Compiled by Johnny Zokovitch
Each month, “On The Line” features news items and announcements from around the nation featuring Pax Christi members, local groups, regions and partners. These are gleaned from articles in local newspapers, websites, magazines, and elsewhere.
ALPENA PEACE PEOPLE PAX CHRISTI GROUP SPONSORS 30 DAYS OF PEACE: From the Alpena News – “If participants in this year’s 30 Days of Peace take anything away from attending one of the multitude of planned activities, Sister Mary Hughes hopes it is inner peace. ‘My hope is that initially it will help people as individuals to find a peace within themselves and that will be spread to their relatives, their friends and their neighbors,” Hughes said. “If we have an atmosphere of peace within our community, it will spread. It will affect the leaders we choose for local and state, and our church and civic groups. It will affect the activities in the community and promote wholesome living.” On Sept. 14, An Evening of Poetry, Readings, Blues and Jazz will be held from 7-9 at Cabin Creek Coffee in downtown Alpena. Poems and readings promoting peace will be given by representatives of the local Pax Christi, a Catholic organization that strives to create a world that reflects the peace of Christ. ‘People come to this event who never come to anything else given by LARCC or Pax Christi, so if you have different things, you get different people,’ said Hughes of the wide diversity of events planned for the entire month.” Read the whole story here: http://www.thealpenanews.com/page/content.detail/id/522591/30-Days-of-Peace-initiative-coming-up.html?nav=5042
LONG-TIME PC-FLORIDA, MICHIGAN MEMBER PASSES: In late August, we learned that long-time Pax Christi USA member and local group leader Herb Bazur had died. Herb was 88 years old. Herb was active in Pax Christi USA for many years, including his local participation with Pax Christi groups and members in Michigan, Florida and Indiana. Known for his Pax Christi USA rose tattoo, Herb was often the center of laughter and joy at the many Pax Christi gatherings he and his wife Betty attended. Herb’s family writes in his obituary, “We will work to keep alive the memory of our charismatic and colorful Herb in many ways. He would encourage us to stop and smell the flowers, love our neighbors, walk with the marginalized, vote with poor people in mind, and spread joy.” Read more about Herb here: http://paxchristiusa.org/2012/08/27/obituary-herb-bazur-long-time-pax-christi-usa-leader-age-88/
PAX CHRISTI ST. CLOUD PROTESTS AT CAMP RIPLEY: From The Morrison County Record – “The exercises at Camp Ripley usually involve training soldiers and public safety agencies. But the exercises at the National Guard base Monday involved the constitutional right to free speech. A peace vigil/protest was held Monday by the Little Falls Partners for Peace and Occupy Little Falls in front of the gates of Camp Ripley. In addition to several demands, one of the group’s goals was to increase public awareness about the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), often called drones. Two factions with opposing views about war stood across from each other, both literally and figuratively, near the gates of Camp Ripley. Standing north of Highway 115 in front of Camp Ripley’s gates, members of the Little Falls Partners for Peace and Occupy Little Falls held what they termed a “peace vigil” and drone protest. About 14 in all, others were from the Brainerd Area Coalition for Peace, Women Against Military Madness from the Twin Cities, Alternatives to War, St. Cloud Occupy, Pax Christi St. Cloud and Alexandria Peace, joining the Little Falls contingent.” Read more at: http://mcrecord.com/archives/515939/exercise-at-camp-ripley-right-to-free-speech/
NCR ARTICLE ON THE PASSING OF JOSHUA CASTEEL: From NCR’s Tom Roberts – “The news, expected but dreaded, began to leak out on Facebook on Saturday night. Joshua Casteel had died earlier that day. He was 32. And the postings, which seemed endless, as well as those on the site of the Iraq Veterans Against the War and on Pax Christi USA all seemed to ache in trying to say some version of the same thing: How do we tell those who should know about this life of grace and courage, of holiness and unending search, of both consummate resolution and relentless questions? How did he fit it all into such a short time, and how do we explain that the world — the church, the state and beyond — needs to know of this life?” Read more here: http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/inspirational-soldier-turned-conscientious-objector-dies-lung-cancer-32
PAX CHRISTI NEW MEXICO REMEMBERS HIROSHIMA: From The Santa Fe Reporter – “Members of various activist organizations and local residents against nuclear weapons gathered in Ashley Pond in Los Alamos on Sunday. The rally, which was mainly organized by Pax Christi New Mexico and lasted all afternoon, celebrated the 67th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. Dozens of framed pictures of victims and information about the bombing’s aftereffects were scattered around the area to pay homage to the victims. Organizers also established a live stream of the 8:15 am annual bell ringing in Hiroshima, Japan, the precise time the bomb was dropped in 1945. Father John Dear, an Christian anti-nuke activist nominated by Desmond Tutu for the Nobel Peace Prize, called the atomic bomb ‘the biggest sin’ and Los Alamos as its birthplace. ‘We gather here to repent that greatest sin,’ he told the crowd. Read the whole article here: http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/blog-3714-los-alamos-remembers-hiroshima.html
PAX CRISTI MICHIGAN SUPPORTS SCHOOL SALE TO MUSLIM ORGANIZATION: From The Detroit News – “An interfaith coalition plans to demonstrate its support Tuesday night for the sale of a school building owned Farmington Public Schools to a Muslim organization. The sale last year of the former Eagle Elementary School in West Bloomfield for $1.1 million has drawn protests from groups alleging the district showed undue favor to the buyer, the Islamic Cultural Association, which plans to open a school there. Taking ‘a stand against Islamophobia,’ coalition members plan to attend the West Bloomfield Township Planning Commission meeting, which is at 7:30 p.m. The commission is expected to consider issues related to the Islamic group’s construction plans for the site. Coalition members include Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit, Pax Christi-Michigan, Detroit Meeting of Friends, Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network, Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, Michigan Coalition for Human Rights, Pointes for Peace and Michigan Coalition for Human Rights. Read more at: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120814/METRO02/208140446/Controversy-surrounds-sale-school-W-Bloomfield-Muslim-group?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE
Upcoming or Ongoing Events:
Sept. 15 – Regional Dialogue in Atlanta, GA: http://paxchristiusa.org/programs/regional-dialogues-2012-13/
Sept. 21 – International Day of Peace: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs090/1011223557022/archive/1110865699008.html
Sept. 22 – Pax Christi South Dakota Conference with Sr. Helen Prejean: http://presentationsisters.org/vocation-outreach/events/Pax_Flyer_September_2012.pdf
Sept. 29 – Pax Christi Richmond with the Catholic Diocesan Office of Justice and Peace and the Office for Black Catholics will co-sponsor the Slave Trail Walk. Contact Mike at mike.jackman@capitalone.com for more information.
Sept. 29 – Pax Christi Minnesota State Assembly with Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer: http://www.paxchristimn.org/2012/08/18/jack-nelson-pallmeyer-to-headline-minnesota-peace-assembly/
Sept. 29 – Regional Dialogue in Illinois: http://paxchristiusa.org/programs/regional-dialogues-2012-13/
Oct. 20-21 – Pax Christi Florida’s Fall Assembly and Regional Dialogue: http://paxchristiflorida.org/events/
Oct. 27 – Pax Christi Massachusetts Regional Dialogue: http://paxchristiusa.org/programs/regional-dialogues-2012-13/
Quicklinks:
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, founding Bishop-President of Pax Christi USA, was featured in the Albany Times Union … Many thanks to all of the Pax Christi regions and groups who took out an ad in the Momentum 2012 program booklet. See videos, listen to the speeches and see photos from the event on the PCUSA website … PC Metro DC-Baltimore member Jean Stokan wrote the article, “U.S. Elections: The Whole World is Watching” for the Intercommunity Peace and Justice newsletter … The Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, John Onaiyekan has been named Pax Christi International’s 2012 Peace Laureate … At the August 6th remembrance of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan in WWII at the Quaker Meeting House in West Hartford,CT, PC-Hartford member Kate McLoughlin was a featured speaker … Pax Christi International Co-President Marie Dennis has a series running on the PCUSA website on civil discourse during this election year … Pax Christi Massachusetts board member and PCUSA Ambassador of Peace Nancy Small reflected on the 9/11 anniversary in this blog post … The Pax Christi USA-produced film on Haiti was chosen for another film festival … Heather Brouillet Navarro of PC-St. Louis, Sr. Esther Pineda of PC-Salinas (KS) and historian David O’Brien were elected to the National Council … See more local and regional updates in the summer edition of The Peace Current …
- Send your news items, announcements, photos and links to stories about Pax Christi groups or members to jzokovitch@paxchristiusa.org.