It is Sunday, the 5th day of the 10-day fast initiated by Voices in the Wilderness. It is about 5am and I am awakened by the sound of planes flying overhead. They seem to be flying much lower, and therefore were much louder than in the past days. They are heading to O’Hare airport I am told.

Several of us from out-of-town have descended on the 2nd floor apartment, home to Kathy Kelly and the Voices in the Wilderness offices in Chicago. So warmly welcomed and received by all of the folks here, somehow we have not wanted to separate, though friends have offered a place in their homes. We have each seemed to settle into a space, and my nook is the front roof in the open air, just large enough for a mattress. Once again I am sleeping under the stars. I cannot help but remember the skies of Baghdad where last fall we slept on the roof and were subject to the constant nerve-shattering sound of planes overhead and explosions. The planes I hear this morning are passenger planes, but in Iraq U.S. war planes and helicopters continue to carry and drop deadly bombs. The people there, our brothers and sisters, have never had a respite from the explosions, the violence, the terror and the killing. This is one of the reasons we are fasting.