Activists march in Interfaith Prayer Walk for Pipeline Safety
MEDIA » About 40 ralliers peacefully marched down State Street, Saturday, during a prayer walk by those concerned with the moral issues of pipelines.
Marchers stopped several places to pray during the Interfaith Prayer Walk for Pipeline Safety, which was organized by the Faith Alliance for Public Safety.
The demonstrators carried signs that read, “Peace,” “Water is Life,” and “Defend What You Love.”
Several drivers honked their horns in support, during the mile-long walk on a rainy afternoon.
George Alexander of Media has written much about the now-under-construction Sunoco Mariner East 2 pipeline, which would weave 350 miles from Marcellus Shale deposits in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia to the former Sunoco Refinery at Marcus Hook.
“The moral aspect of this pipeline project has been underemphasized and hasn’t gotten sufficient attention,” Alexander said. “Corporations have a debt to society.
“They have an obligation to keep us safe.”
United Church of Christ’s Charlene Gosselink said that the walkers were not content to be passive.
Sister Nora Nash spoke and prayed at the starting point of the walk at Providence Friends Meeting House.
“We are pilgrim people on this earth,” she said. “Give light to the fire within us.
“Love the Mother Earth. Put fire into the prayer.”
The group stopped to pray at 2nd Baptist Church and hear from Deacon Early Akins.
“Continue to bless these individuals that thought it was necessary to protest,” Akins said. “God, we know you know the great danger and hope safety will come.”
Abdul Mughees, of the Islamic Society of Chester County, also spoke.
“Give to us understanding that puts an end to strife, mercy that quenches hatred and forgiveness that overcomes vengeance,” Mughees said.
The Middletown Coalition for Public Safety’s Eric Friedman read from text written by Rabbi Lawrence Troster of the Kesher Israel Congregation.
“May we no longer be moved by greed and destruction to waste your world for if we destroy it there will be no other,” Friedman read. “We now know that the destruction of your creation is a sin.”
Friedman mouthed the following statement after the rally: “Sunoco’s experimental export pipeline threatens the safety of vulnerable dense populations across Pennsylvania, including dozens of schools and senior living centers. Sunoco’s recent federal enforcement action for violations of construction standards on Mariner East 2 shows continued disregard, if not contempt, for applicable safety standards.”
Susan Britton Seylor helped to organize the event.
“As a Quaker, I believe that it’s important to address people through their values,” she said.
She also noted that it becomes a moral issue when legislators permit pipelines.
The prayer walk ended at First United Methodist Church where Rev. Laurie Ann Rookard spoke.
“Bring peace and abundant life for all,” she said. “We do pray for peace.”