education

Just War/Just Peace

Just War or Just Peace?  No matter how you read it, we live in a world that is torn between the two.  We all say we want peace, but we can’t seem to agree on how to achieve it.  We’ve heard that “war is hell,” but we keep waging it.  Religious faiths add another dimension to the dilemma.  They preach peace, but often condone violence, even going so far as to provide a “Just War Theory.”  How are young people to make any sense of the contradictions?

Just War/Just Peace is an eight-lesson program for high school students that provides numerous opportunities for young people to explore relevant issues and critically analyze them.  It is rooted in the teachings on peace and war found in many religious faiths.  It uses diverse instructional strategies, including internet research, reading, discussion, moral dilemmas, simulations, and creative expression.  It does not take a stand, but encourages students to come to their own informed positions on such topics as patriotism and responsible citizenship, faith and service.  Its most basic and important goals are the cultivation of critical thinking and the deepening of faith to guide decision making and moral development in a world of difficult choices and endless contradictions.

The Just War/Just Peace manual is available for $20 plus $3 shipping and handling.  If you would like a copy, please contact the PCMNY office. Click here for program brochure.

FIRST STEPS: A Christian Conflict Resolution Program
Rooted in Scripture and designed primarily to help participants develop skills to resolve peacefully conflicts at home, with friends, at work, and in the larger community, First Steps participants are invited to view conflict and an opportunity for growth.   Read More


FROM CONFLICT TO COMMON GROUND: A Christian Conflict Resolution Process for High School Students

Pax Christi Metro New York has developed From Conflict to Common Ground, a fifteen-session program designed to teach young people positive, creative approaches to the conflicts they face daily. The program is unique because it instructs students in the methodology of peacemaking and places conflict resolution in a Christian context.
Read More

• Seventy Times Seven

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."    Matthew 18:21

Seventy Times Seven is a workshop based on the book, Seventy Times Seven: Forgiveness and Peacemaking by Doris Donnelly.  It incorporates prayer and various exercises to help participants develop understanding and skill.  Topics include Defining Forgiveness, Misconceptions, Personal Experiences, Steps to Forgiveness, Obstacles and Ways to Overcome Them.
Workshops average two hours. The suggested donation is $150 for a group or $15 per person.  They can be arranged by contacting Pax Christi Metro New York at 212-420-0250 or info@nypaxchristi.org

 

WhileDavid’s experience was international, the Maloof Family Peacebuilder Award is open to a wide range of peacebuilding activities at home or abroad. We believe that there are many young people who are engaged in excellent work to promote peace and who do so, at least in part, because of their faith. We also believe that their good work often goes unrecognized. We want to take this opportunity to correct that oversight and to encourage even more peacebuilding efforts.

 The Maloof Family Young Peacebuilder receives a $250 prize, along with a Certificate. Two additional young people receive a Certificate of Commendation. The Award is presented at a festive Peacemaker  Reception in the Spring.

Specific nomination information is mailed to each Catholic high school in the PCMNY region in late September. Information is also available by clicking here, or visiting us on Facebook.

We hope you agree that this is a great way to affirm deserving students for their important work for peace and an excellent way to foster more faith-filled endeavors to counter our violence-plagued culture with the youthful energy and creativity that nurture peace.

If you are affiliated with a Catholic high school in the PCMNY region, please be on the lookout for nomination instructions in the Fall.