595 Arrested at the White House

I'm home. I'm tired. And I feel great! Yesterday, 145 religious leaders, artists, and students were arrested in front of the White House to bring attention to the Keystone XL pipeline, a linchpin in the battle for climate justice. My police wristband shows that I was number 49.

With more than 60 people from the religious community joining the Tar Sands Action yesterday, we were able to push the number of arrests over the past week up to 522. As of today, 595 people have been arrested.

We had a very hot ride in the police van, but the Park Police processed us very quickly. We were released from custody and greeted outside with water, granola bars, and hugs. What could be better?

But the point was not to get arrested. The point was to make of our lives a living witness. To make it clear that climate change has gone too far and we are no longer going to stand idly by while our sisters, brothers, and home planet are torn apart by oil companies. Here are a handful of photos from the event yesterday:

Tar Sands - Religious Witness - Images by Heather Wilson

Rose Marie Berger, an associate editor at Sojourners, blogs at www.rosemarieberger.com. She's the author of Who Killed Donte Manning? The Story of an American Neighborhood available at store.sojo.net. Heather Wilson is associate web developer at Sojourners and a freelance photographer. She has spent the past 10 years working throughout the U.S., Asia, and the Middle East, doing photography and communications work for developmental non-government organizations. To see more of Heather Wilson's photographs, click here.