Blessed Peacemakers

All of us yearn for a peaceable and just world, but some roll up their sleeves and set to work to make the dream real. Blessed Peacemakers celebrates 365 of them, one for each day of the year. Their stories are richly diverse. They share a commitment to peace and justice, but the various contexts in which they work make each of their stories uniquely instructive. The peacemakers include women, men, and children from across the globe, spanning some twenty-five hundred years. Many are persons of faith, but some are totally secular. Some are well known, while others will be excitingly new. They are human rights and antiwar activists, scientists and artists, educators and scholars, songwriters and poets, film directors and authors, diplomats and economists, environmentalists and mystics, prophets and policymakers. Some are unlettered, but all are wise. A few died in the service of the dream. All sacrificed for it. The world is a better place for the presence of blessed peacemakers. Their inspiring stories embolden readers to join them in nonviolent resistance to injustice and the creative pursuit of peace. ""Blessed Peacemakers is quite astonishing in its breadth and depth, examining 365 noble souls who devoted large parts of their lives to peacemaking and without whom the world would be a much poorer place."" --Helen Caldicott, Founding President of Physicians for Social Responsibility ""This inspiring and wonderful book gives a concise account of the core ideas, passions, and acts of the world's peacemakers over the last twenty-five hundred years. . . . These engaging essays deserve a read by anyone committed to making our world a more just and peaceful place."" --Donald B. Kraybill, Distinguished Professor at Elizabethtown College ""One excellent way to start the day is to read just one page of Blessed Peacemakers--read it in silence to yourself if you eat breakfast alone; read it aloud if there's more than one at the table. In some cases, you will already be aware of the person whose story is assigned to the day, in many cases not. In every case, you are in for encouragement and inspiration."" --Jim Forest, International Secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship ""Walters and Jarrell provide exemplars who encourage this world toward longevity and high quality of life. Like it or not, we need these exemplars because they remind us that self-sufficiency does not work outside of healthy communal practices--chief of which is peacemaking! Read Walters and Jarrell's excellent work and understand what I mean."" --Michael Battle, Founder of PeaceBattle Institute Kerry Walters teaches Philosophy as well as Peace and Justice Studies at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. The author or editor of more than twenty-five books, he is also a longtime peace activist. Robin Jarrell is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. She is past coeditor (with Kerry Walters) of Episcopal Peace Witness.