History and Structure
Structure
Members of PCMDCB are welcome to attend monthly meetings of the regional council and/or join its committees, which plan and sponsor nonviolent, peace-affirming activities in the area, often in collaboration with other faith-based and secular groups. Members also are encouraged to seek out a local Pax Christi group, usually based in a parish, where the activities of prayer, study, and action address issues of concern to the group.
We assist our parent organization, Pax Christi USA (PCUSA), in influencing the national policy discourse, and we share its priorities: spirituality and practice of nonviolent peacemaking; disarmament, demilitarization, and reconciliation with justice; economic and interracial justice in the United States; and human rights and care for creation.
Members of PCMDCB and local groups are not automatically members of PCUSA, but all are encouraged to join PCUSA to receive its benefits, such as resources for prayer, study, and action; communications about activities of the peace community; access to helpful webinars; and participation in online discussion groups and monthly peace Masses.
PCUSA is itself a member of Pax Christi International (PCI), which coordinates a global network of Catholic peace organizations, works for peace on the international policy stage, and sends representatives to the United Nations as a non-governmental organization (NGO). PCI does not have individual memberships, but donations to its Fund for Peace are gratefully accepted.