Mass silent vigil for peace held in Westminster

Silent Walking Vigil for Peace

A silent procession stretching through Whitehall created a 'peaceful thunder' in central London on Saturday, 19 September, as more than 600 people joined a Quaker-led Silent Walking Vigil for Peace.

Participants travelled from Quaker meetings and communities across Britain, joined by Buddhists, Mennonites and Lutherans and others for the four-hour vigil.

Mike Royal, general secretary of Churches Together in England, Joel Zantingh of the World Evangelical Alliance's Peace and Reconciliation Network, Anupama Hial of the Lutheran World Fellowship and Andrew Suderman of the Mennonite World Conference were among those joining the walk.

Steve Day, one of the organisers, said: "Today, Friends travelled from Quaker meetings across Britain to walk together through central London.

"We are the living, breathing silence of our Quaker way, and that silence became a peaceful thunder."

The event began with a meeting for worship in Victoria Embankment Gardens before participants walked quietly through Whitehall. It concluded with a further meeting for worship at St Martin-in-the-Fields, near Trafalgar Square.

Taking place on the weekend of the United Nations International Day of Peace, the gathering expressed solidarity with all those affected by violence, conflict and war, while affirming a vision of peace for individuals, communities, the world and the planet.

The Silent Walking Vigil for Peace arose from a grassroots initiative led by Quakers from local meetings across Britain.

It was not a protest or political demonstration, but a faith-led public witness rooted in the Quaker tradition of peacebuilding and nonviolence.

Steve Day said: "This vision for a massive loud silence for peace came from everyday Quakers who believed they had to make this small-steps journey.

"None of us, nor peace itself, can wait."

Since the seventeenth century, Quakers have rejected violence and war, promoting nonviolent approaches to conflict and working for peace and justice within communities and between nations.

For Quakers, peace is not simply the absence of war. It is rooted in a belief in the worth and dignity of every person and in a commitment to build relationships, communities and societies based on justice, equality and reconciliation.

Vigils and meetings for worship also took place around Britain and online, enabling those unable to travel to London to participate in the witness for peace.

LINK

Quakers: www.quaker.org.uk/