CIRCLES OF HOPE IN MEDITATION
REPORT ON
"CIRCLE of HOPE"
PAX CHRISTI PACIFIC NORTHWEST'S
ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
OCTOBER 29, 2005
This year Pax Christi Pacific Northwest invited the First Peoples to join us in expanding our Circle of Hope and to work for peace and social justice with grassroots representatives from diverse ethnic Catholic parishes. Sinopah'ki Circle, a member of the Native American Catholic Kateri Circle, worked with us in planning our assembly. Most ethnic groups were well represented; we'll be continuing, however, to invite an even larger diversity of people for the next 2 years to participate in Pax Christi USA's People's Peace Initiative.
The gathering began with a circle mass presided over by Fr. Dennis Donoghue SJ. Ted George, S'Klallam elder, shared inspirational words; Kathryn B. Keve, Quaker, instructed us on Compassionate Listening, Roger Fernandes of the Lower Elwha S'Klallam people, closed the gathering with two stories, the Clam Story and the Lifting up the Sky story, to lighten our hearts and send us on our way.
Our three sessions of talking circles/groups focused on the themes of Sharing Our Cultural Losses, Sharing Our Strengths and Dreams and Sharing Our Action Ideas; we moved from honoring our feelings of loss, to allowing ourselves to dream, and finally to commit ourselves to involvement in lessening the suffering of the world at this time.
Members and friends left full of hope, ready for action, ready to move into leadership and form circles of hope in the parishes and communities they were returning to, many expressing a wish to gather more than once a year to retreat and discern.
Peace.
Pax Christi Pacific Northwest
Coordinating Team