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Next meeting March 13th at Immaculate Conception • Marian Hall • See notice below

Pax Christi, the Peace of Christ, strives to create a world that reflects this peace by witnessing to the call of Christian nonviolence. Although the majority of members are Roman Catholic, Pax Christi is open to all people who want to work for peace in the spirit of the nonviolent Jesus.

Pax Christi Memphis meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 1695 Central Avenue, at 6:45 pm in Marian Hall. The facility is handicap accessible. Entrance is on the west side of the church building. There is ample lighted parking and security.

In lieu of the regularly scheduled meeting, Pax Christi Memphis encourages all who are concerned about crime and youth violence to watch the 2011 documentary “The Interrupters” airing on Frontline on WKNO-TV on Tuesday, February 14. The documentary follows three former gang members – two men and one woman - as they intervene in various street conflicts to defuse violence. They are part of a Chicago program to reduce urban violence.

Click here for a New York Times Review of The Interrupters

Click the links below to read about
The USA at War • Ed Wallin in the Commercial Appeal
and Ray McGovern's Appearance At First Congo

Pax Christi Memphis
News and Notes
Number 2, 2012

January Meeting

All present signed a letter to Memphis City Council member Shea Flinn as a way of giving our moral support for leaders willing to address creative alternatives to violence.
A very good discussion of the concluding chapters of Jesus and Nonviolence, focused the challenge of our call to nonviolence since the events of September 11, 2001. We also identified ways and places where the Spirit is at work in transforming the world.
A suggestion was put forth that we develop a covenant for our local group based on the Vow of Nonviolence, post it at every meeting, and hold ourselves accountable for our faithfulness, or not, to nonviolence in speech and actions. This would be an effort to be more sensitive to each others’ differences within our own group. We agreed to take this up at a future meeting, perhaps making it the centerpiece of that meeting, to keep the practice of our Vow fresh in our ongoing relationships.
News items: Judy and Janice serve on the 30th Anniversary Planning Committee for the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center; Judy and Ed Wallin serve on the Planning Committee for the Ray McGovern appearance on Feb 23rd at First Congo. Pax Christi is co-sponsoring the event with Veterans for Peace.
Pax Christi Memphis has sent $100 from the treasury and a list of member names to Pax Christi USA for a 2012 group membership.
Those gathered stood to renew Vow of Nonviolence; most, if not all, signed the form and gave it to Janice to forward to the national office. Judy agreed to get paper copies to people not in attendance, and ask them to return it to Janice within one week if they wanted to have theirs included in the mailing to Pax Christi USA.
Then we had a PARTY!

February
View at home or at a venue of your choice "The Interrupters" which is a two-hour documentary that follows three former gang members – two men and one woman - as they intervene in various street conflicts to defuse violence. They are part of a Chicago program to reduce urban violence. (WKNO, February 14, 8 pm.)

Did you know?
What the connection is between Dr. Jonas Salk and the Tuskegee Institute?
When you read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot you will know. This book is recommended for Black History Month.
Also recommended: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson. The author will speak at the U of M Fogelman Center on March 1, sponsored by Facing History and Ourselves.

Reminder
Local dues (never too late) are $15 per person, $20 per couple or $5 for those on a limited income. Please send your checks made out "Pax Christi Memphis" to 4043 Allison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38122.

COMING EVENTS
• CMIRA (Christian Memphians for Immigration Reform) meets monthly on the first Friday, at noon. Location varies from month to month. Contact Judy Bettice for more information (327-8068).
• February 23: Veterans for Peace present Ray McGovern, retired CIA officer, at 7:30 PM, First Congregational Church.
• Vanderhaar Symposium, March 15, 2012 - "Compassion and Solidarity: Struggling for Justice, Building Peace" with Dr. Ida Maria Isasi-Diaz, Professor Emeritus of Christian Social Ethics and Theology at Drew University Theological School. First Congregational Church, 1000 South Cooper, at 7 PM.

Agenda Items
If you have anything you want to have discussed at our regular meeting, contact one of the members of the planning team at least ten days before the next meeting. Team members are Judy Bettice, Linda Raiteri, Altonette Stone and Janice Vanderhaar.