May membership e-letter: A new study circle on the Church and BLM, new donation platform, & more!

May 2021 Membership E-Letter

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Greetings of peace!

The beginning of May is the 1.5 year mark for me since coming back to Pax Christi USA to serve as Executive Director, and that time has been a real whirlwind. We've spent most of this time under a pandemic, lived through a bitter election that led to an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and witnessed the power of the Black Lives Matter movement to challenge the racial inequity and injustice that has defined our nation from its very beginnings.

We've also seen significant changes within our own community: our growing digital presence, communications outreach and finding new ways to gather as a community; the expansion of our national staff; the burgeoning efforts of the Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus; new programs & projects (and the renewal of some older ones!); and greater participation in the international movement of which we are a part -- just to name a few ways we're growing and developing.

What I most hope that you see and experience, however, is something which doesn't change -- namely our commitment to PRAYER, STUDY & ACTION. Since my first encounter with Pax Christi USA, our central methodology for living out our discipleship to the nonviolent Jesus and the practice of a faith that seeks justice and promotes peace has been our movement's deep roots in prayer, study and action.

As we worked on the general plan for 2021, I tried to capture what each of these look like for us as a community. For me our commitment to prayer means the promotion of a spirituality of nonviolence and peacemaking and rooting ourselves in an ethic of reconciliation with justice. Our commitment to study begins with the incorporation of an anti-racist lens to the issues we address, focusing on and examining root causes, and employing Catholic Social Teaching’s wisdom. And our commitment to action begins with a program of building community -- both local faith communities of resistance and mutual support (our local groups) and a national community connecting all the constituent elements of our movement together -- as well as organizing for concrete social change. These definitions, of course, aren't exhaustive, but they help me to keep my eyes attuned to the big picture of who we are, who we belong to, what we're called to do, and how we do it. I hope you feel this energy and hope alive in our movement today.

Read more below for a few highlights of this upcoming month, including our latest study circle on the new book on Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church by our July 2021 National Conference keynote speaker, Olga Segura. And we've changed how you can donate to Pax Christi USA for those of us who prefer not to use PayPal! You spoke and we listened! Check it out (and give!) below!

Peace to you and, as always, my deepest thanks!

In Christ's peace,

Johnny Zokovitch

Executive Director, Pax Christi USA

BLACK LIVES MATTER AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: JOIN OUR NEXT STUDY CIRCLE! Pax Christi USA is excited to announce our next offering in the “Love is Political: Literary Circles for Liberation” series! We just completed our "Advancing Nonviolence" study circles and the next study circle will read, reflect and analyze the new book from Olga Segura, Birth of a Movement: Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church. The Birth of a Movement study circles will take place between May 24 and July 19, with Zoom gatherings every other Monday evening, 7-8:30pm ET, beginning May 24th.

The Birth of a Movement study circles are aimed at exploring the myriad ways that the Black Lives Matter movement and the teachings of the Catholic Church intersect and how, by embracing the values of BLM, Catholics can begin to embody the values at the heart of what Jesus preached and practiced and the Church is called to imitate. Author Olga Segura, in relating the story of the Black Lives Matter movement through a Christian lens, guides readers toward insights and a deeper understanding of the movement and why it can help the church, and the country, move closer to racial equality.

Click here for more information, how to order the book, and to register to join us.

NO MORE PAYPAL! WE'RE USING A NEW DONATION PLATFORM: As of today, May 6, 2021, Pax Christi USA is moving to a new donation platform, CharityWeb. We’ve listened to the concerns that many in our movement have with giving through PayPal and we're happy to make the switch and start accepting donations now through CharityWeb! CharityWeb is a fundraising platform that specializes in serving nonprofits which have a desire to make a difference in the world. Now do us a big favor and go try it out by clicking here! Your donation will help us to see how well it is working and if we need to correct any glitches (smile).

Click here to make a donation today and try out the new platform!

(If you’ve been giving through PayPal, don’t worry! We’ll continue to accept donations through PayPal but would be happy to help move your support of us through CharityWeb if you’d like!).

AND DON'T FORGET!

>> Click here to vote for new members to the Pax Christi USA National Council!

>> Click here to nominate someone for the Teacher of Peace Award!

>> Click here to add your name to the sign-on ad on nuclear disarmament to appear in NCR in June!