Living Earth: Gatherings for Deep Change
Hemlocks in SW Portland
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Candlelight Vigil for Peace on the Bridges of Portland

Saturday, September 24, 2005, 7:30 pm
Burnside, Morrison, & Hawthorne Bridges

Vigil for Peace
Participating Groups

Archdiocese of Portland Office of Peace & Justice
First Unitarian Church Peace Action Group
St. Luke Lutheran Peace and Justice Group
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Portland Insight Meditation Center
Oregonians Against the War
Pax Christi Portland

Living Earth is the contact organization for this vigil. To add your group as an endorser, please post us
or call 503.788.7311.

Join Living Earth in solidarity with the national mobilization Sept. 24-26 in Washington DC and around the country for peace. Against the wishes of millions of Americans and the protests of millions more around the world, the United States launched its unprovoked invasion and occupation of Iraq 2 ½ years ago.

NOW is the time to stop the war; NOW is the time to bring them home!

The news out of Iraq:

  • escalating factionalism;
  • unrepaired infrastructure;
  • unreliable and limited access to water, electricity, food, and medicines;
  • universities, museums, and hospitals destroyed.

Countless Iraqi and American lives have been sacrificed in this immoral war.

Gather with candles along the railings of the Burnside, Morrison, & Hawthorne Bridges from twilight until dark, to bear witness to all the losses in Iraq, and to our committed opposition to this war.

NOW is the time to stop the war; NOW is the time to bring them home!

President Bush affirms his intention to, “stay the course.” Mr. Bush’s course is a disaster for Americans, for Iraqis, and for the world. It is time to demand that our troops come home to allow healing and recovery from this horror to begin.

We'll line the walkways of Portland's three central bridges, allowing all cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists to pass safely. Our single, non-negotiable message is:

NOW is the time to stop the war; NOW is the time to bring them home!


  • Nearly 2,000 Americans have died so far in Iraq, and no end is in sight.
  • Another 20,000 Americans suffer from life-altering injuries, and no end is in sight.
  • Between 30,000 and 50,000 Iraqi citizens have been killed (US statisticians don't count Iraqi dead) and no end is in sight.
  • More than 100,000 Iraqis have suffered brutal injuries and no end is in sight.
  • Beyond this tragic toll, the US treasury has been sacked and American civil liberties sacrificed on the altar of this unprovoked war.

Bring homemade signs that carry the message:

NOW is the time to stop the war, NOW is the time to bring them home!