim
  • Sharron Haller - Veterans for Peace
  • Phyllis Walker - Union leader
  • Muath Asamuri - Iraqi speaker
  • Jack Nelson Pallmeyer
  • Josh Hartnett


The Organization of the March -Pete Eichten

Steve Boyle, a member of one of our SCC’s here at St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis met with our Peace & Justice Coordinator, Julie Madden, in late August. He shared with her the frustration the members of his SCC were feeling over the possibility of going to war against Iraq and they wanted to do something about it. Julie gave them encouragement and directed them to a group in the parish that has been meeting regularly since Sept. 11, 2001, called “Conversations on Peace.” All 10 members of this SCC arrived at the Sept. 9 meeting of the Conversations on Peace, and shared their desire for an action for peace. Those present at this meeting agreed to return the following week to talk more concretely about an action for peace.

Before that next meeting Steve learned about MAP (Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, whose director just happens to be a member at St. Joan of Arc), and invited representatives from the 40 plus organizations that make up MAP to attend this next planning session. About 30 people, representing six different peace organizations, met at St. Joan of Arc for that next meeting. For the following six Mondays this group met to plan a peace rally and march for Saturday Oct. 26, 2002. Various committees were created to take care of things like permits, media relations, contacting groups and organizations, the program for the day of the event. Every week the committees would report their progress, and the entire group would discuss the different issues that would arise.

None of the members of this SCC had ever participated in or planned any kind of a demonstration. October 26 was chosen as the date for the march to coincide with an international day of protests to “Stop the War Before it Begins.” It was hoped that if we organized well we could draw 2,000 people. The day of march came. Protesters met at the Cathedral in St. Paul. We were to march to the State Capital, about ¾ of a mile. It was a cloudy, cool, gloomy day that reflected well the way all present at the rally were feeling, because it was the previous day that we learned of the tragic death of Paul Wellstone, his wife, Sheila, their daughter, Marcia, and five others. For many of the protesters it was a way to pay homage to the most compassionate and courageous member of the US Senate. Over ten thousand came to protest the impending war against Iraq.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”
- Margaret Mead


War No More

It was deja vu all over again. Hadn’t we just finished doing this only yesterday?

A sharp October wind was tugging at scarves and trying to pierce mittens and caps of those lucky enough to be wearing them. What looked like 10,000 people, were waving signs and singing “All we are asking is give peace a chance.” We were standing on the steps and spilling across the street and up and down the hill from the cathedral in St. Paul.

A speaker told us that “it was time that ordinary people did something.”

We were told that we were standing in solidarity with similar gatherings in Washington, San Francisco, Berlin, Tokyo and other cities all over the world.

Signs decrying the coming war declared, No War For Oil; Not In My Name; How Did Our Oil Get Under Their Sand?; Drop Bush, Not Bombs; A Terrorist Under Every Bush.

Wellstone banners were everywhere, some with black ribbons attached. His death seemed to fuel the crowd. We’ll carry on in your name, Paul, was the theme. The crowd was young, old and in-between, peaceful, but full of purpose.

Thirty years ago it took 10 years and 50,000 American body bags for what ordinary people wanted,
Jo Youngren and her husband,Dave, have been members at SJA for a little over a year now. However, about 20 years ago Jo was a member and worked with Harvey Egan and Cy Speltz for 4 years. Her first husband, Jack Welch, was buried from there, and later Jo and Dave were married in what is now The Itaska, but at the time was a warehouse with a large gathering of SJA folks attending and Fred & Anna supplying the music - the church in a slightly different setting at the time giving us their blessing. Jo and Dave have been married for 19 years and back in Minnesota for the last 13. Jo can be reached at .
to bring the Vietnam War to a halt. Maybe this time it won’t take so long. Maybe this time we can stop a war before it starts. This time we can make a difference with our coming votes. It’s our big chance, and our best bet. It’s what Paul would want, I have no doubt. Let us all determine this time to “give peace a chance.”

Jo Welch-Youngren
October 26, 2002

Several parishioners have been concerned about the lack of coverage of the march by the StarTribune. If you would like to register your concern, the person to contact at the paper is reader representative, Lou Gelfand: 612 673-4450 or readerrep@gw.startribune.com.
StarTribune Story of the March

Todd Dalebroux his wife Karen and their children have been active in several ministries at SJA including Sister Parish, Soup Suppers, and Religious Ed. 
Lisa Leo has been attending SJA with her family since 1992. Lisa runs video camera for professional sporting events such as the Twins, Timberwolves and Vikings for both FOX Sports Net and Domevision, and has been doing so since 1987. Her hobbies include playing guitar, hanging out with friends and sitting in front of the fire.

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