Call to a Season of Prayer for Oscar Lopez Rivera - starting April 29th

INTERFAITH PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE PROJECT
Cleveland, Ohio ľ ipoc@sbcglobal.net

CALL TO A SEASON OF PRAYER FOR OSCAR LÓPEZ RIVERA

The National Boricua Human Rights Network, the
Interfaith Prisoners of Conscience Project, and the
Comité Pro-Derechos Humanos (Human Rights
Committee) of Puerto Rico join in initiating this Call to a
Season of Prayer, which is also co-sponsored by
La Capilla del Barrio, the Council for Hispanic
Ministries of the Reformed Church in America,
Denison Avenue United Church of Christ, and the Puerto
Rican Alliance Los Angeles.*

On May 29, 2011, Puerto Rican political prisoner
Oscar López Rivera will have served 30 years in prison.
He is one of the longest-held political prisoners
in the history of the Americas. Dozens of prominent
leaders, celebrities, elected officials,
religious denominations, unions, political organizations, and
thousands of citizens from across the religious
and political spectrum, have expressed their support for his
release.

We enthusiastically support the ongoing work to
obtain his release through letters, phone calls,
resolutions, proclamations, protests, marches,
artistic exhibitions, and cultural events. But we see this
work as a fundamentally spiritual endeavor. We
believe that the moral arc of the universe really does
bend towards justice and freedom, that it is
simply time for him to come home, and that the prison doors
will open when enough people's hearts and minds
have been opened to the basic truth and justice of this
cause.

We therefore invite people of all faith
traditions to unite in heart, mind, and spirit by participating in a 30-
day discipline of prayer and meditation for
Oscar's release as a form of spiritual preparation to
commemorate the 30th anniversary of his incarceration on May 29.

Specifically, we invite people:

to pause for prayer and meditation every
morning for 30 days at 8:00 am Eastern time (or at another
time if 8:00 is not possible) beginning on Friday, April 29,

to participate in an ecumenical commemoration
the 30th anniversary of Oscar's arrest on Sunday,
May 29, and

to pray and meditate for Oscar's release
beginning at 8:00 am on Wednesday, June 1 and continuing
weekly on Wednesday mornings until he is released from prison.

While we do not intend to prescribe a set length
of time for this period of prayer or meditation, we
suggest that it include at least time for thirty
deep, mindful breaths " one for each of the years that Oscar
has been in prison " to allow the vision of his
freedom to fill our minds and hearts.
Please join us in seeking to align our hearts,
minds, and wills with one another, and more importantly,
with that Spirit of truth and freedom to which
Oscar has so clearly committed his life.

Let us breathe a prayer for Oscar
A prayer for his freedom
A prayer for our freedom.
Beyond doctrine or creed,
One minute, every day.
Thirty deep breaths -- one for each year he has been
in prison.

To see him
in our mind's eye,
walking through the prison gate
and with us
on the street
at home
in Puerto Rico where he belongs --
with his family
with his community
with his nation
IN FREEDOM.