For peacemakers around the globe, the 75th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a call to recommit ourselves to advocate for a world free of the threat and tyranny of nuclear weapons. On this solemn anniversary, Pax Christi USA pledges to raise awareness of the imminent threat of nuclear weapons in our world today and offer resources for prayer, study and action to support efforts toward the abolition of nuclear war. Below, you will find several ways to join us in commemorating the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

____________

The Peace Ribbon 2020

The Peace Ribbon 2020 is a project that aims to spur the imagination of all that would be lost if we succumb again to the use of a nuclear weapon. Participants stand with the hibakusha whose very presence is a witness to the road we must never again take. We honor them and the memory of all who lost their lives 75 years ago and in the aftermath whenever we raise our voices to say “No! Never again!”

Pax Christi USA undertakes this project as our contribution to the ongoing effort begun by Justine Merritt and carried forth by The Ribbon International, a nongovernmental organization at the UN that seeks to keep alive Justine’s vision to protect life and achieve a world without nuclear weapons.

The project encourages participants to make a ribbon panel — either by cloth or on poster board — sewing, painting, drawing or writing to capture “what I cannot bear to think of as lost forever in a nuclear war.” Panels then can be displayed in our windows, on porch railings, at our community centers or places of worship as a way of commemorating this 75th anniversary and pledging to work for a world that will never know such destruction again.

____________

The Back from the Brink Campaign

Get your local government (state, city, town or county) to adopt publicly a Back from the Brink: The Call to Prevent Nuclear War resolution.

Can you imagine the United States abolishing nuclear weapons? This campaign is a next step toward making this a reality. This is an invitation to PCUSA regions, local groups, and members to participate in a one-year campaign to call on your local legislatures to pass the Back from the Brink anti-nuclear resolution (www.preventnuclearwar.org). We can do it together and PCUSA will post progress as individual groups report on their goal and actions.

Click here for more information on this campaign.

____________

Share this graphic with a quote from Pope Francis designed by our new communications coordinator Roxana Bendezu on your social media platforms between August 6-9.

____________

PRAYER

STUDY

ACTION