Name: Chris Inserra Chris Inserra is a mother, Human Rights Organizer including School of the Americas Watch, Community Activist, Counter-recruitment/anti-militarization work, Teacher, Musician, coach, and youth group leader. Organization: School of the Americas Watch, Walk on Water youth group, Save Senn Coalition Organization Websites: www.soaw.org www.savesenn.org
- How were you called to your current ministry/service? My heart and my faith call me every day in different ways. Since high school (1972-1976) I have been involved in grassroots organizing at local, national and international levels. What I am doing currently represents the ongoing journey to make the connections to all levels of justice and find ways to respond.
- Who inspires you? I am inspired by hundreds and thousands of people whom I have come to know thru history as well as personal meetings including the following: Rosa Parks, Ghandi, Aung San Suu Kyi , Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King; survivors of torture (Adriana Bartow, Dianna Oritz, Brenda Manazardo); antiwar activists Cindy Sheehan and Camilo Mejia; immigrants marching for justice; mothers in prison and their children who are waiting for their moms to come home; everyday folks in our midst who struggle day by day.
- What are the biggest obstacles to peace? Ignorance and apathy fuel inaction as well as the lack of dialogue. If people are not willing to understand the larger world and their role and responsibility as citizens of the world, injustice will prevail.
- What is the biggest challenge your organization faces? Ignorance, apathy and the unwillingness of many to step outside their comfort zone remain ongoing challenges in all arenas
- Describe for us a typical day. As you can see by what I have listed under “Title” above, I do not have a typical day. Two days a week I teach (27 classrooms preschool thru 6th grades) in our local Chicago public school, Peirce, where my three children attend. As a Local School council member and co-chair of the Multilingual Parent Teacher Student Organization at Peirce, I am often found at Peirce. I work out of our home to do the SOAW and Counter-recruitment/anti-militarization work. As a musician I can be found in the streets at rallies/marches, in concert halls, schools, and beyond.
- How do you get the news? I listen to NPR, read the Tribune, New York Times, the Progressive Magazine and various online sources in addition to other alternative press.
- What are your favorite websites and why? No favorites…just use many that connect me to the various issues I am involved in.
- How do you nurture your faith life? Church time is split between St. Gertrudes Parish (my home base) and Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ(my husband’s home base)….special readings and reflections fuel my pray as do ongoing events of justice with faith based organizations.
- What advice would you give the next generation of church and civic leaders? Get involved in as much as you can, listen to diverse voices, find mentors, take time for reflection and prayer, make connections between issues and groups, take action in whatever small or large way you can and find ways to laugh and breathe. You can make a difference.
- Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t know. I love lilacs and learn so much from my three children…especially how to laugh more.
- Last good book you read? Disturbing the Peace on the life of Fr. Roy Bourgeois, SOAW founder
- Last good movie you saw? Whale Ricer
- What were you like in High School? Involved in sports, musicals, church youth group(including guitar group at mass, organizer with United Farmworkers, loved retreats and faith-based classes, babysitter….very busy.
- If you were a teenage Peacebuilder you would… Encourage my friends to learn more and find a way to respond to the larger world
- What is your favorite comfort food? Chips, salsa, avocados and cheese
- Share a favorite quote that inspires you.
“ …and when there is a promise of a storm, if you want change in your life, walk into it. If you get on the other side, you will be different. And if you want change in your life and you’re avoiding the trouble, you can forget it.”
--Bernice Johnson Reagon of Sweet Honey in the Rock
