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.
PAX CHRISTI GROUPS ACROSS THE NATION PARTICIPATE IN GOOD FRIDAY WITNESS: Many Pax Christi USA local groups planned and staged a “Way of the Cross” event on Good Friday, connecting the sufferings of Christ during his passion with the suffering of our brothers and sisters at the hands of violence, greed, poverty, sickness and war. Check out the slideshow featuring photos of many of these events.
LOCAL POVERTY AND FAITHFUL BUDGET CAMPAIGN TOPICS AT PC MEMPHIS MEETING: (from PC-Memphis newsletter by Paul Crum) Terry Hash and her daughter Christine presented an eye opening look at poverty in the Memphis area and beyond at our March gathering. Armed with surprising facts and a wealth of data, the pair highlighted the struggle that thousands of our neighbors endure to navigate current economic conditions. Christine, Manager of Social Enterprises and Community Engagement for Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, told the group that Memphis has the highest level of childhood poverty in the nation. She presented statistics reflecting the typical expenses for families of various sizes living in the Memphis metropolitan area, and showed the wide disparity in wages between the working poor and their more affluent suburban counterparts… To read more, go to http://www.paxchristimemphis.org/
PAX CHRISTI USA MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN HISTORIC NONVIOLENCE AND JUST PEACE CONFERENCE IN ROME: This past week, Pax Christi International co-convened with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, UISG/USG and many other international Catholic organizations, an international conference on nonviolence and just peace. Several members of Pax Christi USA from various regions were participants in the meeting, including Pax Christi International Co-President and PCUSA Ambassador of Peace Marie Dennis, former PCUSA National Coordinator Anne McCarthy, osb, former PCUSA National Council Chair Judy Coode, former PCUSA staff member Jean Stokan, and PCUSA Ambassador of Peace Rev. John Dear, among others. To see the conference statement, click here. For media coverage of this historic gathering, go to: https://paxchristiusa.org/2016/04/16/news-media-coverage-of-nonviolence-and-just-peace-conference-in-rome/
PAX CHRISTI USA MEMBERSHIP NEWSLETTER FOR SPRING 2016: If you did not receive a hard copy of the Pax Christi USA membership newsletter, The Peace Current, which includes two pages of updates from the national, regional and local levels, please let us know. It means your membership is not up-to-date or there is an error in our database. The Spring 2016 edition should have arrived within the last month. You can view it online by going to https://paxchristiusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/39803_nl_pax_web.pdf
PAX CHRISTI MEMBER MARY MCDONOUGH HARREN HONORED AS DIFFERENCE-MAKER IN KANSAS: (from Tom Cordaro, PC-Illinois) Long time Pax Christi member Mary McDonough Harren will be honored at the “She Made a Difference” award dinner on March 25th being held by the Wichita chapter of NOW (National Organization of Women). Mary is being honored for her activism for peace with justice and her commitment to women’s equality in Church and society. Mary has been an inspiration and a mentor to generations of women (and men) in Kansas and beyond.
____________
Upcoming or Ongoing Events:
Apr. 22: Earth Day
Apr. 23: Breaking the Silence: Confronting Race, Power and Privilege. Pax Christi Michigan’s state conference, in Lansing, MI
Apr. 23: “A Future Covenant,” Justice and Spirituality Convocation in Stirling, NJ
Apr. 25-May 1: SOA Delegation to the Border; contact marialuisa@soaw.org
Apr. 30: Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore Spring Retreat, “Let Creation Call Us More Deeply to God,” with PCUSA Teacher of Peace Rev. John Rausch, glmy
May 1: Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, May Day
May 3: The Challenge of Peace anniversary
May 4: Sr. Patty Chappell, SNDdeN, Executive Director of Pax Christi USA and PCUSA Program Director Sr. Anne-Louise Nadeau, SNDdeN will present a training for Loyola University Cabinet Members, Baltimore on Racial Justice
May 5: Feast of the Ascension
May 6-8: Atlantic Life Community Retreat at Mariandale Retreat Center in Ossining, New York; contact Scott Langley at scott@scottlangleyphoto.com
May 7: Sr. Patty Chappell, SNDdeN, Executive Director of Pax Christi USA and PCUSA Program Director Sr. Anne-Louise Nadeau, SNDdeN will present a training at St. Boniface, Brooklyn, NY on Racial Justice
May 8: Mother’s Day
May 9: PCUSA Teacher of Peace Rev. Daniel Berrigan’s birthday; also Peter Maurin and Sophie Scholl
May 14: “We Grow Together,” Pax Christi USA and Communities of Color workshop, Washington DC
May 15: Pentecost
May 15: Peacemakers Awards Reception with Pax Christi Metro New York: Contact PCMNY to register now: 212-420-0250, info@nypaxchristi.org, or http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=8977.
May 21: Feast of Blessed Franz Jaeggerstaetter
May 28-June 11: Christian Peacemaker Team delegation to Colombia
May 30: Memorial Day
June 7-12: Catholic Young Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C.
June 29-July 2: Starvin for Justice: Annual Fast and Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty in Washington, D.C.
Aug. 12-14: Pax Christi USA National Gathering in Linthicum, MD
____________
Quicklinks:
Pax Christi members in Pennsylvania, under the leadership of Fr. Bernie Survil, are passing out the election guide, A Revolution of Tenderness, to parishes and religious communities in their state … Mercy Sister and long-time PCUSA member Diane Guerin was interviewed in NCR … Over 25 activists were arrested at the Shut Down Creech action earlier this month … Local news shot this video of Pax Christi Harrisburg (PA) during their Good Friday Way of the Cross … Pax Christi El Paso publicly declares their opposition to endless war by joining Border Peace Presence on Fridays from noon to 1:00 p.m. in front of the Federal Court House (corner of Campbell and San Antonio) … NCR ran an interview with long-time Pax Christi New Jersey member Rev. Ron Cioffi about him and his parish’s commitment to social justice … PC Illinois member Sr. Karen Nykiel presented on “The Spirituality of Aging” at a conference at Benedictine University … Pax Christi Young Adult member Vickie Machado was interviewed in this article about U.S.-Cuba relations following her trip there earlier this year … Pax Christi Northeast Florida co-sponsored an anti-death penalty event with Marietta Jaeger-Lane of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation … Registration for the 2016 Pax Christi USA National Gathering in Maryland is now open … Pax Christi International’s April 2016 newsletter is online … See more local and regional updates in the Spring 2016 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.