I’m Not Tired Yet – March 99, 2020 Quarantime

*when we got to the lawn at the Capitol, we took a knee*

I don’t know about you, but the events that I witnessed on the news Monday rattled me. Even today, it is still difficult for me to articulate my reaction. Though I knew, before I went to bed, that on Tuesday I was going to St. John’s Protestant Episcopal Church. When my son came down to tell me goodnight, I told him that I was planning to go to DC tomorrow, he said right away, “I’m going.”

Tuesday morning, my son and I had school assignments that we had to complete. After I told him our plans, my husband asked if he could join us. And so, in the afternoon, with my Bible in my bag we headed to DC.

It was unsettling to see the National Guards blocking so many streets, we parked at the Capital One Arena and walked to Lafayette Park. The armed military presence was so strong, I said more than once it seemed excessive.

Still, I got to my intended destination, St. John’s, and it was a vision to see so many men and women of the cloth in the atmosphere. Some were talking to media, some were baptizing (sprinkling) those who desired, others offered water and snacks and some were available to talk.

We spoke to the Rev. Jane Hague and she told us that in the morning clergy at St. John prayed and sanctified the church grounds. I sat on the steps with others, read my Bible (Psalm 107), and prayed.

Then my son said he wanted to move closer to the protesters. Before long people started walking. “Where are we going?” two guys in bikes behind us said, “I don’t know, we’re following too.” We were chanting and walking, soon the protest line turned, we were on Pennsylvania Avenue and the Capitol was in view. We marched with the protesters, the numbers swelling and 2.2 miles later we were on the lawn at the Capitol. I remain grateful that my son had this experience.