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Pax Christi Florida is a regional section of Pax Christi USA andPax Christi International .

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Discerning the Future of Pax Christi Florida

YOUR input is needed!  

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***** Click    here   to take survey! ***** Please take time to fill out this important survey to help us discern the future of Pax Christi Florida. Your input is very valuable to us.  We are at a “crossroads” and are looking for direction from the Holy Spirit and from YOU!  You will have 3 weeks to complete it, and then it will be closed so that we can evaluate and inform you of the results.  We ask for your prayers as we discern together where the Holy Spirit is leading us.

A Letter from PCF’s Coordinator:Dear PCFL Members and Friends,Pax Christi Florida has been in existence for 33 years now, and some of us recently met for a discernment process to talk about the future of PCF.  With so many of our faithful members now aging, having health issues and family needs to be met, we feel it is time to take a long, hard look at where we are and how to move forward with these realities.  Our Council has diminished in number as has the attendance at our annual retreats and assemblies. My second three-year term is coming to an end this October, and I will not be renewing for another term. Some think it may be possible to let our local groups continue where they are still active, and allow the state organization to go   inactive.  

Others see a need for a total re-organization, one that will attract young people and use more social media to connect with one another.  You may have other ideas; but what we are looking for are the human resources to put those ideas into practice as well, or their just nice ideas. urge you to take this survey  so we can garner your ideas and your ability to get engaged with them.  We hope to obtain a better sense of what direction the Spirit is pointing us to and where we should go from here.  Please take the survey today!Peace of Christ,Nancy O’Byrne, PCF State Coordinator   

Take Survey NOW! 

PRAYER

STUDY

Harriet Tubman and the Currency of Resistance by Amy Goodman, Denis MoynihanThe story of Harriet Tubman, of her courageous resistance to injustice, of her fight to free slaves, for equality for women—all this must be the common currency of our democracy.

Still in the Bush Embrace: What Really Stands in the Way of Closing Guantánamo  by Karen GreenbergIts name still echoes through the halls of Congress in bitter debate over what should or shouldn’t be done with it. It remains a global symbol of the worst America has to offer.

 

ACTION

“Enough with Wendy’s excuses…!”

For a collection of resources to consider for reflecting on the upcoming election, click here. (Note that inclusion of a resource below does not equal an endorsement by Pax Christi USA.) 

 

 

The Rome Conference on Nonviolence: A Turning Point in Historyby Mairead Maguire I believe the misguided age of "blessing wars, militarism and killing" must end. 

 

Six Years After the BP Spill, Feds Plan to Lease More of the Gulf for Offshore DrillingMike Ludwig, Truthout: As Gulf Coast residents observe the anniversary of the BP oil spill, federal regulators are attempting to gauge the potential impacts of leasing large sections of the Gulf of Mexico and Arctic seas to private energy companies. Another catastrophic spill would be "unexpected," but are fossil fuels worth the risk?Read the Article  

 

Support for national boycott of Wendy’s building as Month of Outrage protests take place in Florida and beyond…Since the launch of the Wendy’s Boycott Month of Outrage earlier in April, the Fair Food Nation has stepped up and turned up the heat on the hamburger giant.  Today, we have a photo report from the past week’s wave of actions in Denver, Washington DC, and right here in Florida!

For more information and photos, clickhere.

Take Action:  Join CIW's boycott! 

 

PCF Member, Mary Ann Holtz, Invites Us to Celebrate Earth Day 2016

Dear friends and colleagues, In past years for Earth Day I shared with you my document "10 Action Steps", steps we can all take to address our environmental and economic challenges. This year I invite you to join me in taking a very specific step, one that will help empower people who are directly experiencing the impacts of climate disruption: girls in Haiti. My friends at Beyond Borders have helped me understand one of the ways that the intensification of the drought/flood cycle in Haiti is harming girls and women.  On the small island off the main island, women and girls spend one full day of every 2 days walking to find and carry water back to their families.  And with the intensification of drought related to climate disruption they are having to walk further and further.  The current  Girl Power Haiti ! campaign will fund a number of innovative strategies for empowering girls and women in Haiti, including some related to water resources.

 I have been a passionate supporter of Beyond Borders' work in Haiti since I first connected with them in 1994.  I invite you to make a donation through my personal fundraising page:http://girlpowerhaiti.org/mary-ann-holtzwhich includes a 3 minute video and other details of the campaign. I will personally match any donation you make through my page,   as well as donations from  those of you who prefer mailing your donation (mail it to  PO Box 2132,  Norristown, PA 19404, with the notation "Mary Ann Holtz match").

For 11 consecutive years Beyond Borders has earned the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent evaluator of charities.  Peace,Mary Ann Holtz   

COST OF WAR

 THE COST OF THE WAR AS OF 4/21/16  Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare. It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict: yes to dialogue and no to violence; yes to negotiations and no to hostilities; yes to respect for agreements and no to acts of provocation; yes to sincerity and no to duplicity. All of this takes courage, it takes strength and tenacity.  

- Pope Francis, Address of the Holy FatherInvocation for Peace, June 8, 2014

IRAQ

Total Number of U.S. soldiers killed:                        4,497 Deaths – State of Florida:                                        196 Financial Cost to U.S. Taxpayers:                           $819,300,000,000+ Every hour, taxpayers in Florida are paying $7,174 for Cost of War in Iraq.

 AFGHANISTAN

Total Number of U.S. soldiers killed:                        2,381 Deaths – State of Florida                                        154           Financial Cost to U.S. Taxpayers:                           $734,300,000,000+ Every hour, taxpayers in Florida are paying $245,495  for Cost of War in   Afghanistan

COST OF MILITARY ACTION AGAINST ISIS

Total cost of military action against ISIS to U.S. to taxpayers: $9,200,000,000+ Every hour, taxpayers in Florida are paying $37,732 for Cost of Military Action

Against ISIS .

  

Related Stories: More 'Boots on the Ground' as Obama Again Bolsters Endless Iraq Warby Nika KnightDepartment of Defense announces "boots on the ground" deployment, says U.S. troops are needed to fight ISIS 

 

The U.S. Pentagon and military has more money than it needsIt’s hard to draw any other conclusion from the stark facts: the U.S. outspends every other nation on earth when it comes to our military. We spend more than the next seven countries combined.Where does the money go?Here’s a hint: Pentagon spending is subject to the same rules of corporate greed that plague our entire economy. More than half of the Pentagon budget goes to for-profit-  contractors Let’s get the word out there. The less we spend on Pentagon contractors that profit from fear and conflict, the more we can spend on priorities like education, climate change and infrastructure to move our country forward into the 21st first century. It’s time we joined the rest of the world.

Go to National Priorities Project for more information. 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

 

PAX CHRISTI FLORIDA

Our planet is currently losing over 15 billion trees each year due to deforestation, land development, and bad forest management (that is roughly 48 football fields every minute). - Earth Day Network (EDN) 

NOTE:  EDN is announcing Trees for the Earth (#Trees4Earth), a plan to plant 7.8 billion trees by Earth Day’s 50th in 2020. That is one tree for every person on the planet! - To learn more, click here.

 

PAX CHRISTI USA

 

To read Pax Christi USA's Spring 2016 Membership Newsletter, click here.  

Register today for Pax Christi USA's National GatheringRegistration is now open for the 2016 Pax Christi USA National Gathering to take place in Linthicum, Maryland. The theme of the gathering is "Building the Beloved Community: Addressing the Signs of the Times with Bold Conversations Leading to Transformative Actions". The dates for the assembly are Friday, August 12, 2016 through […]Read more of this post 

Pax Christi USA Members Participate in Historic Nonviolence and Just Peace Conference in Rome This past week, Pax Christi International co-convened with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, UISG/USG and many other international Catholic organizations, an international conference on nonviolence and just peace. Several members of Pax Christi USA from various regions were participants in the meeting, including Pax Christi International Co-President and PCUSA Ambassador of Peace Marie Dennis, former PCUSA National Coordinator Anne McCarthy, osb, former PCUSA National Council Chair Judy Coode, former PCUSA staff member Jean Stokan, and PCUSA Ambassador of Peace Rev. John Dear, among others. To see the conference statement,   click here . For media coverage of this historic gathering, go to:  https://paxchristiusa.org/2016/04/16/news-media-coverage-of-nonviolence-and-just-peace-conference-in-rome/

PAX CHRISTI INTERNATIONA

L 

Haiti: Report on human rights situationPax Christi International and several member organisations were consulted during the writing of the “First-hand Assessment of the Human-rights Situation in Haiti,” which was submitted in March for consideration to The Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council. Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, suffers from very high unemployment, high rates of violence disproportionately affecting the poorest segments of society, and a lack of universal access to education. The document provides the Haitian Government with recommendations that can contribute to a constructive review of the human-rights situation in Haiti, prioritising the

To read Pax Christi International's latest newsletter, click here.

reality of the most marginilized. Read the document in   English .

- See more at: http://www.paxchristi.net/news/haiti-report-human-rights-situation/5889#sthash.j0wFRc4u.dpuf 

 

LIVING GREEN

On Care of Our Common Home Series 

Catholic Theological Union's 'On Care for Our Common Home Series' gives insight into 'Laudato Si' through select passages which illuminate the new appeal from Pope Francis addressed to "every person living on this planet" for an inclusive dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. The series features nine CTU faculty members giving short reflections on selection passages from the encyclical. The series was designed for use by parish groups and other discussion gatherings, and for personal reflection. A Study Guide is available. 

Access the series on Learn@CTU here:   http://learn.ctu.edu/common-home  

 

These Six Environmental Heroes are Changing the World. Find Out How. by Deirdre FultonThis year's Goldman Environmental Prize winners hail from Baltimore, Cambodia, Peru, Puerto Rico, Slovakia, and Tanzania   

10 Things You Can Do To Help The Planet: (Source: FCPJ newsletter)

Switch to low energy light bulbs Use a hybrid or electric car or combine trips  Reuse, Reduce and then, Recycle Install a low flow showerhead, fewer tub baths,and check faucets for water leaks Improve the insulation of your house Eat less meat & more greens Vote for green politicians ??? Join a conservation organization  -- FCPJ, maybe. Take public transportation or ride a bicycle to work or school or car pool Educate yourself - then educate others

   

Copyright © 2015 Pax Christi Florida All rights reserved. Prayer-Study-Action E-Newsletter

Our mailing address is: Pax Christi FloridaMercy-on-the-Manatee505 Palm AvenueEllenton, FL 34222

Pax Christi Florida's Coordinator Nancy O'Byrne (obyrnen@bellsouth.net; 904-461-9216) 

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