A special appeal to support our young adult and anti-racism work

Two Pax Christi USA young adult leaders, Sr. Annie Killian and Honorine Uwimana, have a special message for our supporters.

Every day, Pax Christi USA members choose community over isolation, solidarity over white supremacy, and international cooperation over the threat of war. To quote Ambassador of Peace Fr. Joe Nangle, members like you inspire a “sea change, both in society and in our faith communities.”

But a sea change for peace doesn’t happen overnight. As leaders with Pax Christi USA’s Young Adult Caucus (PCYAC), we know we can’t change how we live as a human family unless we change how we treat our global neighbors and our common home. Can you make a financial contribution at this link to make that change possible?

A change means prioritizing dialogue, diplomacy, and de-escalation in every global conflict, as we face what Pope Francis calls a “Third World War fought piecemeal.” To turn the tide for peace, we’re called to follow the example of Pope Francis, his namesake St. Francis, and a great community of peacemakers imagining new global realities as we “begin again.” 

As we build “new beginnings” in 2023, can you support us with a contribution? A generous gift of $500, $200, $100, or whatever you can give supports our urgent work to make peace.

We know that a call to “begin again” is challenging for a peace movement with such a storied history. What does it mean to embrace new beginnings 60 years after Pope John XXIII wrote Pacem in Terris and 40 years after the U.S. bishops wrote The Challenge of Peace?

What does it mean to “begin again” when our movement is informed by so many elders who struggled to promote racial justice, abolish nuclear weapons, and literally turn weapons of war into instruments of peace?

“Beginning again” doesn’t mean starting over. It means honoring the work of those leaders who went before us and following their calls for peace and justice in our lives today. 

We can’t look ahead to new beginnings without your financial support. In 2023, your generous contributions will put young leaders at the heart of our movement, honoring the unique perspectives we bring to Catholic nonviolence. 

Your generosity helps us fix our focus on the future, as our national staff initiates new relationships and strengthens partnerships with college students and campus ministry programs across the United States. Your gift also funds two major gatherings that will support our commitment to building an intergenerational movement:

• Our young adult retreat in Chicago, where Pax Christi USA members in our 20s and 30s will pray, study, and act for Gospel nonviolence, peace, and social justice.
• Our racial justice summit in Washington, DC, where key leaders will assess the first 20 years of our racial justice commitment and chart our work for the decades ahead. 

Please consider making a generous financial gift at this link so that we can sustain student outreach, young adult programming, and racial justice priorities for decades to come. 

Your donation makes these “new beginnings,” and everything we do, possible.

In the peace of Christ,

PS: If you prefer to send in a check, they can be made out to Pax Christi USA, 415 Michigan Ave. NE, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20017-4503, attn: 2023 Spring-Summer Appeal.

If a financial gift isn’t possible for you right now, there are so many ways to stay involved with Pax Christi USA: volunteering with a local group, staying on our email list to find out about upcoming events, or keeping us in your prayers. Whatever you can give or contribute, thank you so much for your generous support of our mission!