PRAYER - STUDY - ACTION
ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE Celebrating the power of nonviolence
The International Day of Peace
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Greetings of peace!

Over the past year, we've been holding up nonviolence as one of the prophetic, central values of who we are as Pax Christi USA, including:
But this week, starting today, the International Day of Peace, we join 120+ member organizations in the Pax Christi International network for a very special observance of the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action. Every day we'll be posting a new piece on the website to highlight nonviolence and the efforts of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative to mainstream nonviolence in the life of the Catholic Church. This is the first of 2 PSAs we'll send out over the next 12 days to promote the promise and practice of nonviolence in our world today. Check out our webpage here to see other ways you can get involved or to share with us what you are doing under the banner of nonviolence.
In peace,

Johnny Zokovitch
Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
PRAYER
NONVIOLENCE: A WAY TO IMAGINE A NEW WORLD
from Pax Christi USA
Loving Creator, be with all of us who are beginning and continuing the way of peace.

Thank you:
~ for the women and men who have gone before us, who inspire us, who beckon us to join them...
~ for the beauty of your creation...
~ for your grace and inspiration in our lives.

Help us:
~ to create a place where all are cherished, loved, valued and respected...
~ to begin to imagine a new world...
~ to live your way of peace.

With the prophet Isaiah, instill in us the vision of your peaceable kin-dom so that we might embody nonviolence, practice it, and give testimony to it, where:

"They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth
will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea" (Is. 11:9)

Amen.
_____________________________________

> Join Pax Christi USA this Thursday for our monthly Peace Mass, as Fr. John Heagle joins us to celebrate a special Eucharist of Gospel Nonviolence. Click here to register to receive notice each month for the celebration of our Peace Mass.
STUDY
WATCH THE OPENING PLENARY OF "NONVIOLENCE:
A TRADITION FOR OUR TRANSFORMATION"
from the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative
During “Nonviolence: A Tradition for Our Transformation”, a special lead-in event to the 2021 Pax Christi USA National Conference, the opening plenary addressed questions of why nonviolence is so often met with resistance. After a short opening prayer by Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace Rev. Joe Nangle, ofm, Judy Coode, project coordinator of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, moderated a conversation between:

  • Jeannette Rodriguez, author and theologian
  • Dan Moriarty, Sustainable Pathways to Peace program coordinator for the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
  • Marie Dennis, Senior Advisor to the Secretary General of Pax Christi International and Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace

Click on the video below to watch the discussion.
_____________________________________

> Watch today's webinar, Nonviolence and the Web of Creation, at 12pm ET, from the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.
ACTIONS
PLAN OR JOIN AN ACTION PROMOTING OR PRACTICING NONVIOLENCE BETWEEN NOW AND OCTOBER 2ND
JOIN PAX CHRISTI USA MEMBERS AND GROUPS AND OUR PARTNERS AROUND THE WORLD IN TAKING ACTION BETWEEN NOW AND OCT. 2ND: We've been compiling a list of events and activities taking place during (or around) the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action by Pax Christi USA local communities and affiliates, high school or college chapters, religious communities, and state/regional chapters, on this webpage. To submit an event to be included, use this form.

Additionally, Pax Christi International has published a list of suggested actions that different sectors of the Church can take to promote nonviolence, from the family to the parish to religious orders and so on. Click here to see a condensed list of those actions we have curated and are recommending for your consideration.

>> TAKE THIS SPECIFIC ACTION NOW! The International Day of Nonviolence is October 2nd. Between now and that day, contact your pastor or parish priest and ask him 1) to preach on nonviolence, asking that examples of nonviolence in the Gospels and in other scriptural passages be highlighted; and 2) to include prayers specifically addressing the need for nonviolent solutions in our world to be included in the prayers of petition for Sunday, Oct. 3rd.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND ASK FOR CUTS TO THE PENTAGON BUDGET: We're expecting votes on crucial cuts to the Pentagon budget to happen at any moment, including an amendment to cut the $25 billion in additional funds the House Armed Services Committee added to President Biden's request, and an amendment to cut the Pentagon budget by 10%. It is time we started freeing up funds to pursue nonviolent alternatives rather than continue to think more arms will bring us the peace and security we seek.

Your elected officials need to hear from you immediately:

  1. Call the Congressional switchboard at 1-202-224-3121
  2. Ask to be connected to your representative’s office.
  3. Once connected, say:

My name is ___________ and I'm a voting constituent calling from (your city). I’m calling to urge my Representative to support efforts to cut the Pentagon budget. With the recent withdrawal from Afghanistan and the needs heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to start thinking differently about issues of security. Please support the amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act to cut the Pentagon budget by just 10%, sponsored by Rep. Mark Pocan, and please support an amendment sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee to cut the additional $25 billion in Pentagon spending added by the House Armed Services Committee. Thank you.

Follow up your call by clicking here to email your Member of Congress with the same message!
>> Pax Christi USA Communal Vow of Nonviolence, Saturday, October 2nd: Join with other Pax Christi USA members and friends from across the nation to take the Vow of Nonviolence together virtually over Zoom. Click here to register.
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Pax Christi USA
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