Pilgrimage intended as ‘gentle witness for peace’

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This article was published 11/03/2024 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeggers concerned about the war in Gaza will be walking and praying March 16 to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in that part of the world.

Called the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage, participants will walk 42 kilometres, the length of the Gaza Strip, starting at St. John’s Park in north Winnipeg.

The pilgrimage is divided into seven segments representing different parts of Gaza, starting in the north at the entrance on the border with Israel, through to Rafah in the south, where about 1.5 million people have fled from the fighting.

The pilgrimage is one of more than 100 being held worldwide — including 11 in Canada — during Lent, the solemn period observed by Christians that began Feb. 14 and ends March 28. About 50 people have signed up for the Winnipeg pilgrimage so far.

According to Michael Young, one of the organizers, the pilgrimage is intended “as a gentle witness for peace, not a boisterous demonstration” and “a chance for Christians to be heard.”

Participants will stick to the sidewalks and won’t be blocking traffic, he added.

The goals of the pilgrimage include calls for a sustained ceasefire, the immediate flow of humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages and an end to the occupation, along with standing against antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Candice Bodnaruk of Peace Alliance Winnipeg is also helping to organize the pilgrimage. For her, it’s an opportunity to “raise the alarm about what is happening in Gaza.”

“People are dying,” she said. “As Christians, and as human beings, we can’t stand idly by.”

As they walk, participants will engage in “lament and repentance,” Young said — lament for the suffering of people in Gaza and repentance for “harm being done in our names” through sales of weapons or their components to Israel by Canadian companies, including some based in Winnipeg.

Although the pilgrimage is being organized by members of the Christian community, people of all faiths — or no faith — are welcome, the organizers said.

The Winnipeg pilgrimage is being supported by Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba, the Mennonite Church Manitoba Palestine-Israel Network and Mennonite Action, a recently-formed movement of Mennonites in Canada and the U.S. taking public action to stop the war in Gaza.

The pilgrimage starts at 7:30 a.m. with a blessing by an Indigenous Elder at the Kapabamayak Achaak Healing Forest at St. John’s Park, located at Main Street and St. John’s Avenue.

Participants can walk the entire route or join for one or more segments. There will be stops at local places of worship along the way to rest. For more information, go to http://wfp.to/jQj.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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