REGIONAL NEWS: Pax Christi Metro NY honors 2014 peacemakers

from Rosemarie Pace
Pax Christi Metro New York coordinator

Pax Christi Metro New York (PCMNY) is very proud to announce this year’s honorees and to celebrate not only their accomplishments but also what they stand for. This year’s Peacemakers are exceptional in their commitment to end gun violence, abolish nuclear weapons, advocate for Palestinian rights, and serve the poor and needy. They stand strong in their resolve to offer compassionate alternatives inspired by their values and beliefs.

On Sunday, June 1st, Pax Christi Metro New York (PCMNY) will be paying tribute to Sandy Hook Promise; Maryknoll Sister Jean Fallon; and The Carmelite Commission for Peace, Justice, and the Integrity of Creation.

Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) formed as an organization after the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, 2012, that claimed the lives of 20 first graders and 6 educators. Community members, parents, and spouses who lost loved ones joined together to turn their grief into a force for good by finding collaborative ways to prevent the causes of gun violence and to support their heart-broken community. By focusing on our love for all our children, SHP has found a constructive way to rise above the battle between gun control and gun rights. Using education, dialogue, parent empowerment, and legislative action, support for mental wellness and family assistance, SHP is moving us all toward saner and safer gun policies.

Sister Jean Fallon has been a Maryknoll sister since 1947. Much of her ministry was conducted in Japan where she worked in parishes and as part of the Peace and Nuclear Issues Committee of the National Council of Churches, Japan. Sr. Jean also taught in World Awareness Adult Education Programs in the U.S., acquainting Catholics with world poverty and its impact on the most vulnerable. She took Scriptural, Ecumenical and Peace Studies in Jerusalem in the 1990s and returned to the Middle East as a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams in the 2000s, serving in Hebron, Palestine. Sr. Jean has also been a member of the Maryknoll Sisters NGO at the U.N. and continues her peace and justice activities today as a member of the Maryknoll Sisters CenterCerns Committee at Maryknoll, New York.

The Carmelite Commission for Peace, Justice, and the Integrity of Creation (PJIC) is dedicated not only to serving those living in conflict situations, those being exploited by discriminatory policies, and those negatively affected by environmental crises, but it is also devoted to helping to bring about the necessary changes in society that make such services obsolete. Among their many ministries, PJIC has addressed issues of immigration reform, human trafficking, prison life, hunger, and climate control. It performs these good works at the local levels of parishes, schools, and programs, and it participates with the Carmelite NGO at the U.N.

In addition to honoring these remarkable Peacemakers, PCMNY will also be recognizing two Young Peacebuilders from local Catholic high schools whose awards were presented to them a Youth Days in the Brooklyn Diocese and Archdiocese of New York earlier this Spring.

The awards ceremony will take place in Casserly Hall below St. Joseph’s Greenwich Village Church, Washington Place just off Sixth Avenue, on Sunday, June 1st between 3 and 6 PM. There will be delicious refreshments, beautiful music, and numerous prizes. Recommended donations: $40 per person or $125 for four through May 16th, $50 per person or $165 for four between May 16th and May 23rd, $25 at all times through May 23rd for those 18 years old and younger. Advance registration required.