Kathy Kelly shares haunting stories of her visits to Afghanistan and the work of resolving to abolition war. Medea Benjamin, Code Pink, connects police brutality, the militarization of the police, the wars overseas, and the employment of veterans suffering from PTSD in our police department. Sister Joan Brown follows with a heartfelt description of climate change and the ensuing political, social, economic, and environmental pressures as a crisis of the soul. Lastly, Rev James Lawson speaks on the United States as an empire and the importance of creating a culture that is not upside down … but upside right! The Q & A contains many questions for the panelists on a broad range of topics.

In the final closing panel of the Campaign Nonviolence National Conference, Father John Dear began the discussion by explaining the three ways to practice nonviolence and how the imagination is pivotal in creating a nonviolent world. Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence shared her personal reflections and some challenging questions on what the practice of nonviolence looks like in our lives. Medea Benjamin of Code Pink spoke powerfully on how the United States could use the practice of peace and nonviolence to repair our relationships around the world, and also the importance of the Iran Deal. Roshi Joan Halifax of Upaya Zen Center described the strengths and challenges of moral outrage in our practice of making change. Pace e Bene Director Ken Butigan introduced the concept of the pilgrimage to describe the journey of Campaign Nonviolence for both the movement and the participants. Rev. James Lawson finished the evening with comments on his labor organizing experiences, the importance of face-to-face, one-on-one strategies of working with one’s local community, and his personal recommendations for Campaign Nonviolence as it moves forward.

Nearly three hundred citizens from across the country and local New Mexico communities gathered at the birthplace of atomic bomb, Los Alamos, to meditate, march, and renew the commitment to peace, nonviolence, and nuclear disarmament. Father John Dear led the traditional Christian sackcloth and ashes ritual of repentance from violence and nuclear weapons. The line of marchers processed along Trinity Drive with signs and banners. They sat along the busy road in silent contemplation and vigil as they demonstrated for nuclear disarmament. Then, the citizens marched back to Ashley Pond, where speakers delivered remarks underneath the swaying strings of 70,000 Cranes for Peace folded by people from around the world. Medea Benjamin of Code Pink, Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Beata Tsosie-Peña from Santa Clara Pueblo, Ken Butigan of Pace e Bene/Campaign Nonviolence, and Rev. James Lawson.