PCMA Assembly November 2, 2024 featuring Frida Berrigan
Attendees virtual and in-person heard Frida Berrigan on Hope and Joy, honored Peacemakers and listened to a Panel of Young Peacemakers on their work
Sixty stalwart peace advocates gathered at St. Susanna’s Parish in Dedham for “Cultivating Peace, Creating Joy—No Matter What,” the PC-Massachusetts Annual Assembly. Another 18 joined in virtually.
St. Susanna pastor Father Steve Josoma welcomed all and Craig Simpson acknowledged the land use. Irene Descharnais and Father Rocco Puopolo, SX, led all in a moving opening prayer with video, song, and the poem-prayer “Beatitudes for the 21st Century.” Father Rocco also also served as emcee for the day’s program.
Keynote speaker Frida Berrigan spoke (time mark 48:45 on video) with insight and humor on her topic of cultivating peace and joy. Although she started with a litany of things that might crush hope and joy—world conflicts, climate change, a bloated military-industrial complex—her tone shifted after she read Wendell Berry’s poem “The Mad Farmer.” (time mark 1:02:00). She offered several examples of what brings her hope:
- Phoenix Project, a group of Israeli and Palestinian youth which are developing an actionable Middle East Peace plan
- The recognition of Nition Hidankyo (a hibakusha organization, working for peace for 79 years) with the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize
- Planting garlic
- Community land trusts
- Walks in solidarity
- Multi-faith peace efforts
- Gatherings—“Such a this one today, where people come together and wear name tags and drink coffee…and share ideas and feed one another temporal sustenance and buoy each others’ spirits.”
- The arts
- The human impulse to see a gap, a need, and do the hard work—“the list maintenance, the phone calling, the letters, the cataloging”—to fill the breach
She closed her remarks with a reading of the poem “Some,” by her uncle, Dan Berrigan, SJ (time mark 1:37:00).
During the question-and answer session following her presentation, Ms. Berrigan touched on the sacrifices her family made to adhere to their values as peacemakers. One attendee reminisced about celebrating Dan Berrigan’s birthday with her Pax Christi Metro New York chapter. She said when he was asked how he maintained hope, he replied “by doing hopeful things.” Others shared their own sources of hope and joy and Ms. Berrigan reflected on each: imagination, poetry, theatre, music, Earth, prayer, community, resistance, creativity.
After lunch the 2024 Peacemaker Awards were conferred (time mark 4:22:00). This year’s awardees are:
Barbara and Jim Allaire, for their long-time peace and justice work at Sacred Heart/Our Lady Collaborative.
Pastor Lauren Holm, who has shepherded not only her Lutheran congregation, but Greater Springfield Campaign Nonviolence since its inception 14 years ago.
Jennifer, James and Josiah Brunault, Western MA, earned the inaugural Family Peacemaker Awards for their individual and collective efforts; Jenn for her work with Pax Christi from a young age, Jim for his work on pro-life and disability issues. As a family they support the Catholic Worker community.
Muna Killingback, a Palestinian Christian and a Board of Trustees Co-Chair for the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, gave a brief, emotional retrospective on Palestinian history, and greetings from Palestinian Christians (time mark 4:41:00). “A genocide of people is going on and they ask for our active solidarity,” she said.
After lunch, the PCMA held its annual meeting, heard its financial report and elected members of the Board of Directors.
The afternoon panel (time mark 5:03:00) featured Young Peacemakers Maria Udalova, a senior at Brookline High School and a nuclear disarmament advocate; Edgar Hayes, a member of the Agape Board and Mission Council, an elder and lay pastor in the Hudson River Presbytery, and a cofounder of Freedom Farm Community in Mount Hope, NY, and Jeanelle Wheeler, who has deep roots in local peace activist spaces such as the Catholic Worker Movement, the Agape Community, and Pax Christi. They discussed what drew them to peace work and what sustains them. Ms. Udalova encouraged listening to people with other viewpoints and asked all to encourage young peacemakers wherever we find them. Mr. Hayes spoke of his work rooting out institutional racism, and Ms. Wheeler talked about the importance of imagination as we approach the work of peacemaking.
A short small-group discussion followed.
Frida Berrigan brought banners delineating the history of the War Resisters League, and exhibitor tables displayed information on Indigenous Rights, Catholic Climate Action, Agape, and Options for Actions. Fair trade coffee from Honduras and Phil Berrigan’s writing were available for purchase. Action items offered included postcards to the detainees at Guantánamo, postcards to President Biden about Gaza, and a petition asking Pope Francis to travel to Gaza.with humanitarian aid.