Taking the Time to Make a Difference

My friend Jim McGinnis died unexpectedly while on his morning walk, near his home in St. Louis, Aug. 13. Jim and Kathy McGinnis are the founders of the Institute for Peace and Justice. The world is a better place because of them. For 39 years, Jim and Kathy have lived a life rooted in the Christian values of peace and justice. They have advocated peace, worked for justice, stood up, spoken out, sacrificed their possessions – and they have prayed. And they have prayed. Jim’s latest book is “Praying for Peace Around the World,” an invitation to pray and act for peace in 40 countries and around 13 issues of peace and justice. The book provides a descripton of situations in each country or of each issue, and invites the reader to pray personally, to pray in public worship services, and to act toward bringing peace and justice to each particular situation. Many people feel powerless as they look at a world full of simmering tension and open war. Not Jim or Kathy. They, along with St. Francis, invite us to join with them and with St. Francis, to pray for peace, and to “Let it begin with me.” Among the many collaborative efforts of Jim and Kathy was the establishment of the Families Against Violence Advocacy Network – which brought about the distribution of the Family Pledge of Nonviolence. The pledge, available in many languages, was designed to fit a document frame or a picture frame, or to be hung on the refrigerator door. The pledge begins with a space to write in the family name, and it ends with spaces for each family member to sign. “Making peace must start within ourselves and in our family,” it says. The pledge includes these promises: to respect self and others, to communicate better, to listen, to forgive, to respect nature, to play creatively and to be courageous. Each promise has an expanded description of what it means, for example, “to respect self and others” means “to respect myself, to affirm others and to avoid uncaring criticism, hateful words, physical attacks and self-destructive behavior.” “To communicate better” is “to share my feelings honestly, to look for safe ways to express my anger, and to work at solving problems peacefully.” “To be courageous” is “to challenge violence in all its forms whenever I encounter it, whether at home, at school, at work, or in the community, and to stand with others who are treated unfairly.” The pledge ends with a further promise to check ourselves on what we have pledged once a month for the next 12 months “so that we can help each other become more peaceable people.”

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The pledge is practical. It does not deny the reality of anger, for example, but rather asks us to look for safe ways to express anger. So, too, are the other promises — difficult perhaps, but always possible. More information about the work of Jim and Kathy McGinnis is available at www.ipj-ppj.org. Those initials stand for Institute for Peace and Justice and Parenting for Peace and Justice. The family has always been the focus of the possiblities – and the responsibilities – for bringing peace and justice to the world. Take the time to examine the pledge of nonviolence, as described briefly in this column or as provided in complete detail at the website. Pray with Jim and Kathy and St. Francis, for peace to begin, and “to let it begin with me.” And in our families.

Praying for Peace Around the Globe was published by Liguori Publications and is available from the Institute for Peace and Justice, 475 East Lockwood, St. Louis, Mo., 63119. Phone (314) 918-2630, e-mail ppjn@aol.com, or go to www.ipj-ppj.org.

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