The Marriage March

              

It was the day after a late March snow storm in Washington DC.  Twenty-four hours earlier, heavy, wet snow clung to the branches and trees and covered the grass throughout the metropolitan area.  Today, the sun was shining and little trace of the snow was evident.  I walked from the Metro station to the National Mall, not knowing what to expect.  This is the day of the Marriage March, scheduled for March 26, 2013 because it is the day that the Supreme Court will hear arguments of the validity of California’s Prop 7.

I digress at this point to mention that I am frustrated with idea of marching to the Supreme Court.  If it is possible for special interest groups to influence the Supreme Court, then the 9 justices are no longer the Supreme Court. . This Court is no longer the impartial and independent branch that is vital for checks and balances in the US democracy.   

Yet from the time I learned of the Marriage March, I knew that I had to participate.  As I approached the Mall, about 15 minutes before the beginning of the march, I could see thousands of men, women and children already beginning the walk toward the Supreme Court.  One organizer (who handed me a sign that said, “A child deserves and mom and a dad”) said that the crowd was so large that they had to begin the march before the scheduled time.

I walked rapidly, catching up with the marchers, until I was in the middle of the crowd.  We were accompanied by a small band playing patriotic and Christian tunes.  A few large banners were visible, along with the hundreds of red and blue signs distributed by the organizers.  And there were many, many handmade signs.

I was struck by the diversity of the crowd.  Asian, Hispanic, Caucasian and African American men, women and children marched.  Elder couples walked holding hands, young moms and dads pushed baby carriages, and many youth were at the rally. Many of them hailed from New England and the Mid-Atlantic.  They rose before dawn to come to our nation’s capital to support the cause of marriage between one man and one woman.

As we walked past the US Capitol toward the Supreme Court, there were occasional small groups of protesters who want to redefine marriage.  Our pace slowed down to a standstill as we approached the Supreme Court. The sidewalks were packed with the opposition.  They chanted about what they want and what they will get. Some of the Marriage Marchers chanted, “One man one women” but for the most part quietly held there signs until it was time to move.

As we stopped I prayed that the Holy Spirit will guide the justices as they make their decision.  We began to move back toward the Mall where there was to be a rally.  Two young African American women happened upon the march and one of them said, “I wish I had a sign.”  I needed to get to work, so I handed them my sign and walked to the Union Station metro.

On this day, I did what I could to defend marriage as the union of man and woman, sacramentally joined together as husband and wife, united in mind, body and spirit to family life, in the service of our great and mighty God.