London: Ash Wednesday vigil against nuclear war preparations
Around 100 people marked the beginning of Lent with a procession and vigil outside the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, London, to challenge the UK Government nuclear weapons policy. The event was organised by Pax Christi, Christian CND, London Catholic Worker and the Catholic Worker Farm. Participants included religious and parish groups and some Japanese Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist monks and nuns who are based at the Battersea Peace Temple. Clergy included Fr Rob Esdaile of Arundel and Brighton Diocese and Fr Joe Ryan, Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace. The National Justice and Peace Network was represented by Anne Peacey and Ann Kelly.
The group gathered in Embankment Gardens for the first part of the liturgy which included a call to repentance. Opening the time of prayer, Pat Gaffney, General Secretary of Pax Christi, said that Christian witness of this kind has taken place for the past 34 years on Ash Wednesday at the Ministry of Defence. Prayer and the symbols of the day - charcoal and ash - are brought to the streets and to this government ministry. Such public witness, she said, unmasks the horrific reality of nuclear weapons.
After the blessing and distribution of ashes, participants walked in silence down Horseguards Avenue, stopping three times for prayers and readings: "God of all the ages, lead us from death to life, to the stockpiling of hope, and of possibilities, and of love, rather than the stockpiling of weapons, or stones to throw, or of hate." Placards included 'No faith in Trident', carried by the Network of Christian Peace Organisations plus banners of Pax Christi and Westminster J&P. One reading was from the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, which reiterated the UK's commitment to having four operational Trident nuclear submarines, with one submarine on patrol at any one time carrying eight operational Trident missiles and carrying "no more than 40 nuclear warheads".
Outside the Ministry of Defence the group tied purple ribbons to a large cross in memory of places and people in need of peace. A large sheet of sack-cloth was placed directly in front on the Ministry of Defence extrance, and the word REPENT written in ashes. Four campaigners marked the building with charcoal: Dr Ray Towey, Scott Albrecht, Fr Martin Newall and Henrietta Cullinan, but there were no arrests.
In Liverpool, Pax Christi members processed to the City centre to witness against the replacement of Trident, and at the Faslane Naval Base in Scotland members of the Glasgow Catholic Worker gathered for prayers.