by John Noble
Pax Christi USA Development Director
Usually, when you hear from me, I’m asking if you’ll consider a gift to Pax Christi USA or donating to something like our Year-End Advent-Christmas Appeal.
Of course, those gifts are always welcome, but in addition to your usual year-end gifts to Pax Christi USA, I also want to ask if you’ll consider gifts to some other initiatives this year.
When I returned to Des Moines, Iowa from our Washington, DC offices on Thursday, I noticed that we were hit with our “first big snowstorm” of the season. And this inclement weather and its effects on our most vulnerable neighbors got me thinking about a lot of things:
Wherever you give this year, I hope you’ll consider causes and initiatives near you that fight the root causes of the climate crisis (our dependence on white supremacist extractive industries) and grassroots mutual aid groups that provide heat and comfort to those pushed out into the cold by unjust housing policies.
Pax Christi USA also recently made donations to two initiatives that I hope you’ll consider supporting financially as a show of solidarity in our 50th anniversary year:
- The Dakota 38+2 Ride, currently taking place across Minnesota and South Dakota, and
- The Vatican’s initiative to bring thermal shirts to Ukraine.
Melissa Chapman Skinner, a member of Pax Christi USA’s Indigenous Solidarity Working Group, recently reflected on the Dakota 38+2 Ride in our recent Prayer-Study-Act guide. Read her reflections on the Ride at this link, and then make a donation at the Ride’s GoFundMe page.
You can read about the Vatican’s efforts to bring thermal shirts to Ukraine in this article, and then find the mailing address to directly mail thermal clothing at this link.
Acting in solidarity with Indigenous initiatives and offering care and warmth to the people of Ukraine are two ways that we can all practice peace as we look ahead to Christmas.
Whether you give to Pax Christi USA, give to one of our allied organizations, give to an initiative near you doing the work of peace and justice, or offer prayers for the success of these endeavors, please know that we are so grateful for you in this Advent season.