Peacemaking is central to the mission of St. Joan of Arc. We regularly provide education and advocacy opportunities that intentionally focus on the Gospel call to peacemaking in our prayer, worship and action. 

Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)
For more than 15 years, the St. Joan of Arc WAMM Peacemakers group has worked to identify and address justified violence which is antithetical to the "good news" of the Gospel. We believe nonviolence is the humane answer to militarism, and institutional and personal violence. Our membership comprises St. Joan of Arc parishioners and members of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM). WAMM worldwide receives funding from the SJA Outreach Fund.

Our Goals:

1. To rediscover early Christian teachings and practices regarding war and the military in order to understand how our church turned away from the nonviolent practices of Jesus. 
2. To provide education and to engage in action that promotes peace and opposes militarism. 
3. To oppose militarism through direct nonviolent actions. 
4. To encourage St. Joan of Arc parishioners of all ages to embrace nonviolence. 

In order to better educate ourselves on what constitutes early Christian teachings and practices regarding war and military, we devote time at each meeting to study sources that attest to this early nonviolent tradition. Because later church teachings and practices sometimes deviate from, or even subvert the early nonviolent traditions, we feel it is important to recall it. 

Our group meets monthly on the fourth Tuesday of each month at St. Joan of Arc. If you are interested in joining the group, please contact our SJA staff liaison, Julie Madden, jmadden@stjoan.com.

The Pax Christi Vow of Nonviolence
Before God the Creator and the Sanctifying Spirit, I vow to carry out in my life the love and example of Jesus:

• by striving for peace within myself and seeking to be a peacemaker in my daily life; 
• by accepting suffering rather than inflicting it; 
• by refusing to retaliate in the face of provocation and violence; 
• by persevering in nonviolence of tongue and heart; 
• by living conscientiously and simply so that I do not deprive others of the means to live; 
• by actively resisting evil and working nonviolently to abolish war and the causes of war from my own heart and from the face of the earth. 

God, I trust your sustaining love and believe that just as You gave me the grace and desire to offer this, so You will also bestow abundant grace to fulfill it.

Links to other peace organizations

• Pax Christi USA (www.paxchristiusa.org): The national Catholic peace movement
• MN Alliance of Peacemakers (www.mapm.org): Network of local peace organizations, including SJA
• National Religious Campaign Against Torture (www.nrcat.org): Mobilizing the faith community to end torture that is sponsored or enabled by the U.S. 
• Iraqi American Reconciliation Project (www.reconciliationproject.org): Building bridges of peace between Iraqis and Americans

If you would like to be involved in these ongoing efforts, please contact Julie Madden at jmadden@stjoan.com.