This article was originally published by The Mennonite

Mennonites protest at drone center

Photo by H.A. Penner.

On Dec. 27, 21 members of Pilgrims Mennonite Church in Akron, Pa., and four others from Lancaster, Pa., traveled 70 miles to join an equal number of persons from the Philly area, including the pastor and several members of the Circle of Hope Church from Philadelphia to witness at the proposed new weaponized drone command center at the Horsham Air Guard Station in Horsham, Pa.

The command center is scheduled to become operational in 2015.

The drone command center in Horsham is a central part of a plan to expand drone training, deployment, and command sites across the United States, supporting and expanding a U.S. policy of drone warfare and spying worldwide.

From Horsham, “computer pilots” will, by remote control, direct Reaper drones to their targets, launching deadly payloads of Hellfire missiles and Paveway Laser-Guided Bombs against people thousands of miles away.

Drone strikes have killed thousands of civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and Somalia, many of them children.

During the two hour vigil, the Circle of Hope Church led by Joshua Grace offered a 25-minute worship period.

The Pilgrims Mennonite Church Ensemble led by Carl Laws-Landis sang several hymns of peace.

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