Dear friends,

I have just learned that Jim McGinnis died on August 13.  A life-long teacher of peace, Jim and his spouse Kathy McGinnis co-founded the Institute for Peace and Justice in St. Louis, MO.

Click here to read a story about Jim’s life and death published by the Catholic News Service.

In my experience, Jim’s life shone with the vivid light of nonviolent transformation rooted in the grace of the Nonviolent God and in his own willingness to engage fully with the woundedness and sacredness of his life journey.  It was a privilege to share time together in a variety of context over the years, including a Pace e Bene weekend he participated in some years ago. 

He and Kathy McGinnis made an incalculably profound contribution to the pedagogy and formation process of a just and lasting peace: in the family, in communities, and in the larger world.

All of us will miss Jim’s wisdom and presence, even as we continue to benefit in direct and indirect ways from his life’s work.

Click here to see the many nonviolence resources that Jim and Kathy created at the institute.

Ken Butigan

Photo: Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton, IA