Earlier this month, several members of Pax Christi Springfield gather for a peace service in the rose garden of Washington Park in Springfield to commemorate the anniversary of the U.S. Bishops’ pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response. The letter was first issued on May 3, 1983.

Members of the Springfield diocese recently observed an important anniversary of the U.S. Catholic bishops' peace pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response.

In the 1983 document, every diocese and parish in the United States was urged to educate on the issues of war and peace, said Sister Jane Boos, SSND, who directs the diocesan Office for Social Concerns. That's why, over the past several weeks, she has asked people from throughout the diocese to document how they are working for peace.

For example, the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis in Springfield have a "peace pole" which is used for personal and group prayer. The sisters participate in local prayer services and vigils for peace, including this year's reconciliation services connected with the 100-year anniversary of the Springfield Race Riots. They also advocate peace by sending e-mails, writing letters and making phone calls to elected officials.

Sister JoAn Schullian, OSF, pastoral associate at Our Lady of Lourdes in Decatur, said people on the parish Social Justice Committee are active in various ways. "The Social Justice Committee members take turns writing an article each week for our parish bulletin to educate our parishioners on the violent and unjust situations that are taking place all over the world as in Darfur, various parts of Africa, the Middle East and in the United States," she said.

The committee has also sponsored the selling of Fair Trade products such as coffee, tea, cocoa and chocolate. Several women conduct Scripture sessions at a women's prison and visit with the residents. Others reach out to seniors and the mentally handicapped. OLOL also has a "sister parish" in St. James the Apostle in Guatemala. An extra collection is taken up every month to send to the pastor to use as needed.

These are just a few ways parishioners promote peace, said Sister JoAn, who is president of Macon County Citizens Opposing Capital Punishment and a board member of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Several OLOL parishioners are active members of MCCOCP, she said.

Since the 1983 gathering of the General Assembly and General Chapter, the Dominican Sisters of Springfield have been actively advocating justice and peace.  In 1993, the community began its work in social analysis and developed a process to make public statements about injustices. They have taken a corporate stance on issues, including housing justice, closing the School of the Americas, abolition of the death penalty, opposition to economic sanctions and the Iraq War, and supporting a moratorium on planting genetically modified organisms.

The Springfield Dominicans have also studied racism and its effects on their congregation and have committed themselves to becoming an anti-racist congregation. In 1996 and 1997, the community organized to form what is now known as MERCY Communities, a transitional housing program for women and children in central Illinois.

From Friday, May 2 through Sunday, May 11, Pax Christi Springfield invited individuals, parishes and schools to observe "Ten Days in May" by praying communally and individually, during Mass and in prayer circles for peace in the world. The group also asked people to pray for a stronger commitment to build and proclaim peace from the Catholic Church.

Within the pastoral letter, the bishops "forever enshrined peacemaking as an imperative of our faith," said Diane Lopez Hughes, who is co-convener of Pax Christi Springfield with Sister Maureen Irvin, OSF. Additionally, Lopez Hughes is also a national board member of Pax Christi USA, while Sister Maureen is also Justice and Peace coordinator for the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis.

Lopez Hughes, Sister Maureen, and other supporters of Pax Christi ventured out in the chilly, damp late afternoon on May 8 to hold up a Peace Flag and conduct a prayer service in the rose garden of Washington Park in Springfield. During the peace service they prayed not only for the beauty of the Earth and peace to its inhabitants, but also for the victims and families of the cyclone in Myanmar, the homeless and for compassionate vision in leaders.

Finally, participants in the ceremony took home spring flowers to plant in their gardens. Sharing these flowers ties in with Pax Christi's promotion of parish initiatives to develop green parish programs in the Springfield area.

Pax Christi Springfield holds a weekly Saturday peace vigil outside the Federal Building on Sixth and Monroe streets in Springfield, an annual Mass for Peace, and an Ecumenical Epiphany Service for Peace, said Lopez Hughes.

Pax Christi also co-sponsors an annual interfaith service on the anniversary of the Iraq occupation, a Good Friday Way of the Cross, annual Springfield Peace Camp, International Day of Peace, presentations by speakers of national scope, and an annual alternative Fair Trade gift sale in early December.

"We also provide Pax Christi-focused peace and justice presentations ... to schools and groups," said Lopez Hughes. "We volunteer at the Springfield Spillover Shelter for persons who are homeless, providing a meal and supervision once a month from November through March."  

"Peace and Justice work includes opposing war and fostering peace, but is also comprised of all the issues of justice as well," concluded Sister Marceline Koch, OP, justice and peace promoter for the Springfield Dominicans. "Our sustained social analysis continues to make those connections and demonstrates why we must work for justice in order to have peace."