On September 28, 2024, a large crowd gathered from all over Maine to hear Fr. John Dear, priest, author, activist present on “Living Peace, Practicing Nonviolence: Lessons from Jesus, Gandhi and King for Today.”
Fr. John has dedicated his life to following the way of the nonviolent Jesus in all its aspects, in daily practice and global applications. In his usual engaging and animated style, Fr. John taught, inspired and challenged his audience. Throughout the daylong conference, Fr. John posed direct questions, “How are you living peace?”; “Where are you on the journey of nonviolence?”;”What do you resist surrendering to God?”
Fr. John brought so many Gospel stories to life, illustrating the teachings of Jesus, the doubts held by his disciples, the realities of the oppressive Roman empire in his time and so much more. In addition, he drew upon the life and teachings of Mohandas Gandhi and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. both dedicated nonviolent practitioners, who transformed lives, communities and nations.
Fr. John’s mission led him to seminary and ordination as a Catholic priest. Over many years, he has served at several churches, taught at universities, led delegations of peacemakers into war zones and served jail time for acts of civil disobedience protesting war and nuclear weapons alongside of Dan and Phil Berrigan and others.
Fr. John served as the Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and was Coordinator of Chaplains at Ground Zero following events of 9/11 in NYC. His lifelong dedication to peace and nonviolence has been recognized by a series of nominations for the Nobel Peace prize.
In 2016, Fr. John participated in meetings at the Vatican urging the Catholic Church to recommit to the centrality of Gospel Nonviolence and a Just Peace approach to global conflict and war. Pope Francis collaborated with Fr. John and others on his 2017 World Day of peace message on Nonviolence. Fr. John founded the Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus in 2020 and recently wrote his 40th book titled, The Gospel of Peace: Commentary on Matthew, Mark and Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence.
For more information on bio, books and programs, see https://beatitudescenter.org/about-john-dear/
This event was co-sponsored by the Center for Faith and Spirituality, Maine Council of Churches, Pax Christi Maine, Special Care Service of Maine, The Chaplaincy Institute of Maine, and the Unity Center for Spiritual Growth.
