[298.2] LENT PROTESTS AT NUCLEAR SITES

Fifty years ago, tourists travelled to Las Vegas to watch mushroom clouds rise in the distance. But for the last 25 years the site has been a draw not for tourists, but for anti-war and pro-environment demonstrators – writes Lilla Marigza of the United Methodist News Service.

Between 1951 and 1991, more than 900 nuclear tests were conducted at a site 65 miles northwest of the city. Science would not know until decades later the environmental and health fallout from experiments at the Nevada test site. It has been called the "most bombed place on earth." Margaret Fuller-Lindgren of Palm City, California, goes there every year with a group of United Methodists. "When I come here it's very humbling, but it's also very empowering," she says.

On this day, a group of about 20 United Methodists walks down an otherwise empty stretch of paved road in the desert toward the test site. They carry a banner with the cross and flame logo and the words "May Peace Prevail on Earth." They are singing, "Walk With Me." Continued.

[A UMTV video report about the protest is watchable here. The UK Christian think tank Ekklesia has just launched Peacenik, an ISP which supports peace initiatives.]

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