>> SAVE THE DATE for the 2022 50th Anniversary National Conference, Aug. 5-7, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

2021 Pax Christi USA National Conference

Video and other resources from the Breakout Sessions:

Nonviolence: A Tradition for our Transformation
hosted by the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative

Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus event: “Policing – Abolition or Reform?”

The annual Pax Christi USA National Conference returns in July 2021!

WHEN:

  • Friday, July 30th, 7-10pm EDT
  • Saturday, July 31st, 12-7pm EDT

With special pre-conference events on:

WHERE: This year’s conference will take place over Zoom. Participants will receive special links to various events a few days prior to the conference. [Due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding the pandemic and protocols for in-person gatherings, we made the decision in March that the 2021 Pax Christi USA National Conference would be virtual. We are going forward with plans for the 2022 version, celebrating our 50th anniversary, to be in-person next summer.]

Registration is free although we’re asking participants to consider a special donation to Pax Christi USA to help cover the costs of the conference and fund ongoing projects. Use this link to make a donation and please choose “2021 National Conference” on the dropdown menu by the “Use my donation for” box. If you prefer not to donate online, you can also send in a check to Pax Christi USA, attn: 2021 National Conference, 415 Michigan Ave. NE, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20017-4503.

Click here to fill out the registration form.

CONFERENCE SPONSORSHIP: If you want to seed both this conference and give us the jump we need on planning for our 50th anniversary year, consider becoming a conference sponsor! For a donation between $250 and $1000, we’ll list you on the conference website, send you links for full participation in all conference events, and thank you during the conference program. Please contact Johnny Zokovitch at jzokovitch@paxchristiusa.org and put “Conference Sponsor” in the subject line! Thanks!

2021 National Conference sponsors include:

Jeanne Allen | Rosemarie Pace | Abigail Abysalh-Metzger | Fr. Fred Thelen | Marie Dennis | Ronnie Fellerath-Lowell and Bill Lowell | Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv. | Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Los Angeles Province | Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team | Pax Christi Little Rock | Association of U.S. Catholic Priests | Sisters of Divine Providence | Carol Rice | International Thomas Merton Society | Maryknoll Lay Missioners | Mary Yelenick | Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters | Vicki Lott | Pax Christi Michigan | Fr. Joe Mattern and Pax Christi Omro/Oshkosh | Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace | Fr. Gerald Kleba | Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth JPIC Office | Beatrice Parwatikar

Scroll below for a full schedule of events, information on our keynote speaker and breakout sessions, and more…

OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Olga Marina Segura

We’re excited to announce that Olga Marina Segura, author of Birth of a Movement: Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church is our opening keynote speaker for the conference. Ms. Segura is a freelance writer and the opinion editor at National Catholic Reporter, previously serving as an associate editor at America Media, where she wrote and solicited articles on race and culture. She is a co-founder and former co-host of the podcast, “Jesuitical.” Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, Latino Rebels, Shondaland, Sojourners, Refinery29, and The Revealer. Prior to working at America Media, Olga was an intern at the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations. She graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Arts in Italian Language and Literature. She speaks Italian and Spanish fluently and was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Thursday, July 29

  • Pre-Conference Event, sponsored by the Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus – 7pm, Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus (see full description)

Friday, July 30

2021 PAX CHRISTI USA NATIONAL CONFERENCE BEGINS…

  • 7pm – Welcome by National Council Chair, Isaac Chandler, followed by our Opening Prayer Service
  • 7:30pm – Opening Keynote Speaker: Olga Marina Segura
  • 8:15pm – A moderated conversation with Ms. Segura, with moderator, Roxana Bendezú, Pax Christi USA Program Director
  • 8:45pm – Announcements
  • 9pm – Closing Prayer Service (for day one)

Saturday, July 31

  • 12pm – Welcome by National Council Vice Chair, Madeline Labriola, followed by our Opening Prayer Service (for day two)
  • 12:30pm – First Breakout Session (choose 1 of the 3 breakout sessions being offered during this time; descriptions are below; all sessions will be recorded for later viewing for those who could not attend)
  • 2pm – First afternoon break
  • 2:30p – Second Breakout Session (choose 1 of the 3 breakout sessions being offered during this time; descriptions are below; all sessions will be recorded for later viewing for those who could not attend)
  • 4pm – Second afternoon break
  • 4:30pm – Teacher of Peace Award presentation to Rev. Bryan N. Massingale, S.T.D. by National Council members Vicki Vernon Lott and Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv.
  • 5pm – Closing Mass with celebrant Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., Bishop-President of Pax Christi USA
  • 6pm – Closing Comments
  • 6:20pm – Zoom room will remain open until 7pm for social time

FIRST BREAKOUT SESSION CHOICES

Note that in each session, participants should choose only one session to attend. Other sessions will be recorded and uploaded to our website for later viewing.

  1. Breaking the Idols: Nuclear Weapons and Intersectional Justice – The production, testing and deployment of nuclear weapons impact all of us in many ways. This breakout session will explore the effects of nuclear weapons on our economy, our environment, and on racial justice, and how breaking the idolatry of the bomb can move us closer to building the beloved community. Panelists include Art Laffin, Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace and long-time Catholic Worker; Vincent Intondi, professor and author of African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement; and Vicki Elson, creative director for nuclearban.us; moderated by Nick Mele, Pax Christi USA Working Group on Nuclear Disarmament coordinator.

  2. Dream of Tomorrow: Building capacity by looking at peacemaking through an intergenerational lens – Capacity building is most effectively achieved when different perspectives are combined to dream about the future of a movement. By examining peacemaking through intergenerational analyses, participants will be encouraged to reflect upon their own involvement in movement-building, both in passing on a legacy across generations & thinking creatively about new approaches we can utilize to expand capacity. Panelists for the conversation with peacemakers across several generations include Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace and former member of the Pax Christi Anti-Racism Team, Beatrice Parwatikar; Former Pax Christi USA National Council chair and coordinator of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, Judy Coode; and recently elected National Council member Jeff Sved. Moderated by Lauren Bailey, Pax Christi USA National Field Organizer and organized by members of the Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus.

  3. Shaken Awake: Taking on Pope Francis’s Challenge to Cultivate “Antibodies of Justice, Charity and Solidarity” – Pope Francis challenged the Church to be shaken awake by the pandemic in a way that “wars or injustice across the world, nor … the cry of the poor or of our ailing planet” could do. What are some of the components for “building a civilization of love,” something new in the shell of the old? Panelists in this session will offer a few insights about what they think should happen to resist calls for a “return to normal”, change the narrative, and make something new. Panelists include: Adrienne Alexander, Labor Organizer; Elizabeth Garlow, Co-Convener, U.S. Economy of Francesco; and Luis Marchese, a distributed organizer in the Sunrise Movement.

SECOND BREAKOUT SESSION CHOICES

  1. Pax Christi, a Catholic Movement for Peace: Does Our Reality Match Our Tagline? – This session aims to complement Olga Segura’s exploration on the Black Lives Matter movement and the Catholic church (both in terms of her book, the study circles taking place and her presentation at the conference) while also re-examining the challenge posed by Fr. Bryan Massingale to Pax Christi USA in the early 2000s. Pax Christi USA membership is still overwhelmingly white and “woke,” but have our members really embraced the work of anti-racism and to what extent? Facilitated by members of the Pax Christi Anti-Racism Team.

  2. We Tell Our Own Stories: Advancing Narratives and Socio-political Analyses Concerning Migration – Join Migrant Roots Media (MRM) to develop a​ historically​-informed analysis of ​global migration. MRM is an independent digital platform that seeks to amplify the perspectives of migrants on the root causes of forced displacement. We shed light on the socio-political and economic reasons people struggle to stay and thrive in their homelands to transform narratives and political analyses concerning migration and other social issues. Moderated by Pax Christi USA Program Director Roxana Bendezú.

  3. Why Do You Look for the Living among the Dead? We have known so much distancing, isolation, dread, death, suffering. How do we move out of our tombs and broken spirits into resurrection and restoration? Jesus cries out to us: Come forth! Come out! This session will be presented by Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace, storyteller and author, Megan McKenna.

A SPECIAL PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT
WITH THE CATHOLIC NONVIOLENCE INITIATIVE

Join Pax Christi USA for a special pre-conference event, “Nonviolence: A Tradition for Our Transformation,” planned by the U.S. cohort of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative exploring one of the central charisms of Pax Christi USA, gospel nonviolence.

This special lead-in event to the 2021 Pax Christi USA National Conference will focus on nonviolence and take place on Friday, July 30, from 1-5pm EDT. The event will include opening and closing plenaries, as well as 4 breakout sessions covering:

  • gospel nonviolence and the Laudato Si’ platform
  • the history and strategy of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative
  • nonviolent strategies in today’s social movements
  • and exploring a “just peace” ethic

Find complete information on this special event at this link.

You can register here for this lead-in event at the same time you register for the 2021 Pax Christi USA National Conference. You’ll be sent a follow-up email asking which breakout sessions you want to attend and giving you a special link for this event shortly before the event is scheduled to take place.

A SPECIAL PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT
WITH THE PAX CHRISTI YOUNG ADULT CAUCUS

If you are in your 20s and 30s, join the Pax Christi USA Young Adult Caucus for a special pre-conference event discussing, “Policing: Abolition or Reform?”

Click here to read more on this special event.

This pre-conference event will take place on Thursday, July 29th at 7pm. The event will ask: Can policing as we know it, be reformed, or does it need to be abolished? Adults in their 20s and 30s are invited to this panel discussion hosted by the Pax Christi USA Young Adult Caucus (PCYAC), which will engage four leaders and activists in a dialogue around mass incarceration, policing, and lethal autonomous weapons.

Panelists will be Ngozi Ndulue, Pierre Thompson of Pax Christi Northern California, and John Noble of Pax Christi USA. 

The Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus will hold its annual business meeting immediately following the discussion for any young adults who want to attend.

You can register here for this lead-in event at the same time you register for the 2021 Pax Christi USA National Conference. You’ll be sent a follow-up email giving you a special link for this event shortly before the event is scheduled to take place.