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“Security,” she says, “will not be achieved through military domination.”

Four years ago this weekend, the United States invaded Iraq. As the nation entered its fifth year of war, people around the world took to the streets both in support of and opposition to the U.S.-led conflict in Iraq.

Both an anti-war rally and a Christian “peace witness” endured through the sudden cold that struck Washington this weekend.

Gingrich, a 21-year-old Eastern Mennonite University student, was going to go. About 100 people from Harrisonburg planned to join her, but were snowbound once Friday’s storm hit. They scrapped travel plans and settled for a more intimate demonstration locally, she said.

“Something very powerful happens in a gathered body of people with a shared vision,” Gingrich said. “This anniversary is a chance to recommit to what we believe, and we’re committed to peace.”

Veterans For Peace

The sentiment isn’t just shared by students.

Every month, Veterans For Peace meets for breakfast at The Thomas House Restaurant in Dayton.

“It’s a strange mix of men,” said Bill Sanders, an 80-year-old Harrisonburg resident who’s been a member since the chapter started eight years ago. “We don’t celebrate our military service at all. We’re looking for peace.”

On the first Thursday of every month, they meet and brainstorm on ways to promote peace, both locally and abroad. One of their latest sessions gave way to a peacebuilding workshop, held in Harrisonburg last week.

Four speakers presented alternatives at a two-hour session in the Muhlenberg Activities Center. Lisa Schirch, a professor at Eastern Mennonite University and the creator of 3Dsecurity.org, outlined the three “Ds” of her initiative — development, diplomacy, and as a last resort, defense.

“Peace,” she explained, “doesn’t land in a helicopter.” It grows community by community, she said.

That’s why Veterans For Peace wanted this forum, said Charles Churchman, a 77-year-old from Bridgewater and a Veterans For Peace member.

The workshop addressed peace internationally, but also presented ways to build peace locally with insights from city school officials and the police department.

Making Sense Of Opposition

Churchman, a Marine who served in the Korean War, said he supported war efforts when he was younger, because “in those days, there seemed to be a purpose. I felt that I was doing my duty.”

Bob Roberts, a political science professor at James Madison University, said much of today’s conflict over the war stems from decades-old resentment of past wars, especially Vietnam.

“The baby boomers are shaped heavily by Vietnam,” he said. “Their view of what went wrong then is what’s going wrong now.”

Churchman said he joined Veterans For Peace to give a voice to those concerns. “We get talking about it here. We need to have more vets in Harrisonburg and in this country speak up.”

Sanders agreed. “I felt very betrayed by our nation going to war,” he said. “We want to talk about it, do something about it.”

Making Do

Just as Veterans For Peace brainstormed new ways to voice their discontent, EMU’s would-be travelers had to find their own creative solution, Gingrich said.

While Gingrich and EMU Professor Peter Dula organized a group from campus, a second group planned to leave from Park View Mennonite Church.

They originally planned to worship at the National Cathedral, march with candles to the White House and then kneel in prayer.

“It’s to provide a sacred space to lament the suffering, the loss of life that’s a result of our government’s policy,” Gingrich said. “We need that kind of space.”

Called To Care

That’s exactly the kind of space they tried to recreate in Harrisonburg after the snowstorm kept them from making the trip to Washington.

Park View opened its doors for a small candlelight prayer and reflection Friday evening. Though small in numbers, Gingrich says she was glad they were able to gather in a forum focused on faith.

“We believe following the example of Jesus calls us to nonviolence,” she says.

It also calls her, and others, to love the men and women who serve, even when she can’t support the war itself, Gingrich said.

“We are called to give care to those who give so much for our country,” she said.

“We can’t just go to D.C. and raise our fists twice a year,” she said. “There’s nothing transformative about that. But to be in communication with those who disagree with us, well, there is a lot we can learn from each other.”

Winfield spoke at the rally, named “A Gathering Of Eagles,” as families rallied around the Augusta Courthouse holding American flags and posters urging “Win The War!”

“We have to always keep in mind our freedoms were purchased,” she said. “That’s why I go and speak from my heart.”

Support From Home

Winfield said the rally would have meant a lot to her son.

Before Redifer’s death, “he would talk about how hard it was to go out there every day when people at home are misaligning themselves.”

Local support matters most when soldiers are far from home, Winfield said.

“The simplest note from home means the world to them,” she said. “When their only access is what they see in the media, the dissent in the streets … they can’t concentrate.”

Lynn Mitchell, an Augusta County resident, said Saturday’s rally was one of several she has planned since the war began.

Mitchell said the first rally she organized was an impromptu gathering after she saw war protesters taking to the streets in 2003.

She said she has never understood why protesters demonstrate.

“What part of ‘no bombs falling on your head’ do you not understand?” she said. “We’ve been safe since 9/11.”

Worse still, she said, the lack of support hurts the war effort.

“It’s not supporting the troops when they look at the newspapers online and see anti-war protesters in their own town,” Mitchell said.

Winfield agreed, questioning if war protesters really knew how harmful their actions can be.

“My son gave his life in this effort,” she said. “It’s very hurtful to see these signs. I really don’t think a lot of them understand it’s so hurtful.”

Volunteering Support

Since that first rally, Mitchell has built a mailing list with about 1,000 names and keeps a blog with frequent musings about the war.

Chris Green, a Staunton resident, is on that list. The former Marine came to Saturday’s rally.

The anti-war message dumfounds him sometimes, too, he said.

“We’re supporting people who have volunteered to fight this war,” he said. “How do you protest a war being fought by volunteers?”

An all-volunteer military alters the stakes of the war in the eyes of the American public, said Bob Roberts, a political science professor and analyst at James Madison University.

Most polls estimate about 30 percent of Americans are “hardcore war haters,” Roberts said. Another 30 percent are staunch supporters of President Bush and his war policies. But the remaining 40 percent are ambivalent, he said.

“They’re not sure who to believe,” Roberts said. “They’re not protesting. They’re not your anti-war folks. The war doesn’t affect them because they’re not being drafted.”

For soldiers like Tony Lopes, those warring factions at home can be detrimental to their work overseas, he said.

At 24, the Weyers Cave resident has served two tours in Iraq with the Marines.

“Unless they’ve actually been there and seen and talked to people who say they want a better life, they don’t know,” he said. “Most people have no idea. If they wanted to know about it, they would join and get in there.”

Though many Americans speak out against the war, Winfield said she’s sure they still share common ground.

“There are many opinions and that’s fine,” she said. But, she added, the one thing that cannot waver is support for soldiers like her son.

“At the end of the day, we’re all far more alike than we are different,” Winfield said. “No one wants a single American life to be lost.”