LACEY -- Cars honked and drivers cheered as about three dozen people waved anti-war signs on the four corners of the intersection at College Street and Martin Way on Saturday afternoon.

Peace activists and Benedictine sisters line the intersection of College Street and Martin Way in Lacey during the Holy Innocents Peace Vigil on Saturday afternoon (Tony Overman/The Olympian)

The peace activists and war protesters were part of the Holy Innocents Peace Vigil and Service sponsored by St. Michael Catholic Church Social Justice Committee and St. Placid Priory.

In addition to protesting war, participants attended a service that honored the Feast of Holy Innocents, a Catholic remembrance of the Roman ruler Herod's massacre of Jewish children in 6 B.C.

Although the turnout was small -- in part because of the cold, wind and rain -- many motorists seemed enthused to signal their opinions while passing by.

"We're getting three times as many honks as fingers," sign holder Emily Decker of Olympia said of response to their message of peace.

Voicing one's opinion concerning the potential war in Iraq is important, Decker said.

"It's important to show that we're opposed now, because if we wait for something to happen it'll be too late," she said.

Sister Maureen O'Larey, 50, of St. Placid Priory, agrees.

"It seems like some people have their hearts set on war. Those people have large voices, and to me that's scary because, for me, there's another way," she said.

We're getting three times as many honks as fingers.

Emily Decker Lacey vigil participant

O'Larey spent an hour on the street corner Saturday because she cares about the children who would become victims of a war, she said.

"When you think of the children who will lose their life or the life of their parent, both from our country and in Iraq, that's very disturbing," she said.

S. Peter Gerard, 66, of Olympia believes in an alternative to war.

"I've been involved in peace vigils for 15 or 20 years," Gerard said as he held a sign and waved at a passing motorist.

Gerard was a conscientious objector during previous wars, he said.

"I'm hoping that people are finally getting the message -- we don't want a war," he said.

Sister Sharon McDonald stood on a corner, bundled in wool coat, scarf and mittens.

She smiled and waved at a man in a van who spoke over a loudspeaker as he stopped at the intersection.

"You guys are awesome," he said. "Keep it up!"

Connie Walker of Olympia holds a sign warning of the costs of war Saturday afternoon during the Holy Innocents Peace Vigil on Martin Way in Lacey. (Tony Overman/The Olympian)

McDonald -- holding a sign that read "Is a war worth the death of one child?" -- doesn't believe in the necessity of war, especially one she considers would be fought over oil.

War would wipe out innocent children in the same way that Herod attempted to destroy all of the Jewish male children, she said.

"These are innocent children that have nothing to do with oil," McDonald said.

The Bible is filled with tales of war, God's protection for his people, and victories for those who fought on the side of the God of Israel. But that was all in the Old Testament, she said.

"That's not the God I relate to," she said.

"Vengeance only deepens the pit of darkness. We need to go a step further than peace and justice. We need to learn forgiveness," she said.

Carolyn Galloway of Olympia protests war because she doesn't want children of this generation to go through what her husband, Reid, encountered as a medic in Vietnam.

The couple were engaged while he was in the military, she said.

"I didn't protest the war then because I could see both sides of why we were at war. But this is really scary. We're going to scare up a scorpion's nest that's unbelievable -- and it doesn't need to happen," she said.

"I don't want to see any of our children, men and women come home in body bags," Galloway said. "My husband is still dealing with what he saw in 1969. No one should have to live through that."

©2002 The Olympian

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