'Creating a culture of peace' - (Living the non-violent Gospel)

On Saturday 12th October, 18 religious and 14 associates/friends met in person at the FCJ Spirituality centre in Euston with a further 16 joining us by Zoom, for a day conference organised by JPIC LINKS (Justice Peace and the Integrity of Creation) on 'Creating a Culture of Peace - Living the Nonviolent Gospel'.

The day was facilitated by Andrew Jackson (CEO) and Sr Katrina Alton (Chaplain) from Pax Christi UK whose own beliefs are based on the gospel and inspired by faith. Their vision is of a world where people can live in peace, without fear of violence in any form.

Nonviolence: A Way of Life

We started the session with an activity that Katrina called the 'Spectrum of Violence'. We were given different scenarios and there were five volunteers from the group standing on the spectrum (an imaginary line across the stage) sharing where they were on that spectrum - one direction invited us to nonviolence and the other direction was to violence, eg Katrina used the scenario of a crowd gathering to protest outside a hotel, known to house asylum seekers. Those gathering are shouting "send them back - send them back'" but they are not throwing bricks, not attacking anybody, just shouting. The volunteers were asked to place themselves on the spectrum according to what degree of violence they felt the crowd was exhibiting. Do the volunteers go towards non- violent or violent?

Pax Christi International's definition of 'Nonviolence': "An effective strategy, a spirituality, and a way of life."

Pope Francis said in 2017: "To be true followers of Jesus today includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence. In the most local and ordinary situations and in the international order, may nonviolence become the hallmark of our decisions, our relationships and our actions, and indeed of the political life in all its forms…. May we make active nonviolence a way of life."

Nonviolence isn't about avoiding conflict, it's about stepping into the pain, and suffering and violence of our world with our nonviolent tool kit and the best model of that nonviolent toolkit is Jesus. In Mt. 5, 43-45 Jesus says: 'You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate our enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for anyone who ill-treats you then will be acting like your Father in heaven." Nonviolence reveals to us the very nature of God. We are not preaching this because it's some woke ideology that we just dreamed up, we are preaching this Gospel of nonviolent love because it reveals to us the very essence of God.

After a break, Katrina focussed on Dr Martin Luther King's Six Principles of Nonviolence and his definitions of Nonviolence

- Principle One: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
- Principle Two: Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.
- Principle Three: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people.
- Principle Four: Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and be transformative.
- Principle Five: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
- Principle Six: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.

Nonviolence is a way of life. Like Gandhi and Dorothy Day, Dr King learnt that nonviolence was more than a tactic and a methodology, it's a way of living, a way of living in God's reign, here and now in a world of violence. Dr King became more aware of this through what he called his own pilgrimage of nonviolence and as a theologian, his work is the bedrock of our modern day Christian theology on nonviolence.

Our afternoon sessions were led by Andrew Jackson who spoke on 'Advancing Nonviolence in the Church and the world.' He started with a short film called The Power of Active Nonviolence which highlights the mission of the Catholic Institute for Nonviolence, established by Pax Christi International's Catholic Nonviolence Initiative. Link to video Power of Active Nonviolence

'Religious communities and lay movements have tremendous transformative potential in promoting Gospel nonviolence in the life of the Church. With their global reach and the depth of their networks they touch the lives of the faithful in significant and formative ways'.

He gave six suggestions about how the culture of nonviolence, all aspects, can be integrated into the Church.

1) Formation: Integrate nonviolence into formation and ongoing formation programmes.
2) Advancing Nonviolence in the Church and the world.
3) Prioritise nonviolence in outreach and promotional materials being sent to prospective members.
4) Endorse the appeal of the Catholic Church to recommit to the centrality of Gospel nonviolence.
5) Advocate consistently nonviolent approaches on the local, national and international spheres. Mainstream the just peace norms, especially, in foreign policy frameworks and at the UN
6) Be present/take part in community acts of resistance and nonviolent witness, offering solidarity and accepting the consequences of such action.

Andrew gave us questions on which to reflect: Where do I think my community/gp. Stands on the integration of the gospel nonviolence into our lives and practice?

Is there one of those suggestions that my community/group could start on? What would be the first step?

We ended by making the vow of nonviolence written by Eileen Egan and Rev John Dear

RECOGNIZING THE VIOLENCE IN MY OWN HEART, yet trusting in the goodness and mercy of God, I vow for one year to practice the nonviolence of Jesus who taught us in the Sermon on the Mount:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God…. You have learned how it was said, "You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy", but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. In this way, you will be daughters and sons of your Creator in heaven".

I vow to carry out in my life the love and example of Jesus:

- By striving for peace within myself and seeking to be a peacemaker in my daily life;
- By refusing to retaliate in the face of provocation and violence;
- By persevering in nonviolence of tongue and heart;
- By living conscientiously and simply so that I do not deprive others of the means to live;
- By actively resisting evil and working non-violently to abolish war and the causes of war from my own heart and from the face of the earth.

God, I trust in Your sustaining love and believe that just as You gave me the grace and desire to offer this, so You will also bestow abundant grace to fulfil it.