By J. Bennett Guess
United Church News
July-August 2004
Public images of flag-draped, military coffins—once common during wartime—are now forbidden by the U.S. government. But that hasn’t stopped several United Church of Christ churches from finding creative ways to help their communities grieve the deaths of hundreds of U.S. service members and thousands of Iraqi civilians.
On June 21-22, about 1,000 people from across northern Ohio wandered about the expansive green lawn at The First Church in Oberlin (Ohio), UCC to view "Eyes Wide Open," a traveling, multimedia exhibit of the American Friends Service Committee. Its centerpiece is a makeshift memorial containing rows and rows of black combat boots, each identified with the name of a fallen U.S. soldier. Reminiscent of the somber, orderly feel at Arlington National Cemetery, Oberlin’s emotional tribute paid homage to 837 military personnel who had died to-date during the 2003 Iraqi invasion and subsequent occupation.
Inside the church, 10,000 bullet casings, each representing an Iraqi civilian killed during the war, surrounded a primitive plow—a symbolic, prayerful reminder of Isaiah’s biblical, swords-into- plowshares image. Accompanying education-oriented displays helped visitors grasp the cost of war both in human and financial terms.
