Sojourners for Abolition and Reconciliation

Looking Ahead to 2010

2009-09-07T08:34:00.000-07:00

We are in the early planning stages for a SOfAR Pilgrimage in western North Carolina during 2010. The most likely month is June and probable points along the way will include Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro and many others. If you are interested in our coming to your town, let us know.

If at any time between now and next summer you want to talk individually and/or have us talk with a group - whether you think you agree with our purposes or think you disagree with our purposes - we welcome the opportunity!

We have many stories to tell about the public witness and private prayer aspects of the Pilgrimage. We welcome converation with people who agree with us, who disagree with us and who are not sure.

Send email to Scott Bass at nazhouse@att.net

"You have got to be kidding"

2009-07-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

Rev. William Barber looked up to God and proclaimed, "You have got to be kidding".

It was a very human reaction to God's mandate, "Love your enemies." In front of his Greenleaf Christian Church congregation on Sunday, June 28, Barber tried to reconcile the two perspectives.

He read from Luke 6:27-28: "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." To which Rev. Barber stuttered, "You... have got... to be kidding".

Rev. Barber knows our culture. He knows our nature. And he knows our temptations. But he also knows what God asks of us, in spite of it all. He continued, "To be a diciple of Jesus is to recognize that he is demanding. Jesus has this crazy notion that his followers should serve others rather than themselves. You have got to be kidding. That I am required of my discipleship - the cost of my discipleship - is to put others before myself - You have got... to be kiddin'."

"He expects us to show integrity when nobody's looking. He expects us to love. But not just people who on occasions have a bad day. He wants us to love folk who are enemies every day and show no sign of changing. You have got to be ..."

Nearing the end of our SOfAR pilgrimage, Rev. Barber had invited us to join his congregation for services at Greenleaf Church in Goldsboro. As we neared the church that morning, we saw a crowd gathered in on the host asphalt. As we came up to them, they called to us, they applauded us, the walked up to us a hugged us, thanked us, and gave us bottles of cold water. No one minded that we wore T-shirts and shorts, while everyone else was decked out in their Sunday finest. It was a warmer welcome than we could have expected. We were carried on a wave into the church. We brought in our walking sticks, crosses and our banners, and layed them down near the altar. Scott was asked to introduce us to the congregation. We sat down and waited for Rev. Barber to preach.

"Loving your friends in a capitalistic society is smart - they might have a stock tip. Loving your [spouse] or loving your friends - all that is is enlightened self interest. You love them, you get something out of it. It's altogether another thing when we got to love an enemy, someone who has your disgrace or your destruction as a goal." Rev. Barber went on, using humor, his deep booming voice, his charisma and commanding presense, to deliver a sermon about three not-so-simple words. We thought we knew what those words meant but soon realized there were new dimensions we had not explored.

"God says we gotta love 'em because God wants us free, and you canot be free as long as you hate someone."

Rev. Barber told the story of how Nelson Mandela invited one of his jailors to sit on the platform with him during his presidential inauguration. Visiting the jail where he had been incarcerated; it's horribly hot in the summmer, icy cold in winter. The political prisoners were forced to do hard labor in the lime quarry; digging the lime made them go blind. Mandela spent 27 years there for something he did not do. When asked after his release, "Weren't you angry?". President Mandela didn't give hime a lie. Rev. Barber parahrased Mandela's response: "Yes. And I was a little afraid, considering that now I had the power, and what I might do with it." What if you had the power to do back to folks everything they did to you? Mandela went on, "When I felt that anger welling up inside of me, I realized that if I continued to hate them after I got outside the gate, then they would still have me. And so I decided, I wanna be free. So I had to let it go because there was no way they were gonna lock me up for 27 years and God deliver me and then I get out and still be bound up."

Rev. Barber explained, "If we live up only to the world's standards, there ain't no need to be Christian. The world says, 'Hate works. Violence works' They lie to us and tell us '[the death penalty] deters crime.' But the hate doesn't work, living by the sword doesn't work, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth doesn't work. If it worked, you wouldn't have to have a New Testament that brings into fulfilment all that could not be fulfilled in the Old Testament."

Rev. Barber began the story of his conversion from death penalty supporter to death penalty opponent. "God, you got to be kiddin. Someone kill one of my children? You ain't gotta ask the law to kill them."

"What got me was not all the statistics. I know it didn't deter crime, because you can't deter crime with a crime, and the death penalty is a crime because we're killing innocent people. God said, 'Thou shalt not kill' and he did not put an 'i.e.' example on the end of that with a parenthesis. He didn't do an editor's note. He said, 'Thou shalt not kill.'"

When Rev. Barber was teaching in college, the class was debating the death penalty, both pros and cons. When some students asserted, "If someone kills your loved one, you cannot forgive them," one quiet student asked to speak. She said, "You all are discussing theory. But my family was there. A vicious person had killed a loved one - in fact, it was my sister. I want you to know that last week, we visited him in jail. I want you to know that we asked the judge not to give him the death penalty. I want you to know that my family believes in his deliverance and we hope that one day we will be able to come and look at him through the bars and know that now he is our Christian brother." I said, "Woman, you have got to be kiddin'." She said, "No, I love the Lord. I met Jesus and Jesus did something in my heart and in my family's heart."

He followed this with another story where parishoners whose daughter had been murdered asked him to speak against a death penalty sentence against her murdered. The told him, "We do not want our daughter's life to be marred with the blood of another person."

As we repeated throughout our pilgrimage, we believe that Christian faith and Christian church teachings are clearly against the death penalty. This passage, "Love your enemy", is clearly one of the reasons. Rev. Barber challenged us to look at it another way. Yes, we should strive to love that person, even though they may have committed a horrible act of violence. But to love them is to act as God wants us to. To not love them is to turn away from God, to reject God, to reject the possibility that God can act through us, that God can be a healing force in our lives, that God can redeem this sinner just as he can redeem us for our sins,
that God does not know how to free us to do is will.

So, we choose to believe that this forgiveness, even this love, is possible. We choose to free ourselves from hatred. We choose to let love conquer hatred and violence.

Rev. Barber started the sermon that June morning with the words, "I contend that the whole Christian experience in miraculous." Some day, we believe that the Christian experience will play a major role in ending the death penalty. Indeed, that will be miraculous. No kidding.

We Made It This Far

2009-06-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

This morning at 11:30 AM we arrived at the legislative building in Raleigh, North Carolina!

We were greeted by friends and well-wishers and held a brief press conference. We then gathered in a prayer circle around the NC State Seal on the plaza in front of the legislative building. Next we ate lunch and talked with some of our legislators about our journey, about our purposes in walking and about the NC Racial Justice Act, which should reach the floor of the House for a vote next week.

Then we went home.

Seems rather anti-climactic at this point.

The journey has been so intense - spiritually, physically, emotionally and in other ways. There are more stories to tell and experiences needing reflection. First, I need a little rest and a pause to reflect. I promise that we'll have more stories posted here soon...

In the meantime, consider inviting us for some conversation with a few individuals or a large group some time. We like that way of sharing Pilgimage stories as well.

SOfAR Pilgrims arrive in Raleigh 11:30 AM today - Tuesday, June 30, 2009

2009-06-30T03:28:00.000-07:00

Sojourners for Abolition and Reconciliation

SOfAR

“We have come so far! We have so far to go!”

Please join us for the conclusion of the 2009 SOfAR Pilgrimage by participating in SOfAR Lobby Day on Tuesday, June 30th.

Our 300-mile walk of prayer and public witness through eastern North Carolina concludes on Tuesday, June 30th in Raleigh with a two-block walk to the NC General Assembly to talk with legislators about our journey, our goals and pending legislation that can move us in the right direction.

While one of our primary goals - abolition of the death penalty - is not on this year’s legislative agenda, we can take an important step in reforming our existing death penalty with passage of the Racial Justice Act, a bill that addresses racial bias in our capital punishment system.

Schedule for SOfAR Lobby Day
10:00 AM House Judiciary I Committee will hear the NC Racial Justice Act in Room 1228 of the Legislative Building, 16 West Jones Street.

11:30 PM SOfAR Pilgrims arrive in Raleigh: Press Conference in front of Legislative Building, 16 W. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC.

12:30 PM Greet and eat with Pilgrims at First Presbyterian Church, 111 W. Morgan St., Raleigh in Memorial Fellowship Hall. Bring your own lunch.

1:00 PM Brief orientation: “How to talk to legislators” and update on the Racial Justice Act.

1:30-3:00 Visit Legislators and talk with them about RJA and other concerns.

Our 2009 Pilgrimage is nearly completed, but our job is not yet accomplished. We have indeed come so far and we indeed have so far to go! Please join us for these next important steps of our journey!

SOfAR Pilgrimage 2009 nears conclusion

2009-06-29T03:42:00.001-07:00

We wake up Monday morning in the retreat-like home of some old friends near Smithfield. We’ve walked some 283 miles and have 31 to go, which will push us beyond 300 miles. (It will take each of us doing a little extra to accomplish abolition of the death penalty and healing for families.)

This morning we’ll arrive at the Johnston County courthouse where we will pray especially for victims and perpetrators of homicide and the families of both and we will also pray for persons falsely accused, for judges, jurors, bailiffs, attorneys, reporters, clerks and all those who are pulled into the trauma around each homicide. Then we will seek five minutes of District Attorney Susan Doyle’s time to talk with her about our concerns for families and our issues with the death penalty. We will assure her that we want her to do her job effectively, justly, safely and with compassion.

We will walk out of Smithfield and through Clayton before stopping for the day on the east side of Garner. We hope to end today’s walking (and begin Tuesday’s walking) near the US-70 intersection with White Oak Road near Best Buy (this is not an ad for BB – it just provides a locatable landmark).

Look for information about Tuesday's schedule coming soon.

Home Stretch!

2009-06-26T04:52:00.001-07:00

The Home Stretch!

Here is a tentative look at our plans for the last few days.
Please pay special attention and consider joining us Tuesday.

Call for specifics! (910) 385-6787 or (919) 880-9343

If you plan to join us for any part of our home stretch, please call for precise starting locations and times and/or to locate us along the route. Note that we usually cannot give a precise starting location until 7PM on the preceding evening but we are usually easy to locate once we begin walking.

Also, if you come, be prepared for some narrow roadsides, unpredictable and uneven terrain and predictably hot, humid weather. While we welcome other walkers, it’s not a friendly environment for young children or pets and can even be difficult for adults.

A good time to walk with us will be the last mile or two as we enter Raleigh on Tuesday. Consider the 10AM committee meeting below then come meet us for our final approach and the subsequent events.

Saturday, June 27, 2009
Start: 8:00 AM Starting point to be determined on US-70 about 10 miles east of Kinston.
End: Goldsboro

Sunday, June 28, 2009
10:00 AM Worship with Greenleaf Christian Church, 2110 N. William St., Goldsboro
12:30 PM (tentative time) Begin walking after lunch near Goldsboro.

Monday, June 29, 2009
8:00 AM - Start walking near Selma
End walking near Wake County line (intersection of US70 and Guy Road – Hess Station?)

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
8:30 AM – Start walking near US 70 and Auburn-Knightdale Rd intersection
10:00 AM – Racial Justice Act in House Judiciary I. Pilgrims will not be there yet, but we hope you will be!
12:30 PM – First Presbyterian Church - Bring your own lunch and eat with the SOfAR Pilgrims. Also, legislative updates and “how to talk with your legislator”; then walk the final two blocks to talk with legislators.
3:00 PM – Final SOfAR Press Conference (Note: press event may be moved to before lunch)

New Bern, Victim Services, Getting Smarter on Crime

2009-06-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

This morning (Friday) we awake in New Bern. Yesterday (Thursday) we walked 18 miles along some of the straightest, flattest country roads you'll ever see, cherishing any tiny bit of shade we could find along the way from Cove City into NC's original capital city. This morning we hope to meet with the Craven County DA and then drive to Kinston to pick up where we left off up there. We'll only walk a few miles today and use the rest of the day for planning the weekend and SOfAR Lobby Day and resting up for the home stretch.

Upon arrival in New Bern yesterday afternoon, we cooled off with cold treats at the Trent River Coffee Company, talked with reporters there and then sought 5 minutes with District Attorney Scott Thomas, who was recently appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue to the Governor's Crime Commission.

Mr. Thomas was unavailable but his administrative assistant, Ms. Creel, who also provides and coordinates victim assistance in the DA's office, talked with us briefly. We were very pleased to see on her shelf What to Do When the Police Leave (Bill Jenkins), a book for victim family members that offers guidance for the first few days after a traumatic loss. We talked further with Ms. Creel about the issues faced by victim family members and I left thinking that she must be quite a gift to persons in her district who have experienced the trauma of sudden, violent loss.

Unfortunately, our research indicates that victim services are very uneven from county to county with some counties and prosecutorial districts providing much more than others. Many victim family members say that they have only received support when they have been useful to the prosecution.

Victim family members report varying experiences with feeling like their voices are heard in the judicial process. For example, in my home Sampson County, a victim family member who was supporting the prosecution's pursuit of the death penalty in a trial last fall told me that she would "be satisfied with life without parole." When I asked her if the DAs knew that information, she stated, "They don't care what we think about that." In this case, the family was split by the prosecution's pursuit of a death sentence even while family members on both sides of the courtroom voiced clearly to me that they would be satisfied with life without parole.

What a waste of time, talent and money! What a cruelty to this family, heaping more trauma and strain on top of the horrible aftermath of the violence that had taken three family members from them! Where was the consideration of their voices and their needs?

But things seemed better than that in Craven County. Our hope is that Ms. Creel is as compassionate and available to victim family members as she seemed. What a gift!

Our hope is also that Scott Thomas and all district attorneys will do their jobs effectively, justly and with compassion and that they would be protected physically, emotionally and in every way. It must be a tough job and it is an important one. What these persons are exposed to must take a toll.

Finally, we hope that Scott Thomas and the Governor's Crime Commission as well as Secretary of Corrections Al Keller and his office, will help us become smarter on crime and move us away from the tired and too often empty rhetoric of 'tough on crime' that has prevailed for too long.

Hot, hard days (they're behind us)

2009-06-23T03:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday were our hard days - very hot weather on the walk from Bethel down to and through Greenville, then south through Ayden and Grifton. We had a great meeting an a cafe/bookstore in Greenville on Sunday afternoon, attended by five Greenville residents who came to hear our story. We had a light day on Sunday, attending mass at St. Gabriel in Greenville and attending a Unitarian Universalist meeting later that morning - our hosts (who provided lodging for Dave and Debbie for two nights) Edith and Carrol Webber are members there. Our friend Kelly provided lodging for a night, as did Mike. Kelly also cooked a homemade vegetarian dinner Sunday evening.

Yesterday (Monday, June 22) brought us from Grifton into Kinston. On the way, we were greeted by Rose and Denny Clark, whom Scott has known since he and Roberta provided family support around the execution of Rose's brother, Ernest Basden on December 2, 2002. Scott will write more about that reunion, so I'll leave that to him. We walked through downtown Kinston to the county courthouse and were met by The Kinston Free Press for an interview and prayer. We met briefly with the Assistant District Attorney, Ms. White for a very productive meeting. Rose and Denny treated us to lunch at Christopher's restaurant in downtown (thank you!), then we drove down to Jacksonville. There, we prayed in front of the courthouse and then met with the Onslow County Assistant DA - also very briefly. He was very familiar with our pilgrimage, having read about it in the News & Observer that morning.

We were a bit behind - it was 3:30 and we'd only walked 9+ miles in the morning. We put in three quick legs of 4+ miles each, through Jacksonville and towards Emerald Isle. The weather today was much, much nicer than the mid nineties we had on Saturday and Sunday coming through Greenville. We walked until almost 8:00 PM last night, then grabbed some dinner cand checked into a hotel generously provided by Rev. James Brown's First Baptist Church. We got caught up on some laundry and showers and finally had time for this catch-up blog entry this morning before we head back out for about 14 miles into Emeral Isle. We've now walked about 185 miles, so are very excited about the final week.

We look forward to this evening's event featuring Linda White at 6:00PM
Emerald Isle Baptist Church, 304 Emerald Plantation Rd. Emerald Isle, NC 28594-1910
(252) 354-8795. Please join us! Linda will tell her storing of losing a daughter to homicide, her need to meet with the person who committed the crime, and how she came to be a grief counselor. Those not near Emerald Isle can also hear Linda speak on Wednesday at 7:00PM at St. Augustus AME Church 318 E. North Street Kinston, NC 28502. We hope to see our friends, old and new, at either event.

Sorry for the infrequent updates - it is very hard to find time to write, and harder to find internet on our journey. But we will keep trying!

News Coverage of the 2009 SOfAR Pilgrimage

2009-06-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

Follow the Pilgrimage in the News around North Carolina:

Group walks to abolish death penalty
Kinston Free Press, Tuesday, June 23, 2009
By Sarah Campbell

Anti-death penalty protesters walk through Jacksonville
Jacksonville Daily News, Tuesday June 23, 2009
By Lindell Kay

Group Walks Against Death Penalty
Front Page in the News and Observer, Monday, June 22, 2009
By Yonat Shimron, Staff Writer

Group walks to protest death penalty
From the Daily Reflector, Sunday, June 21, 2009
By Michael Abramowitz

Group Walks to protest Death Penalty
Journey of Hope Blogspot, Sunday, June 21, 2009

Walk Against Death Penalty Continues Journey in Scorching Heat
WNCT News, Saturday, June 20, 2009
By Rachel Gallaher, Weekend Edition Producer

Group goes on 300-mile walk to protest death penalty
WNCT News, Friday, June 19, 2009
By Laura Phelps

300-Mile Protest: Group wants death penalty abolished
The Daily Southerner, Friday, June 19, 2009
By Kimberly Bellamy, Staff Writer

Group hopes event brings attention to death penalty
The Daily Reflector, Friday, June 19, 2009
By Michael Abramowitz

300 miles to abolish death penalty
Rocky Mount Telegram , Thursday, June 18, 2009
By Geoffrey Cooper

Anti Death Penalty March Through The East
WITN News, Tuesday, June 16, 2009
By Christine Kennedy

Death penalty opponents walk NC roads in protest
Durham Herald Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Death penalty foes to march to N.C. coast
WRAL, Sunday, June 14, 2009

By Erin Coleman

Monday, June 22nd

2009-06-22T04:14:00.000-07:00

This morning we will begin walking at a point 8 miles north of Kinston on Hwy 11. We'll walk to the Lenoir County courthouse, arriving about 10:30 or so.

Next we will drive to the Onslow County Courthouse in Jacksonville for prayer there. Onslow County is one of our counties with a disproportionate number of death sentences handed down. The DA from that district sought a death sentence in Sampson County (within the same prosecutorial district) last year for a man with severe developmental, social and emotional delays. The accused was charged with a very uncharateristic act of brutal violence against family members and had no previous criminal history. The death sentence was sought in spite of the fact that family members stated that they would be satisfied with life without parole. Pursuit of the death sentence unnecessarily and cruely split the family as some decided to support the prosecution and others supported the defense.

After prayer at the Onslow County courthouse at roughly noon, we'll walk toward Swansboro on our approach to Emerald Isle for the Tuesday evening event with Linda White.

Just a 'Typical' Day?

2009-06-22T03:58:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 26th – We began walking 8 miles east of Rocky Mount and walked through Tarboro, Princeville, Conetoe and Bethel, stopping just short of Parmele. I realize that most of you have never heard of these places, but we have met some very friendly, helpful and hospitable people in them.

One man, Michael J. (not Jordan), stopped me on the sidewalk in Tarboro and asked what we were doing. I told him about our work with murder victim family members and with families of people on death row and our opposition to the death penalty. He immediately began telling me about his spending a few years in Central Prison and how quiet and cold and eerie it was on the nights of executions. We talked more about his life outside of prison and about us. He invited us to eat lunch with him. So after prayer in front of the Edgecombe County Courthouse, we went to meet him at his usual lunch stop – the local soup kitchen. Although our prayer time and talking with reporters had made us miss the 12:15 closing of the lunch line, Michael advocated for us until the folks serving food relented and served each of us a full plate of food. While it might seem strange for us to eat this way, it was as if we had been invited to eat in this man’s home and to have said ‘no’ would have been rude and overly prideful.

After lunch we walked across the bridge into Princeville, a town known for its founding by freed slaves in 1865 and its devastation in the floods of Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The racial history of the area reminded us of the Racial Justice Act which is currently moving toward the floor of the NC House of Representatives – an act that aims to provide an avenue for removing some of the racial bias from capital punishment. Not from the entire judicial system, mind you, but just from that small piece of the judicial system associated with capital punishment.

In the evening we are settled down to sleep on cots at Bethel United Methodist Church in Bethel, NC. The pastor, Steve Smith, was most hospitable and accommodating. Pastor Heath Faircloth of Bethel Baptist Church helped us as well, delivering a fresh, homemade dinner of spaghetti, salad, bread and vanilla cream pie all made by one of his parishioners. He wanted to give us lodging in his home but he thought his one-week-old child might not cooperate with our need to get a full night’s sleep. These two pastors did not state clearly whether they agree with the entire purpose of our walk but they gave time from their busy day to help out some passing Pilgrims. They did so with a lot of love and kindness. For that we are so thankful!

After a good night’s sleep and a breakfast of spaghetti leftover from the previous evening, we went into the Bethel UMC sanctuary for our daily prayer and reflection time. Surrounded by eight stunningly beautiful stained-glass windows, we settled near the one that depicts a scene just after the execution of Jesus. A woman – probably Mary the mother of Jesus – clings to the stone base in which the cross – the instrument of Jesus’ execution – had been mounted. Part of Jesus’ robe lies torn on the ground and a beam of the broken cross lies nearby.

The scene evokes the grief of a mother whose son has just been executed. How often we forget that Jesus’ crucifixion was an execution and that the cross was the lethal injection paraphernalia of that era. I could easily – and painfully – imagine some of the mothers with whom we work laying themselves across the execution gurney as a modern parallel to this scene. Just as easily, I could see the image of another parent of a child was taken by violence inside or outside prison walls, laying across their loved one’s bed, seeking some continued connection with their loved one.

One mother of a man executed by the state of North Carolina told me (and gave me permission to tell others) that she has slept with her son’s tennis shoes as a way of dealing with her heartache for beloved son. We’ve heard similarly heart-wrenching stories of others whose loved ones were murdered.

After our bittersweet time of prayer and reflection, we set out walking toward Williamston. Near Robersonville, we encountered a young man walking. We immediately noted his distinctive t-shirt and listened as he explained that the t-shirt memorializes his brother who was shot to death on May 23rd of this year. Another grieving family member working out and walking out his grief.

On Friday evening, we had dinner with several of Willie Brown's family members. We first met them on the day of Willie's execution in April 2006. They were one of our first families at Nazareth House. It is difficult to describe the bond we formed with them through Willie's execution night and our subsequent contacts.

Courage - Ann, Villia, Teresa, Kendale, Trellis and Geneva (a family friend whose son is serving a life sentence) and Lorenzo (whose brother was recently shot to death). Courage, we will walk with you and for you.

Courage, brothers, sisters, families; You do not walk alone. We will walk with you!

Weekend Checkin

2009-06-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

It's been an amazingly full week. It's hard to believe we are less than halfway finished. We have indeed come so far - 143 miles - and we do have so far to go - 157 miles.

Today was very, very hot. We already miss the downpours of Monday and Tuesday!

Sunday we will attend two church services and then begin walking at about noon at roughly the intersection of Hwy 11 South and Hwy 903 about 4 miles south of Greenville. Call 910-385-6787 for help in finding us. We expect to walk about 18 miles through Grifton and on in the direction of Kinston.

We are behind on telling our stories and will do our best to catch up tomorrow.

Wilson to Rocky Mount

2009-06-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

Thank your for filing our Phone In blog report, Guest Writer!

Tuesday morning met us with more rain, but it did not dampen our spirits. (Pictured: Scott, Dave, Neil.) We walked all morning in the steady rain, and it became very contemplative. We could not converse much, but we could reflect on the cleansing rain. We hope our Pilgrimage can also wash away years of the injustice (racial injustice, economic injustice, moral injustice) of how victims' families are often treated, how families of those on death row are treated, and of course the injustice of the death penalty.

As we stopped for lunch at Wilson Presbyterian Church just west of Wilson (thank you for your hospitality, Rev. Andy!), a TV crew from WITN came and interviewed Scott Bass and Neil Mohlman. Watch the story. (You can skip the viewer comments...)

In the afternoon, we stopped in front of the court house in downtown Wilson. (Pictured: Neil, Scott, Debbie.) We hoped to meet the District Attorney, Robert Evans, but he was not in Wilson at the time - he was in Rocky Mount. That was OK - we would be in Rocky Mount the next day!

We continued out of Wilson and finished the day a mile south of Elm City with a total of about 23 miles of walking. We ended up staying at a Wilson motel Tuesday night, but the wireless internet connection there was pretty poor and we simply could not submit an entry. Dave spent an hour in front of the motel clothes dryers, holding the doors shut while waiting for our shoes and other wet clothes to dry.

We were back on the road Wednesday morning, walking north towards Rocky Mount. We completed over 13 miles before stopping for a picnic lunch in the playground at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where we were also offered lodging for the night.

After lunch, we walked to the courthouse where we did get to meet DA Robert Evans. He was very gracious in taking us in and hearing the story of our Pilgrimage and why we are walking. He is a newly appointed DA and is currently reviewing the issue of North Carolina's death penalty. He was also aware of the Racial Justice Act and also aware of the need for improved support services for victims' families. He said his judicial district has good services for child victims but less so for adult homicide and violent crime victims. We thanked him for his time and attention and left very satisfied with the meeting.

That left us with a short afternoon for walking - it was already 3:30. We did get in another 10+ miles, making this 25 mile day our longest yet.

Some of the beautiful Eastern North Carolina scenery we are walking past. The horses and this farm were on the road between Rocky Mount and Tarborro.

Day 3 Update

2009-06-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

Guest writer update:

Because of extremely long days and intermittent internet connections, Scott has not been able to update this blog over the last two days. For those of you who are keeping track of the walkers, a brief update of their progress:

The Pilgrimage continued from Knightdale to Middlesex on Monday and on to Wilson by Tuesday evening. Scott relayed that the Pilgrimage encountered two firsts: 1) Walking in the rain and 2) Continuing to walk despite torrential downpours! Though the group has now logged quite a few miles in less than ideal conditions, the Pilgrims remain in great spirits.

While walking in Wilson yesterday, the group stopped in front of the Wilson county courthouse for prayer and reflections.

There are currently three individuals on North Carolina’s death row from Wilson County:

Patricia Jennings: for the 1990 murder of her husband, William Henry Jennings

Abner Nicholson: for the 1997 murder of his wife, Gloria Nicholson and police chief Wayne Hathaway

Terry Robinson: for the 1991 murder of his wife, Gina Robinson. Mr. Robinson was initially charged with assault in 1988, but was later charged and convicted of murder when she died from her injuries in 1991

Walkers were not able to speak with newly appointed Wilson County District Attorney, Robert Evans, but had many wonderful conversations with local folks on the sidewalks around the courthouse interested in learning about the missions of the pilgrimage.

Wilson Presbyterian Church was kind enough to provide lunch for the soaked pilgrims. While Rev. Andy Raynor was only partially supportive of the mission of the walkers, he and the congregation were incredibly hospitable and allowed the group a respite from the terrible conditions outdoors!

“Let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”(Amos 5:24, American Standard Version)

This powerful quotation from the prophet Amos, featured in Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech at the march on Washington for civil rights in 1963, became the inspiration for the group as they drudged on as rainwater flooded the streets and rushed in streams along their feet.

The group continues through Wilson and into Rocky Mount this evening. Local media has been in constant contact with the Pilgrimage, conducting interviews and taking photos and video. Hopefully we’ll see some wonderful press soon!

Reconciliation - Not Division

2009-06-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

So, yes, we began the Pilgrimage today and photos are posted below. But in spite of the great start, it was with some sadness that this evening I checked out our first news coverage of this year's Pilgrimage. http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5354177/

Now, given how news coverage can be let me hasten to add that it could have been worse. But it saddens me when a reporter uses a person's pain to take a divisive route - in this case pitting one particular murder victim family member against us - especially when a 'higher road' is readily available. Not to mention the fact that this Pilgrimage is about more than ending the death penalty - although it is certainly about that, too!

This one particular murder victim family member deserves to have his story heard and his viewpoints valued. One of our society's failures is in not listening to murder victim family members. Part of the reason we walk is that we believe their experiences need to be heard and valued and their needs need to be known and addressed - and usually our society gives them only tough talk and lip service. On this Pilgrimage, we walk for them as much as for anyone or anything else. As I walk, I'll be remembering many names and faces and stories of murder victim family members I have encountered, including the person interviewed and including some who support the death penalty and many who do not.

My sadness is that the reporter could have interviewed dozens of murder victim family members in North Carolina who oppose the death penalty and support some form of healing and reconciliation, not even knowing exactly what that might look like. They don't want people who kill to be turned loose to kill again but they don't want to heap killing on top of killing either. Unfortunately, this reporter chose to use one person's pain to work a divisive angle and turn a march about reconciliation into a debate.

I actually told the reporter that I know many murder victim family members who oppose the death penalty and I know some of them would gladly speak out against it. I sat in a room with four such people just yesterday. I've heard from some of them that having experienced what they've experienced they would not want anyone to have to go through what they have gone through. And they certainly don't want to have any responsibility for inflicting that pain on another family!

Obviously, however, some murder victim family members do support the death penalty. Just not all of them - not by a long shot.

To learn more, check out one of our co-sponsors, Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation (MVFR) at http://www.mvfr.org/ . Consider coming to Emerald Isle on June 23rd or Kinston on June 24th and hear the story of Linda White. If I am among those who "just aren't qualified to comment on it" (in spite of my years as a family therapist, minister and grief counselor - I admit, I bristle a bit at that comment), then let's hear what a woman whose daughter was abducted, raped and murdered has to say.
(There's a hint at http://www.journeyofhope.org/pages/linda_white.htm .)

Isn't it time to offer murder victim family members something that really helps them begin to heal and survive the trauma they experience. They don't need our tough talk and lip service.

We have come SOfAR!

2009-06-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Day one of the 2009 Pilgrimage of Remembrance is over and it was a great start!!!

We began with a mass at the Doggett Center in Raleigh, with a special blessing by Fr. Alex and a wonderful procession after mass - the parishioners processed for the feast of Corpus Christi and also in solidarity with us. We had a wonderful nourishing brunch after the spiritually nourishing celebration with so many friends. We presented Fr. Alex with a T-shirt.

We gathered outside for a group picture. We're ready to walk!!

We were soon on our way to Central Prison, a mere 6/10 of a mile from the Doggett Center.

At Central Prison, Tarrah, from the North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium and her husband, and Will with the Fair Trial Initiative and his partner joined us. Fr. David from St. Francis of Assisi lead an opening prayer.
We waved to the prisoners in Central Prison and were soon on our way.

Ellen and Moira show the 2009 T-Shirts in front of Central Prison.

We stopped briefly at the NC State Capitol building, where Governor Bev Perdue may be called to make a life or death decision in future clemency appeals. We prayed that the death penalty will be abolished before that is needed.

We continued walking and stopped in a Southeast Raleigh neighborhood, the site of three murders so far in 2009. Rev. Hardy Watkins, pastor of a neighborhood church, spoke to us about the community efforts to stop violent crime in the neighborhood and what the violence does to the families who live there. The local churches are uniting in trying to give positive choices to the youth in the area - to let them know that someone cares for them. He also spoke of the effects of gentrification on the neighborhood - the small houses which get refurbished and priced beyond the reach of the current residents, forcing them to move.

From here, we walked to the Women's prison off (ironically) Martin Luther King Blvd. About 1200 women are imprisoned here; four are on death row. We prayed for restorative justice rather than retribution.

We were soon walking again and picked up the pace - we had a long distance to go today. We put in another 8 miles, for a total of 13 miles today. Five of us ran the last two while our sag wagon driver's shuttled people to St. Mark's Episcopal Church where friends had assembled a pot luck dinner for us. It was a refreshing end to a wonderful start. We are anxious to go back out tomorrow and start walking again. We have SOfAR to go!

Complete Day One Schedule

2009-06-13T08:38:00.001-07:00

“We have come so far! We have so far to go!”
Join us for the Day One of our 2009 Pilgrimage through eastern North Carolina. 1:00 PM, Sunday, June 14, 2009Central Prison, 1300 Western Blvd, Raleigh
Help us move North Carolina closer to:
- Support for homicide victims’ families
- Compassion for families of persons on death row
- Restorative Justice that helps individuals, families and communities heal
- Abolition of the death penalty
Schedule:
10:00 AM Mass - Doggett Center, NCSU Catholic Campus Ministry
601 Bilyeu St., Raleigh (across Western Blvd from Pullen Park)
11:15 AM Potluck lunch at Doggett Center
12:30 PM Walk to Central Prison (0.5 mile)

1:00 PM Official Beginning - Introductions, prayer and reflection at Central Prison
1:20 PM Begin walking toward State Capital (1.5 miles)

2:00 PM Rest and reflection at State Capital grounds
2:15 PM Resume walking via S on Fayetteville St. and E on Martin St.

2:30/2:45 PM Camden St./Haywood St. area of recent homicides with Rev. Hardy Watkins

3:00 PM Pause for prayer at Women’s Prison at Bragg St. and MLK Blvd (1.7 miles)

3:45 PM Nazareth House rest stop (1.4 miles)

6:00/6:15 PM End walking at Chick Filet at 6617 Knightdale Blvd/US 64B (6.9 miles)
Early arrivals and set up at St. Mark’s

6:30 PM Potluck Dinner and Celebration/Blessing Meal at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 1725 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh. Please bring food and drink!!

Contact Scott Bass at 919-231-9752 or 910-385-6787 with questions.

A Long Post Explaining My Motivations

2009-06-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

What Motivates a Person to Walk 300 Miles?

(posted by Scott Bass)

I left readers hanging at the end of last year's Pilgrimage with a promise of sharing more reflections on that journey. I'll do better this year. Let me begin with some "preflections" on this year's journey.

My personal motives for organizing and setting out on this 300-mile* Pilgrimage begin with the work Roberta and I do with families of homicide victims and families of people on death row. Through our work at Nazareth House, a Christian community and house of hospitality in we co-founded in Raleigh, NC, I have spent time in conversation with and offering support to both sets of families.

My background includes working since the mid 1980s in various ministry capacities and as a marriage and family therapist (since 1994) and often working with people who have experienced traumatic loss. In the past few years, I have talked with family members whose children have been murdered outside of prisons and with those whose children have been executed by the state inside of prison. I sat with one mother during the very hour of her son’s execution. While their experiences are certainly not exactly the same, they have so much in common.

My experiences with these families have taught me that we too often give only lip service to victims’ families, at least after the first few days and weeks, and we outright abandon the families of people who commit homicide. My experiences with both these sets of families and my learning more about our death penalty system has led me over the years to move from passive support for the death penalty to passionate opposition to it.

I have other motivations for this Pilgrimage. One is my deep love for my native eastern North Carolina – its people, its culture, its land, etc.. Having grown up living (and working!) on an eastern North Carolina farm (in Sampson County), the region is in me forever. I also have a deep devotion to my Christian faith and love for the Church – both Catholic and Protestant. My experiences with the above-mentioned families, my love for eastern North Carolina and the faith I embrace make this experience a deep personal and public journey. The Pilgrimage is truly a spiritual experience of praying for the people already mentioned as well as for the people whose communities we will pass through. At the same time, we want to raise questions especially among my fellow eastern North Carolina Christians, like, “What does our faith say about how we behave toward these families, toward both victims and perpetrators of violence, and what does our faith say about support for the death penalty?”

While I have come to strong conclusions already, I don’t care to impose my conclusions on others. I do want to engage in private conversation and public dialogue and to propose that Christian faith – as well as many other faith perspectives - requires us to pray both for people victimized by violence and people who commit violence and requires us to give compassion and real support to the families of both, not just tough talk and lip service. I also propose that support for the death penalty in our modern society is inconsistent with Christian faith and that people of our faith* must insist on responses to crime that prioritize reconciliation over retaliation, prevention over revenge, and some form of restoration over extermination of human beings.

In response to an anticipated criticism, let me say that I have been too close to the trauma and tragedy of homicide to keep any naïveté’ about what I am saying. I understand that there are serious justice issues, safety issues and many other issues to be considered and addressed. I do not claim that it is easy or simple. I do say that it is what I understand our faith to require and that it is what my fellow citizens and fellow human beings deserve. Therefore, though difficult, these things need to be addressed.

We will conduct this Pilgrimage under the name, Sojourners for Abolition and Reconciliation (SOfAR). On this walk and on these larger issues, “We have come so far. We have so far to go.”

* My personal hope is that if I make it through the 300 miles of this Pilgrimage, I will continue the journey later this summer to complete a total of 404 miles – one mile for each execution that has taken place at Central Prison.

**I say “our faith” in reference to the Christian faith that I embrace and the faith perspective of my primary audience. I do not mean to exclude others; I just do not believe I have the authority to say what other faith perspectives require.

How you can help now...

2009-06-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Many of you have asked how you can help. At this point here are some of our needs. The top three are our most pressing needs at this point. While this list is longish, any need with which you can help will be of great importance to the fulfillment of this Pilgrimage.

1. Lodging for 6-8 people (church floor, a home, motel, etc.)
We currently do not yet have confirmed lodging in: Wilson, Rocky Mount, Tarboro, Goldsboro, Washington or Wilmington.

2. Dinner for 6-12 people.

3. Lunch for 12-15 people (or as few as 6-8 depending on number of local walkers on a given day...)

4. Event opportunity. We can provide a speaker, a forum on the death penalty, a panel discussion, etc. to share information and stories about the struggles of real families - both families of homicide victims and of people on death row. We need venues and people to talk with and listen to.

5. Local walkers to join us for a few yards or miles, depending on health and heat. This is a strenous event and is not the place for strollers or pets. However, if you want to walk with us in your town, we'll slow down the pace for a mile or two.

6. Breakfast for 6-8 people

7. Water, sports drinks and snacks

8. Support Vehicle drivers

9. Local pastor and/or lay persons to offer spiritual encouragement through prayer with us, offering Communion or Mass, etc.

10. Pray for us or, as the Quakers say, "Hold us in the Light" wherever you are.

Counting down

2009-06-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

SOjourners for Abolition and Reconciliation (SOfAR)

A 300-mile Pilgrimage through eastern North Carolina

“We have come SOfAR! We have SOfAR to go!”

Join us for the start of our 2009 Pilgrimage through eastern North Carolina.

1:00 PM, Sunday, June 14, 2009

Central Prison, 1300 Western Blvd, Raleigh

Help us move North Carolina closer to:

Support for homicide victims’ families
Compassion for families of persons on death row
Restorative Justice that helps individuals, families and communities heal
Abolition of the death penalty

Last year we walked 300+ miles from Raleigh to Washington, DC. This year we will walk 300+ miles through our own eastern North Carolina. We begin at 1:00 PM on Sunday, June 14, 2009 at the site of the most homicides of any address in Raleigh in the past century – Central Prison. We will wind past sites of recent homicides in our city and the women’s death row facility and then proceed eastward out of Raleigh.

The first miles will take a slower pace so as to accommodate a wide variety of participants. It will be hot and humid, so plan accordingly. As the day progresses we will pick up the pace as we head eastward out of Raleigh. Be aware that the route and conditions will be challenging at times.

Additional information about the Pilgrimage, including the full route, event schedule and the many ways you can help will be posted on our blog and at our 2009 Pilgrimage of Remembrance calendar (opens in a new tab or window).

Contact Scott Bass at (919) 231-9752 or (910) 385-6787 - Nazhouse@att.net .

We're walking again!

2009-04-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, We're Walking Again! It's a new year, and we have a new journey ahead of us. Our theme this year is SOfAR - Soujourners for Abolition and Reconciliation.

We're planning another pilgrimage to bring about restorative justice, compassion for all victims of violence, and to abolish the death penalty . Like last year's 300 mile pilgrimage from Raleigh to Washington D.C. (“We have come SOfAR”), we have several goals:

Support for homicide victims’ families
Compassion for families of persons on death row
Restorative Justice that helps individuals, families and communities heal
Abolish the death penalty

This year, we will walk through eastern North Carolina. Our plans are still tentative, but we plan to walk from Raleigh to places like Wilson, Rocky Mount, Tarboro, Williamston, Greenville, Vanceboro, New Bern, Maysville, Jacksonville, Beulaville, Kenansville, Kinston, Goldsboro, Smithfield and points in between before walking back into Raleigh to the State Capitol. We can visit other communities, depending on interest.

We currently plan to depart Raleigh on Sunday, June 14 and walk for 14 to 16 days, averaging about 20 miles a day for a total of 300 to 325 miles. ( “We have SOfAR to go.”) We hope to have events along the way - talks with church groups or community organizations, panel discussions, film screenings, Bible studies, talks with victim's families or with death row relatives, meetings with legislators or town councils, and so on. We're looking for local people to help organize events in their towns.

We hope you will join us on the road or in spirit. This event is physically and spiritually strenuous, but there are many ways to participate. We need walkers and companions — either core walkers who want to go the distance, or friends who want to join us for a morning, an afternoon, or a couple days.
But we also need a lot of support, including:

meals,
lodging,
water and other essentials,
"sag wagon" drivers and other transportation,
home town event organizers,
donations (monetary or in kind, including a mid-journey rest stop location),
home town media contacts (newspapers, etc.),
and much more.

This pilgrimage will be both a prayerful experience and a call to public conversation about the issues above, with an emphasis on ending the death penalty and supporting all persons impacted by homicide. It will be grounded in Christian spirituality, while remaining respectful of other faith perspectives and will be open to persons committed to prayer and nonviolence regardless of their formal religious faith. We need to hear from people like you. We need partners to walk and to provide the crucial support needed by the Pilgrimage in various forms.

Our 'friends' on this year's pilgrimage include: Capital Restorative Justice Project, Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation, People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, and many others. We hope to include you in our list!

Please direct inquiries to Scott Bass at Nazareth House, (919) 231-9752 or email us at nazhouse@att.net

Catching Up - Please Come Back and Read Tomorrow

2008-07-03T06:40:00.001-07:00

We're home, catching up and reflecting on the past three amazing weeks. We have many more stories to tell that we think will be worthwhile to read and important to document. So look for more posts later by July 4th.

Pilgrimage ends Sunday with March into Washington, DC

2008-06-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

As of 6:00 PM Saturday, June 28, we are 12 miles from the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC. There are so many emotions and thoughts we're experiencing at this point - I hope to post later this evening to share some of them.

For any who want to join us on Sunday for the final approach and the march into Washington, call Scott at 312-401-3713 for details. The basic outline follows.

We'll begin walking on US1 North at the Quality Inn 7212 Richmond Hwy about 9 miles south of DC. We'll walk up US1 into Crystal City, turn left onto 23rd St., turn right onto Eads St. and left onto 15th. Then we continue on 15th and continue when it becomes Joyce St crossing Army-Navy Blvd and going under I395 before turning right onto Columbia Pike. At that point, we plan to take the bike path to the Arlington Memorial Bridge, arriving about 11:30 AM.

We'll gather with various friends at the end of the bridge opposite DC. Someone suggested taking a cab to that point if you're meeting us there. Others suggested parking at Roslyn and finding someone to drive you back to your car later.

We begin crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge at 12 noon. After crossing, we'll circle right around the Lincoln Memorial and take Independence alongside the Mall and on to the Supreme Court Building, arriving about 1:30 PM. The walk from the bridge to the end is about 3 miles. It'll be hot so bring water.

At least six friends from Raleigh, several folks from the 15th Starvin' for Justice Fast and Vigil, and Andre Latallade (aka Capital X) who has walked some 1700 miles for abolition of the death penalty are among those who'll be walking with us.

How about you?

Abolition

2008-06-27T14:39:00.001-07:00

Ah, Fredericksburg! I had no idea how much charm that town has. Last night we indulged in ice cream at the previously unknown to us but apparently famous Carl's. It was well worth the 50-some person-long line!

After spending the night with the Wheelers in their amazing 19th century era home, before departing we had to stop at the old slave trading block. It was the actual block upon which human beings stood to be auctioned off - just like livestock and other commodities. We had to stop there to pray and ponder.

Abolition was the only 'right answer' for slavery. Today we accept that as unquestioned truth.

There will come a time in the not too distant future when people will look back at the death penalty with the same disbelief and revulsion with which we now look at slavery. It's already true for most countries with which we want to be associated, including Canada and the nations of the European Union. It'a also true for countries that most Americans consider beneath us, including Mexico and Haiti.

As with slavery, the only 'right answer' to the death penalty is Abolition.

How long must we wait before that becomes obvious?

It Keeps Happening

2008-06-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here's the kind of thing that's happened many times during this Pilgrimage.

I stopped north of Ashland, VA to read an historical marker. Across the street, someone called to me and asked if I needed a ride to buy gas, assuming I've run out. I crossed the street to talk with the two women and two children who were working to fix up a house there. I explained to them that I'm walking from Raleigh to DC to encourage people to remember murder victims and their families, people on death row and their families and calling for an end to the death penalty. After offering me a soft drink, they told me the story of how two women were murdered in that very house in the 1980s. We talked about the personal impact and other aspects of that murder; all the while I'm offering a prayer for the victims and perpetrator of that crime.

One of the women continued, telling me of a VA State Police officer who was killed nearby. Then she told me about how the 7-year-old child whose father was slain told his mother, "You know you have to forgive him (the person who killed his father)."

Today, a man pulled his car over near me, said he's not from around here and asked me where he might find a public park. I told him that I'm passing through on the Pilgrimage and explained the purpose to him. He held up his forearms to reveal some very severe-looking cuts, which appeared still swolen, but looked to have healed pretty well.

He explained that he was nearly a murder victim, that someone came at him and some friends with a knife and that in protecting the group he sustained those cuts. He talked about how much he sympathized with the purpose of our Walk and how appreciative he is of life, especially in light of his close call.

I fully expect more such encounters this afternoon and in the days ahead.

Images from the Pilgrimage

2008-06-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Better late than never... images from Saturday and Sunday, June 21 and 22, 2008.

At the entrance to Virginia's Greensville Correctional Center, where Virginia conducts its executions.

The Greensville Correctional Center, from Corrections Way.

Vigil and prayer service at the entrance to the GCC. We were joined on Saturday by Vivian and Jeff who drove up from Asheboro, NC to be with us, walk with us, show support, and to buy us lunch. It was nice meeting them. Vivian writes to death row inmates in 32 states in the US.

Remembering victims of violence.

On Saturday and Sunday, we were also joined by Abe Bonowitz, Beth Wood, and their son Isaac. Abe is from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and came out to support our pilgrimage by providing a meal and lodging. Beth from Durham also came up Saturday morning to walk with us. On Sunday, we were joined by Steve and Daniel from the Norfolk (VA) Catholic Worker.

Many of us marched 12.8 miles on Sunday, to arrive south of Petersburg before lunch. Left to right are:

Issac, Abe, David, Beth, Roberta, Steve, Scott, Debbie, Grant, Ellen, Daniel, and (in front) Beth with Lance.

As Scott wrote in Bittersweet Day, it was sad to say goodbye.

What Remains

2008-06-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

This evening we're resting in Ashland. A sign today read, "Washington 90." It was a strange moment. Excitement that our geographical goal is that near. Sadness that this very special inner and outer journey is coming to a close so soon. Sober awareness that our larger goals require so much more work and time: Abolition of the death penalty and Reconciliation through support and compassion and healing for families of victims and perpetrators and the wrongly accused.

Tomorrow we will walk a shorter day and drive back down our route to participate in vigils in Richmond and at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. At those vigils we will join Virginians opposed to the execution of Robert Yarbrough, which is scheduled for 9 PM tomorrow. We will pray, as we have all week, for the surviving family and friends of Cyril Hamby and for Robert and his family. We will offer public witness against his execution and pray for a commutation of his sentence.

On Thursday, we continue walking up US1 from Ladysmith to Fredericksburg. On Friday, from Fredericksburg to Triangle. On Saturday from Triangle to just south of Alexandria. On Sunday, joined by Raleigh-area friends who will rejoin us and Abolitionists from around the country, we will walk into Washington to join the 15th Annual Fast and Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty in front of the Supreme Court.

We invite any of you who can to join us, especially for the Sunday walk into Washington and/or for part of the fast and vigil which runs through midnight on July 2nd.

More posts will follow, Internet access willing...

Richmond Reconciliation

2008-06-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Approaching Richmond yesterday was very cool. The Civil War history of various military arches pervades the air from Petersburg into Richmond. Instead of a military march, however, here we were marching against violence and for nonviolent solutions to violence.

On the South Side, as they call it here, two Richmond police officers pulled over near me (after one of them literally screamed from their passing car in response to my 'abolish the death penalty' sign and did a u-turn) and asked why I am against the death penalty. It was a frank and respectful exchange with some folks who have a very difficult job and who see things people shouldn't ever see. I listened. They listened. People have consistently shown some respect for the convictions which lead us to walk so far. They advised as to how dangerous they consider that neighborhood to be. I thanked them for their concern and prayed for them safety, alertness and wisdom as I walked away.

There were more conversations along the road into the South Side, then an envigorating crossing over the beautiful James River into the city! But the best was yet to come.

For the three days leading into Richmond, we were aided by a woman whose son is serving a long sentence after conviction for murder. While her son is not on death row, her story of heartbreak and perseverance reminded us of so many families of people on death row. At the end of the day, we were met by our host for the evening in Richmond, Georgi Fisher, a murder victim family member and board member of Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation. While in the South Side, we had actually walked by the site of her sister's murder.

While prayerwalking around the legislative building and governor's mansion was powerful, the highlight of the day, and one of the highlights of this Pilgrimage, was the meeting of the mother of a son convicted of murder, and Georgi, the sister of a murder victim. They talked about their experiences, found a deep connection with each other and, I suspect, will make a point of staying in contact with each other. That's an example of what we mean by Reconciliation.

Open letter to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine

2008-06-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

While walking Virginia’s roads this morning, thinking of the scheduled execution of Robert Yarborough, I found myself wanting to talk with Governor Tim Kaine. Perhaps ‘way will open’ for us to talk with him or someone else in his office. In the meantime, here’s an open letter to him.

Governor Kaine,

I’m writing to let you know that we’ll pass through your neighborhood today and it would be nice to drop in for a visit. I’m part of a group walking from Raleigh, NC en route to Washington, DC because we see how wrong and damaging the death penalty is and we want it abolished. Today our group includes five Virginians and we expect more along the way.

In the past few years, we have come to know families of people on death row and families of murder victims, and we’ve learned that the death penalty harms them all. This is very personal and important to us; thus we are walking the 300 miles to spread the word.

One of our many objections to the death penalty is that it is one of the many ways that our society gives lip service and empty promises to families of murder victims instead of helping them toward actual healing and learning to live with the horrible losses they experience. Another objection is the way it inflicts on yet another family the insult that we say is so horrible for anyone to inflict. It simply adds more senseless and tragic violence to situations that are already far too violent and senselessly tragic.

We walk to remember murder victims and their families and to call for real support for them rather than lip service and illusions of ‘closure.’ We walk to remember the families of people on death row who are not guilty of any crime and yet pay such a cruel price. We find that the families on both sides have an amazing amount in common in the loss and suffering they endure. We need to do more to prevent the losses of the former. We, and you, can do everything to reduce the losses of the latter.

There will come a time in the not too distant future when society will judge capital punishment as harshly as we now judge slavery. It took devoted people of faith and courageous political leaders to lead us to abolition of slavery. They took great risks and now are considered visionaries and heroes. I invite you to be one of the visionaries and heroes who lead us to abolition of capital punishment. This week, before Virginia executes its 100th person of ‘the modern era’ of capital punishment, is a great time to lead up that path.

Thank you for hearing us. We arrive in Richmond this afternoon between 4 and 5 PM. We’d value the opportunity to meet with you face to face either today or tomorrow at your convenience.

May the peace and courage and compassion of God be with you,

Scott Bass
2008 Pilgrimage of Remembrance: Making Strides toward Abolition and Reconciliation

Bittersweet Day

2008-06-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

Bittersweet Day
This evening we can almost smell Richmond as we settle down on the floors of a house owned by Chester (VA) United Methodist Church. Wow! One week ago today we set out on this little walk. Today, we passed the midpoint of this 300-mile journey! Today was our longest mileage day – 27 – thanks to an early start and the no show of expected thunderstorms. And we were joined by 5 Virginians today.
As exciting as it was to pass the halfway point, it was so sad to say, “Goodbye,” to the Biesack family who have walked with us all week and whose multitude of talents have made the load so much lighter for all. While so many have contributed so much, we simply have to say our biggest ‘thank you’ to Dave, Debbie and Ellen for the time and talent they’ve given in preparing for and conducting this Pilgrimage. We felt a bit deflated when they left for home after lunch today. Furthermore, Abe, Beth and Isaac from DC and Beth from Durham left at the same time, leaving us with our smallest crew yet.
But this journey is so amazing! We continued the afternoon’s segment with Steve and Daniel from Norfolk and in just a few yards Grant, Daniel and Scott encountered Smitty. While we braced ourselves for the familiar ‘eye for an eye’ (why is it that those are the only words of Scripture that so many people know?) speech, Smitty surprised us with heartfelt praise, words of wisdom and some of his story. He talked about spending more than 20 years of his life in prison. He talked about what an awful place it was. (Seems the only people who think prison is such a pampered and easy life are people who’ve never been there. I have yet to hear people who’ve lived or worked in a prison describe it as anything but difficult.) He also talked about the difficulties of adjusting to life on the outside and how little help is available to help former inmates transition successfully.
Smitty told us that our walking to remember murder victims and their families, people on death row and their families and calling for an end to the death penalty was a good and admirable thing to do. He closed with some wisdom he said he’d learned from life inside and outside of prison. “People either respect life or they don’t. You can’t make a person respect life by threatening to kill him.” --Scott

Miles, stones, and milestones

2008-06-21T19:29:00.001-07:00

Friday, June 20, 2008

Today was the day that we will pass the 100 mile mark (one third of the way from Raleigh to D.C) and also cross from North Carolina into Virginia. But before we get there, we had to have breakfast. Luckily for us, Mike H. had called ahead and offered to bring breakfast for us, and to walk with us for part of the journey. We worked on packing everything back into the car. Mike brought some bagels, granola and fruit and nut bars, and a very special treat - peaches.

We were soon on our way, with Dave driving the van. The walkers spotted the local library and called Dave so he could come back and update the blog. Dave asked if they had Wi-Fi, and the librarian replied that it was scheduled to be installed "on Monday". So another day would go by without a blog update.

Mike walked with us the first hour, then Dave drove him back to his car at the church. It was already a hot morning, no rain having materialized overnight. About six miles out of town, at our second rest, Scott noted that we had passed the 100 mile mark.

We were now on Highway 48 north of Roanoke Rapids, heading east. The road was less busy, although there was still a lot of logging truck traffic. We walked with our banners (which are getting pretty dirty by now, but holding up well). We stopped near a small farm for a water break. At Pleasant Hill, we turned north on Highway 301 and had a short walk to the North Carolina/Virginia state line. We noticed some picnic tables at the Georgia Pacific facility across the railroad tracks, and walked over there. We asked the young man mowing the grass if we could picnic there, and he said he thought it would be OK, but fifteen minutes later, someone came and ... he seemed very sorry that he had to ask us to leave. So, we went back across
the street to the Stateline Lottery store (and former restaurant) and picnicked at a table outside.

We were soon making miles along Highway 301 north... all the way into Emporia. None of our initial contacts at churches panned out, so we decided to lodge an a motel where we could get showers, do some laundry, and get some internet time. Unfortunately, the motel we picked did not have working wireless connections. The Starbucks across the street was scheduled to get its internet set up "on Monday" - apparently, Monday is the day for getting Internet service in this part of the country. Debbie and Roberta struggled with broken washing machines and dryers, getting close just past the dripping stage by 11:20 PM, while Dave went to the Texaco to try to vacuum up the gallon of water that had spilled in the seat well in the back of the van. After that, he bought some internet time at the McDonalds.

We had very little contact with people this day, except for those we waved to as they drove past us in cars, trucks, and trains. It was a long day, but it felt like we made significant progress by passing two significant milestones.

Catching up

2008-06-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 19, 2008.

Since we had families meeting us at 5:30 on Wednesday evening, and having taken an overly long lunch break in downtown Warrenton that day, we did not get as far as planned. Dave, Scott, and Patrick picked up the pace and covered 5 miles in the last hour and fifteen minutes Wednesday, but we were still a mile and a half short of Vaughn. We left our hosts and met back near Granpda's Stump Grinding on Highway 159 between Warrenton and Vaughn, and started our 23.5 mile walk to Roanoke Rapids.

We did a lot of fast paced intervals. We've settled into a routine of walking three miles, which normally take folks 54 minutes to an hour, then stopping for a fifteen minute break. To help make up time, we cut the breaks to 10 minutes today.

We entered Littleton after about 7.5 miles of walking. Thanks to some phone calls that our new friend Heidi had made, we had three reporters from local Littleton/Lake Gaston papers came out to interview us!

We stopped at Littleton Baptist Church, on the east side of town, where a parishioner had been murdered there twelve years ago. Reverand Marc Currin met us and we had a prayer of remembrance. W few of us headed south a couple blocks to visit Heidi, and she shared some cold lemonade and Sunny D and showed us her 1908 home which she and her husband Jim have been renovating for 18 years.

We had a nice offer for lunch from Mike and Beth whose friend Neal had a house on Lake Gaston, about four miles off of our route. Erica (with Annie) also drove up from Garner to walk with us for the afternoon. Mike met us at the Piggly-Wiggly in Littleton and helped shuttle folks to the house. While folks were driving, Scott, Dave, and Patrick caught up some distance, covering 2 1/2 miles in 35 minutes.

After lunch, we estimated we had 14 miles to go to get to Roanoke Rapids. We would have to walk the whole way to get to our destination, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. We simply walked and walked and walked. The logging trucks flew past us on Highway 158. Some would move over; others not, so we simply adjusted.

Just outside of Roanoke Rapids, Roberta was driving the van, with a couple of the teenagers in tow. She stopped at an old country store and asked the owner if it was alright to park the van in his parking lot to wait for the walkers to catch up. He said "You can park there all night if you want", and invited her in for ice tea. She asked if the kids could have some and he said "bring 'em all in". She mentioned we had eight walkers coming in in a half hour, and he smiled and said that would be fine. We soon arrived and quickly exhausted their cup supply. We still have about 200 cups, so we brought them in and cooled off with some delicious, authentic North Carolina sweet tea. It was a nice, long break.

After reaching Highway 48, most of us caught a ride to the church, where fried chicken was waiting for us. We had a brief prayer lead by Rev. Michael Butler, a lovely dinner, some car clean up and air mattress inflating, and great foot massages by Erica. We said goodbye to Patrick, Moira, Veronica, Timmy, Annie, and Erica, since they were all returning home that night. Dave drove them back to Littleton, where we had left Erica's car at the Piggly-Wiggly. Dave drove back to Roanoke Rapids, stopped at the drug store for a restock of sunscreen, lip balm, and moleskin (both the thin the the thick "mole pad" variety) and soon were sound asleep on our air mattresses.

The Fried Chicken Miracle

2008-06-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

Before I explain the miracle, let me tell what has not been a miracle. It has been much harder to get on-line and connected while on this Pilgrimage, so please accept our apologies for not posting more regularly and for not getting your comments published. After ten hours of walking, then scrambling for food out of the back of the van, unpacking the van for the umpteenth time, maybe (or maybe not!) getting a shower, we're often too tired to seek out an internet connection...

So, on to the miracle.

On our walk Tuesday, one of our early breaks was at the Kitrell Grocery. At about 10:20, we stood outside the grocery for a while, getting water and some Gatorade, and maybe a dry granola bar. I went inside to use the bathroom and was overtaken by the scent of fried chicken. It smelled great. Later that day, around lunchtime, we were in Henderson, and walked past a restaurant serving fried chicken. Later that afternoon, after our vigil at the Vance County Courthouse, we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some Gatorade mix, and they had some fried chicken there as well. We've been traveling with a good number of vegetarians, so I tried to set aside my longing, but the three encounters simmered all afternoon. That evening, I mentioned this to Roberta, and she also thought it would be good to have some fried chicken. But soon, a couple days passed, and it seemed it was out of reach.

After our long march on Thursday (almost 24 miles; I have not written about that day yet), we approached St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Roanoke Rapids, NC. Some parishioners there had generously prepared a meal for us, and as we walked the last mile at 6:30 PM, we were looking forward to it very much. We walked in the door, and the miracle occurred - there on the table was a small mountain of Genuine, Home-Made, Southern Fried Chicken.

I do not mean to trivialize miracles. Mary Rider once told me that miracles happen every day; you just have to be open to seeing them. Like the miracle of the loaves and fishes, the miracle is not the obvious multiplication of a few stale pieces of bread and some fish in a basket; the real miracle was the conversion of heart in those who had enough food to share all along, but who were at first hesitant to share it. The miracle was the sharing that spread. Our hope is that our message will also bring about such a conversion in the hearts of those who may support the death penalty but who perhaps have not really heard what their faith community has said about it, or what their neighbor has said about it. Maybe they have not thought through the effect another act of violence has on those around it.

Some people may not have been aware that a week ago, they were going to be making fried chicken for a group of abolitionists from North Carolina. Some people may not have been aware that a week ago, they were going to be talking about abolition with a group of fried chicken loving folks from North Carolina. What will happen next week?

Conversations

2008-06-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 18, 2008.

We feel blessed in so many ways. We are blessed to be surrounded by good friends on this journey. We are blessed with wonderful weather. We are blessed to be able to walk through such beautiful countryside. We are blessed to live in a time when the death penalty may come to an end. We are blessed to have friends and family at home who are praying for us and supporting us.

With sadness, we left behind our new friends at Cedar Cross; we hope to return to spend more time there, perhaps with the energy to walk some of the four miles of trails they have there, or to help with some of the work around the retreat center.

Today's journey took us from Middleburg, just west of Henderson, through Norlina, then through Warrenton and ending east of Warrenton. We followed Highway 158, which is so much nicer to walk on than US 1. It's less busy and more scenic, although the shoulders are a bit narrower. The best part, however, is that we are closer to the people. We stopped by a volunteer fire department and briefly spoke to two men out front who were very interested in our walk and expressed great support. Two women were running a fruit and vegetable stand east of Henderson. They were delighted to hear our story and enthusiastically wished us well, offering to pray for us. Just west of Norlina, a gentleman pulled up alongside us and said he had seen us the day before while on his way to visit the hospital in Raleigh. We also said he would be praying for us. On the way out of Warrenton, someone pulled alongside and asked if we were the same walkers who were featured in the Henderson Daily Dispatch. He then offered us his copy of the paper to take with us.

The most interesting encounter of the day occurred while we were on a water break near an intersection three miles outside of Henderson. He pulled up in a truck, and asked what we were doing; we said we were walking. He ask "About the death penalty?" and we said yes. He said an expletive, then spoke to the two others in his truck. He then said that in North Carolina, one can be convicted if the jury is convinced "beyond a reasonable doubt", but for a death sentence, there should be "no doubt". (Although we would prefer there not be a death sentence, we would certainly agree that "no doubt" would be preferable to "reasonable doubt", but what constitutes "no doubt", and who decides?) But he seemed to want to be on his way and simply said that we could agree to disagree. He drove by a few minutes later, before we had a chance to start walking again, and I guess he could not resist stopping. The first words out of his mouth: "Do you need any water?". We asked him to tell us his story, and he did. He turned off the engine of his truck. We was a retired corrections officer and had seen horrible violence in that role. We listened, without interrupting, but asked him more questions. He went on at length, and perhaps too graphically for the younger children in our group, but it seemed that he needed to tell us his story. When he finished, he offered a banana he had, which Patrick and Scott accepted with thanks, and we all left on friendly terms, "agreeing to disagree"

We ended up in separate houses for the night. Sr. Margaret at St. Jospeph's in Warrenton arranged for two parishioner couples to take some of us. We stayed in lovely homes on Lake Gaston, where we had wonderful showers, hot meals, good conversation, and took sunset boat rides in the clear air. Sr. Margarate took Patrick and his kids. At the house where Dave, Debbie and Ellen stayed, their hosts Ann and Don also invited friends Jim and Heidi from Littleton for dinner. After introductions, Heidi remarked to us, "Ann wouldn't tell you this, but we didn't know what to expect from you. But you're so normal!" We got a kick out of that. Everyone was very supportive, and Ann offered her home in Littleton as a rest stop on our way through town (we told her how difficult it had been to find a bathroom in Henderson).

Today ended as a great day of meeting people on our journey. We hope to meet more tomorrow and tomorrow's tomorrow.

Photos:

Leaving Middleburg, known for the Middleburg Steak House.
Entering Norlina.
Crossroads in Norlina. Yikes! We had to turn south for a few miles to get to Warrenton. Feels like we're walking backwards.
Downtown Warrenton.
Warren County Courthouse. We had a nice lunch there, and a small vigil on the courthouse square.

Counting Counties

2008-06-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

We made great progress yesterday (June 16). Fifteen people walked at one time or another. Patrick, Moira, and Scott walked the entire distance, about 21 miles. Ellen covered 20, Jean walked 19, Timmy covered 18, Roberta walked 17, Veronica completed 16 miles. Dave finished 14 miles, Bernadette walked 12, Annie, Mary, and Grant each walked 10, Debbie walked 7, and Michael walked 2. That's a total of 218 miles.

After a great breakfast at Cedar Cross, and only a minor delay waiting for their dog RJ (short for Restorative Justice) to return, we left the desnse shade of the retreat for the dark asphalt of US 1 North. Driving from Cedar Cross, in Frankin County, we crossed briefly into Vance County, then back into Franklin County as we drove "the wrong way" on US 1 until we reached the spot where we stopped walking Monday evening, and resumed our walking at 8:02 in the morning.

US 1 this far north of Raleigh is much less busy, and also much more scenic. We enjoyed rural North Carolina, from the dilapidated hay barns to the scenic vistas. By 8:45, we had walked almost three miles as we crossed the county line back into Vance County.

Shortly into our walk, we met two walkers, Kate and Rebecca. Loaded with backpacks, they were on a 1,800 mile trek from Miami, FL to Boaston MA to raise awareness of sexual violence against women. They walked with us for a few miles, until we came to Kitrell, where we stopped for a break at the Kitrell Grocery. Kate and Rebecca had been walking for seven weeks, since the beginning of May. The nice folks at the Kitrell Grocery filled our coolers with ice, and we were soon on our way. We still had a pretty good hike into Henderson, and traffic picked up, as did the temperature. We got off of US-1 and followed the US-1 Business route into downtown.

We stopped for lunch and rest under a shelter.

We paused in downtown Henderson (to post yesterday's blog entry and to rest at the library), and then headed over to the county courthouse for a vigil. Scott was interviewed for an article for the
Henderson Daily Dispatch. We were on the front page, with a color photograph, on Wednesday, June 18. He was misquoted once, but overall it was a good article which covered much of our Pilgrimage's purpose and hopes. The statement, "But he finds most family members of victims oppose capital punishment, though he acknowledged those against the death penalty might gravitate toward him because of the work he does." was incorrect; Scott did not say that about victim's families but rather the wider community that Scott interacts with.

We soon started out from Henderson and followed 158 out of town. The temperature dropped, the breeze picked up, and we all felt much better walking out of town. We got as far as Middleburg - a few steps more and we would have been through Middleburg.

We spend the night at Cedar Cross again - it was very relaxing. We had some chips and great homemade salsa, and a great dinner featuring wonderful salads, and lemonade pie for dessert. Much thanks to our wonderful hosts, Margaret and John Hilpert, Betty Anne and Nancy.

Long, hot journey

2008-06-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

Monday morning sure came around fast after our long day yesterday.

Of course, we picked the hottest day for our first full distance day. We planned to cover 21 miles today, from Gresham Lake Rd just north of the 540/Capital Boulevard interchange, through Wake Forest and Franklinton. Patrick and a few of his children were there before the rest of us - he said "You know your late if I'm here before you!". We had no fixed stops today, just marching. We left about 8:40 in the morning and set a quick pace, stopping briefly for water every two miles. We had 10 walkers for most of the day today, and 6 more joined us in the after noon.

The long walk provided a lot of time for quiet reflection. Some of that reflection was devoted to avoiding the hot sun. We found some relief when our course veered off of US 1 north, taking us along 1A through Wake Forest. We had a nice rest in the shade in front of Forestville Baptist Church. We reached the downtown area near noon time and asked a local fireman about a goood place to eat lunch (Over the Falls Deli). Patrick also stopped at the local Wake Forest newspaper to see if they had received our press release and if they would cover the story. The editor sent Leslie out to meet us, and she interviewed several of us at length about the Pilgrimage and the death penalty.

We left at 1:00PM and started the long march up to Franklinton. The walk through the older estate section of Wake Forest was beautiful. We also enjoyed the quaint town of Youngsville; the road crew working on road improvements through downtown were very friendly towards us. After passing through Youngsville, our route took us back onto US 1 north, which is a busy four lane highway. Soon, though, the business route veered off towards Franklinton. We stopped for a fifteen minute break in the shade, knowing we had only a mile and a half to downtown and two miles after that - about an hour of walking. Scott was not feeling well, perhaps from dehydration, but some PoweAde powered him through the rest of the day. Blisters also took out Grant and Moira.

Just south of downtown, near the elementary school, a group of kids had grown tired of bouncing in their trampoline, but found renewed vigor as we passed by. In downtown, a reporter from the Franklinton paper met us to take pictures and interview Scott and Patrick. A mile north of Frankinton, Business 1A merges back into US 1, so we marched another mile before finally stopping for the day at 5:30PM.

We regrouped, gathered our cars, and drove to Cedar Cross retreat house near Louisburg. Our gracious hosts, Margaret and John Hilpert, Betty Anne and Nancy, had a hot meal waiting for us, and we were very grateful for that! We also had showers! Yea!!! The Cedar Cross retreat center was the perfect place to relax, reflect, and rejuvenate. Many birds ushered in Tuesday morning, and we were ready to hit the road again at 7:30.

Scott's personal reflection after 10 Miles

2008-06-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

Having completed the first ten hot miles of this 300-mile journey, I'm already feeling the physical pain in my ankles and the ache and burn of too much sun on my head and face. It only takes a second to remember that the 'pain' we experience on this journey is nothing compared to the pain of the families of murder victims and of those on death row!
Strangely, I also am thinking of a line from the original Jaws movie when the main characters realize the size of their task and one says, "We're gonna need a bigger boat!" As I feel the sunburn, I'm thinking, "I'm gonna need a bigger hat!", not to mention something for this ankle pain... SB

An inspiring start

2008-06-15T19:18:00.001-07:00

We began our Pilgrimage of Remebrance today, June 16.
It was a busy day! We started at Central Prison with silent prayer
and a short greeting to the prisoners on Death Row.

We walked through the streets of Raleigh, passing to remember a murder victim at the sight of a murder on South St. We were fortunate to be joined by the parents of a death row inmate and by John Comer of Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation. MVFR is one of the Pilgrimage's endorsers.

Our next stops were the courthouse in downtown Raleigh, where capital cases are tried. We remembered the anguish suffered by all who must endure a capital trial. A few short steps north brought us to the old Capitol building an the heart of Raleigh. Gov. Mike Easley's office is located here. Each time there is an execution, many come to the Governor's office to plead clemency.

We continued through Bicentennial Plaza, past the NC Legislative Building, and on to the Governor's Mansion. Gov Easley has only granted clemency in a death sentence two times, in 2001 and 2002.

Our march then continued north. We stopped at the site of another murder in Raleigh before picking up the pace in order to get north of the 540/US1 exchange by 6:00. We crossed Raleigh's 440 outer beltline on the Capital Boulevard bridge.

(Some of the younger set took a ride in the sag wagon to get around the busier traffic areas, or simply to rest and cool off on this 90 degree, sunny day in Raleigh.)

This evening, we were welcomed to the Church of the Nativity in Raleigh for a gathering of prayers, some dinner, and fellowship. We are very grateful for the hospitality granted by Mother Diane Corlette, Rector of the Church of the Nativity. Diane is a former president of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty (PFADP).

Stephen Dear, current and tireless executive director of PFADP, was there with his family to greet us and give the core walkers fresh PFADP shirts to wear on our journey. (You can order your own "Fry okra, not people" shirt at www.pfadp.org). Folks from Rutpa house in Durham, Leah from the Capital Restorative Justice Project and Marcia Timmel provided food/and and support. PFADP and the Capital Restorative Justice Project are also endorsers of the Pilgrimage.

Rev. William Barber, president of the NC state NAACP, spoke to the group, to provide Strength for the Journey. Rev. Barber spoke, "We in the civil rights movement know the value of walking." He also voiced his - and the 20,000 members of NC NAACP - endorsement of the Pilgrimage. "As predident, I have some authority in such matters." We appreciate his kind and inspiring words, and we will contemplate them in the 290 remaining miles of our journey.

Right, Rev William Barber accepts a PFADP shirt which reads "I have a brother on death row. So do you." From left to right: Marcia Timmel, Scott Bass, Roberta Mothershead, Steve Dear, Dwane Atkinson, Rev. William Barber, Patrick O'Neill.

In the news

2008-06-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Many media outlets published our press release, or contents thereof.
Only NBC 17 and the News and Observer came to cover the beginning
of the match on Sunday at Central Prison, Raleigh. NBC 17 shot some
of footage as we walked through Raleigh, and they interviewed Scott Bass.

A reporter from the News and Observer also interviewed Scott,
but the interviewer did not let Scott finish answering several questions,
and did not write down much of what Scott said. For example,
Scott tried to emphasize that a key component of our
Pilgrimage is that of remembering all victims of violence,
and that we especially wish to remember the murder victims
and their families and continue to show them compassion.
We hope this message will come out if and when the N&O
publishes the story. If not, please be assured that this
is part of why we walk; see our earlier blog posts.

Below are some of the media links as of Sunday evening,
June 16:

"Dozen death penalty opponents begin 300-mile walk"

Charlotte Examiner
TOPNews.com (103.5 FM)
ABC 11 WTVD
NBC 17
Fredericksburg.com
newsleader.com
The Sandspur
WAVY-TV Richmond, VA
WBT Newtalk Radio
Daily Advance
InRich.com
Hickory Daily Record
Winston-Salem Journal
WRAL-TV
WXII12 Winston Salem
AOL News
News Channel 8
The Dispatch
Fayetteville Observer

King's followers' pledge to the nonviolent movement

2008-06-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

Maybe not all of this applies to us on our Pligimage, but let's meditate on it and pray over it anyway. It comes from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Why We Can't Wait, p.50-51.

Every volunteer was required to sign a commitment card that read:

I hereby pledge myself - my person and body - to the nonviolent movement.

Therefore, I will keep the following Ten Commandments:
Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.
Remember always that the nonviolent movement in Birmingham seeks justice and reconciliation, not victory.
Walk and Talk in the manner of love, for God is love.
Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.
Sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men might be free.
Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.
Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world.
Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.
Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
Follow the directions of the movement and of the captain on a demonstration.

I sign this pledge, having seriously considered what I do and with the determination and will to persevere.

Get a Pilgimage T-shirt

2008-06-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

We hope you will join our Pilgrimage and walk with us to bring about abolition and reconciliation. Whether you can join us or not, you can support us by wearing one of our shirts. They are white cotton, so they will help keep you cool (in multiple ways) while you march for justice.

A donation of $10 will help offset the costs of the shirts and the Pilgrimage. We will have the shirts available along the march.

The front reads:

Making Strides toward Abolition & Reconciliation
Pilgrimage and Walk of Remembrance
Raleigh NC to Washington D.C.
June 2008

The back reads:

Our Hope:
Restorative Justice
Compassion for Victims’ Families
Support for Death Row Families
Abolish the Death Penalty

Reflection Wednesday, June 11, 2008

2008-06-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

From Disarming the Heart by John Dear

One way to define violence is to see it as the act of forgetting or ignoring who we are — brothers and sisters of one another, each one of us a child of God. Violence occurs in those moments when we forget and deny our basic identity as God's children, when we treat each other as if we were worthless instead of priceless, when we cling to our own selfish desires, possessions, and security.

From a review of John's book, by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat:

With great clarity and insight Dear lays out six points that comprise the spirit of nonviolence: (1) It means remembering we are all God's children; (2) it flows from unconditional, active love; (3) It invites solidarity with the poor and the oppressed; (4) it involves resistance and truth; (5) It is rooted in prayer; and (6) it is a way of transformation. The author challenges us to make a vow of nonviolence as a way of witnessing to others that God has disarmed us and wants to disarm us all.

Pilgrimage of Remembrance Agenda for Sunday June 15 and Monday June 16

2008-06-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Friends,

The 300-mile Pilgrimage of Remembrance: "Making Strides toward Abolition and Reconciliation" begins in Raleigh on June 15 at 1:00 PM at Central Prison, 1300 Western Blvd. We walk to remember murder victims, people on death row, the executed, the exonerated and the families of all these persons and we walk to call for an end to the death penalty.

For more information on the purpose of the Pilgrimage, please see our first blog post.

Schedules for our first two days are below. Those joining us at Central Prison are encouraged to park on Dorothea Drive or Cabarrus Street immediately east of the prison.

Sunday, June 15

1:00 Gather for spiritual reflection and blessing of the Pilgrimage.
1:30 Begin walking
2:30 Prayer and Reflection on the State Capital grounds (also first stop for rest!)
Resume walking by Governor's Mansion to Circus Restaurant, 1600 Wake Forest Road
Continue walking up Capital Blvd to Triangle Town Center vicinity
6:00 Potluck Dinner and Service of Blessing and Support, Church of the Nativity, 8849 Ray Road
Rev. William Barber speaking

Monday, June 16

8:00 AM Begin walking along Capital Blvd near Triangle Town Center. (For exact meeting location, call Scott at 919-231-9752.)
Walk from Raleigh to Wake Forest to Franklinton.

Check out our Itinerary (still in flux) for where we are considering walking and holding a presence.

Pressing needs:

Food for Sunday's potluck dinner. It's hard to walk and cook at the same time, so we need people to bring food to Church of the Nativity, 8849 Ray Road, before 6:00 PM.
We also need help with set up and clean up for the potluck.

Thanks for your support!

Scott & Roberta
Nazareth House
(919) 231-9752
Hospitality, Community, Simplicity, Peacemaking, Nonviolence & Prayer

Itinerary

2008-06-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

The Pilgrimage will start in Raleigh and move through small towns and rural sections of North Carolina, will cross the Virginia border and wind up the I-95 corridor, arriving in DC on June 29th if most matters go as planned. We will stop for prayer, public witness and conversation at such places as the execution facilities in North Carolina and Virginia, sites of murders along the way, houses of faith, county courthouses, district attorneys’ offices, and state governmental sites associated with the death penalty.

Here is our preliminary itinerary:

Sunday, June 15

1:00 PM (tentative) Gather for prayer in front of Central Prison, 1300 Western Blvd, Raleigh

1:30 PM (tentative) Begin walking to the Wake County Courthouse and State Capital, north out of downtown and up Capital Blvd toward Triangle Town Center.

6:00 PM Potluck Supper and Service of Prayer and Blessing for the Pilgrimage (location to be announced)

Monday, June 16

North Raleigh to Franklinton via Capital Blvd

Tuesday, June 17

Franklinton to Henderson via US Hwy 1

Wednesday, June 18

Henderson to Warrenton to Vaughan via US Hwy 158

Thursday, June 19

Vaughan to Littleton to Roanoke Rapids via US Hwy 158

Friday, June 20

Roanoke Rapids to Emporia via Hwy 48 and US Hwy 301

Saturday, June 21

Emporia to Jarratt, Virginia – Vigil and Public Witness at Virginia’s execution facility at Greensville Correctional Center; then continue to Stony Creek

Sunday, June 22

Stony Creek to Petersburg via US Hwy 301

Monday, June 23

Petersburg to Richmond via US Hwy 301

Tuesday, June 24

Public Witness in Richmond; then on to Ashland via US Hwy 1

Wednesday, June 25

Ashland to Ladysmith via US Hwy 1

Thursday, June 26

Ladysmith to Fredericksburg via US Hwy 1

Friday, June 27

Fredericksburg to Triangle via US Hwy 1

Saturday, June 28

Triangle to Woodbridge to Hybla Valley via US Hwy 1

Sunday, June 29

Hybla Valley to Alexandria to US Supreme Court via US Hwy 1 to join the Annual “Starvin’ for Justice” Fast and Vigil Against the Death Penalty.

If you would you like to support the Pilgrimage...

2008-06-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

We're a small group with a lot to do. We can use some help, including prayers and moral support, to logistics, to contacts to make on the journey. Please take a look - you may be able to help in more than one way.

Along the route we need:

Lodging: church floors, retreat centers, houses and motel rooms are among the options. Our number will vary widely from as few as 3 to as many as 20, depending on our location. We are most grateful for lodging that includes showers and access to a kitchen.
Food: We seek people along the route to provide one or more meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Opportunities to listen and talk: These might include arranging for us to hear the story of a murder victim family member or family member of someone on death row. Also, we want to talk with groups – church and clergy groups – both Protestant and Catholic - are our favorites but we’ll consider any group that’s suggested.
Suggestions for public witness and prayer: Sites of murders in your town, your county courthouse, etc. are options. We prefer to vigil at governmental locations only if we have local residents with us.
Vehicle support: At times, we’ll need someone to drive along near us with water and first aid and to ferry our supplies and even us to our lodging for the night.
Funds: We do have costs to cover. Excess funds will be used to support work with families of people on death row and outreach and support for families of murder victims. Please send donations to Nazareth House, 2720 Poole Road, Raleigh, NC 27610 and write "Pilgrimage" in the memo line.
Spread the word: Please pass on information about our Pilgimage to your friends, faith communities, and peace and justice organizations. Our blog web address is http://abolition-reconciliation.blogspot.com/ .

Pilgrimage of Remembrance 2008

2008-06-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

The Pilgrimage and Walk of Remembrance 2008 is a 300-mile walk from Raleigh NC to Washington, DC. We embark on a spiritual pilgrimage and walk of remembrance – remembering murder victims and their families, people on death row and their families, persons executed and their families and calling for abolition of the death penalty.

We will journey from Central Prison in Raleigh, NC to the Supreme Court in Washington, DC., passing through cities, towns and rural areas of North Carolina and Virginia. The Pilgrimage will stop for prayer, public witness and conversation at locations in North Carolina and Virginia, including murder sites, execution facilities, houses of faith and governmental sites related to the death penalty. We will arrive in Washington, DC to join the 15th Annual "Starvin’ for Justice" Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty at the U.S. Supreme Court June 29th - July 2nd, 2008.

The Pilgrimage begins in Raleigh on June 15th and concludes in Washington, DC on June 29th.

The walkers are a core group of Raleigh residents and others who join them along the way. Walkers are asked to embrace the walk’s commitment to nonviolence, compassion, and the prayerful, contemplative tone of this witness. The group is organized and led by Nazareth House, a Catholic Worker community in Raleigh that works with people on death row and their families, murder victims and their families and others impacted by the cycle of violence. While the core spirituality behind this walk is decidedly Christian, persons of other faith perspectives who embrace the purpose and values of the Pilgrimage are definitely welcome!

To participate and/or support this Pilgrimage, please contact Scott Bass at Nazareth House at (919) 231-9752 or send email to nazhouse@att.net.

Thank you for your prayers, your participation, and your support.