Wednesday, October 8, 2025: Movie Night Announcement and  “Hope in the Face of a Fascist Threat” with Sr. Simone Campbell.



Movie Announcement: the date selected for the movie, Sovereign, is (drumroll please) 

Tuesday, October 28th at 1pm at Nancy and Bob’s. 

Address:  2404 Marylyn Circle, Petaluma.  

Please RSVP Nancy at RNMCFAR1938@yahoo.com or call 707-280-4705. 



“Hope in the Face of a Fascist Threat” with Sr. Simone Campbell, Sat. Oct. 25th

Dear friends, Blessings of Christ’s peace!

 

This morning, I finally finished reading Moby Dick after several years. I was spurred on to finish it recently after my conversation with Cornel West on “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” which I hope you will check out if you have not heard it. When I asked him about the growing fascism, authoritarianism, and white supremacy in our nation, he said, 

“Brother John, we’ve been dealing with this for centuries! Herman Melville told us this long ago. 

Ahab is insane, making his ship, filled with people of color from around the world, chase down the white whale of white supremacy. Trump is Ahab, and he is chasing down white supremacy, and it’s going to turn on us and destroy us all!” What a way to describe the moment we’re in!

     The insanity was on full display last week as the Secretary of War gathered a thousand generals for a big confab, and yelled at them for an hour to get in shape and get back to the basics of “warfighting". “We kill and break things for a living!” he told them. “Now get back to it!” U.S. warfighting, killing, and destroying continues daily with the funding of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as we mark the second anniversary, the war in Ukraine, and other wars and weapons. 

Meanwhile, the government shut continues, as I understand it, as the latest attempt by the Trump republicans to do away with the Affordable Care Act, which take away healthcare for millions of people. How do we resist this insane, criminal, hateful behavior? How do we follow the nonviolent Jesus in these times in faith and hope?

On October 25th, the Beatitudes Center will welcome Sr. Simone Campbell, one of the strongest voices and organizers for social and economic justice in the U.S., to speak on “Hope in the face of a fascist threat.” Sr. Simone received the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom for her leadership in passage of the Affordable Care Act, so she understands well what is happening. A Roman Catholic Sister of Social Service, she is a religious leader, attorney, and author.

For 17 years she was executive director of NETWORK, the Catholic Social Justice lobby and the leader of “Nuns on the Bus.” “I lobby from a contemplative stance in D.C.,” she said years ago. “It’s all about deep listening to the Spirit moving among us, to the deep needs of our people, and letting one’s heart be broken. That’s what we’re called to do.”

Don’t miss this chance to listen to this great advocate for justice on how we might keep going forward in prayer and hope to resist the rising fascism and do our part to create justice and peace.

To register, visit www.beatitudescenter.org.

The program will begin 11am Pacific/ 12pm Mountain/ 1pm Central/ 2pm Eastern time. You will receive the zoom link a few days beforehand, and a recording link afterwards. If you have questions, email Kassandra at beatitudescentermb@gmail.com. Scholarships are available.

May the God of peace bless us all. --Fr. John

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