Use Your Voice

Lewis Randa and Courty Woods are arrested during their Peace Chain action on June 15, 2026. Photo courtesy The Peace Abbey

On the bright afternoon of June 15th, twenty-one people gathered with a shared purpose in Sherborn, MA. Some were strangers, others had known each other for decades, but all stood together for peace. In front of the Pacifist Memorial on Main Street, ordinary citizens formed a line, shoulder to shoulder, and lifted their voices in song. Holding the Peace Chain and singing We Shall Overcome, a song woven through generations of human rights struggles, they stepped into the road and brought traffic to a halt. It was a small act of civil disobedience, quiet and resolute, grounded in the belief that dignity still matters.

Blocking the road was never meant as a show of force. It was a gentle interruption, a small pause in the ordinary rhythm of a Monday afternoon meant to call attention to an issue that has long been ignored. The heart of this action belonged to Courty Woods. For years, Courty has been a steady, insistent voice for justice. What moved him to organize this particular act of civil disobedience is the way Donald Trump has used his own voice to demean others, especially women reporters and people of color. Trump has used his immense power to degrade and demean anyone he dislikes. A man that holds the office of the presidency should behave with respect and decorum.

Courty lives with cerebral palsy, which means speaking can require effort. He chooses to speak anyway, and he chooses to speak for peace. On June 15th, he chose to sing.

Lewis Randa and Courty Woods, partners in civil disobedience. Photo courtesy The Radiant Project

Standing alongside him was Lewis Randa, founder of the Peace Abbey and Courty’s longtime partner in civil disobedience. (Need a lift? Watch the 11-minute documentary featuring Lewis and Courty, “Nothing To Get Hung About,”  from The Radiant Project) The two have been arrested together during peaceful protest actions many times over the years. When police placed them under arrest that afternoon, it was simply the next step in an intentional, principled path — an opportunity to stand before a judge and articulate the moral urgency behind their actions.

What stayed with me long after the road reopened and the rest of us went home is the stark contrast at the center of this action. Courty chooses to use his voice to promote unity and dignity. He organized this protest because of the way Donald Trump has used his own voice to bring out the worst in America. In Courty’s choice to sing, and in the president’s choice to divide, two very different understandings of power and strength were laid bare. One man, physically vulnerable, spoke with moral strength; the other, holding incredible authority, spoke with cruelty. Standing there in the road, the question became impossible to ignore: how do we choose to use our own voices? What do we stand for, what do we amplify, and what do we allow our words to carry into the world?

The Peace Chain participants before stepping into the street. Photo courtesy The Peace Abbey

As we stood there, holding the Peace Chain across Main Street, I could feel the weight of the tradition we stood in. Civil disobedience has always been built from moments like this — ordinary people interrupting the ordinary flow of life to insist that something better is possible, that we deserve and demand better of our president. Our action only lasted minutes, but it was another link in the chain of countless small, courageous gestures that have shaped movements for justice throughout history. The Peace Abbey has long taught that peace is a practice, something lived out in public, in community, and sometimes in the middle of a road.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

Based in Massachusetts, Megan Walden has spent years rooted in community spaces. Her writing about the Peace Abbey gathering reflects the care she brings to the people and stories around her.

Find holistic Spiritual Education in the Spirit of Change online Alternative Health Directory.

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