This issue of Sojourners tells the story of an extraordinary venture of faith along the railroad tracks that carry the White Train. The White Train is a train that transports the warheads assembled at the Pantex plant in Amarillo, Texas, through cities and towns across the United States to the places where they will be made ready for use. This is indeed a death train. Its cargo of as many as 200 hydrogen bombs gives it the deadliest freight in history.
But the train has been discovered. Having gone unnoticed for more than 20 years, the discovery of the White Train has occasioned an outpouring of prayerful resistance that is stirring hearts and causing consternation in the government. Pitting the power of prayer and conscience against the ghostly White Train, a network of people from churches and local communities has sprung up and become a community of faith joined together by the railroad tracks and by the hope that comes from breaking the silence and taking personal responsibility.
The government has responded by changing the routes of the train to try to elude the protesters, and by threatening to make the tracking of the White Train a felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Also in this issue is a report of the first short-term Witness for Peace team's pilgrimage to the Nicaragua-Honduras border. It is indeed a long road that is leading many of us to the little town of Jalapa on Nicaragua's northern frontier. Four teams have already gone and returned, and others are scheduled through the end of 1984. In addition, a long-term continuous presence on the border is firmly established. The enormous response from the United States is augmented by many international offers to join the witness at the border.