Name: Jim McGinnis
Jim McGinnis is founder and program coordinator of the Institute for Peace and Justice, which he began in l970 when he was a faculty member in the Philosophy and Education departments of St. Louis University (l970-l975). Since l975, the Institute has been an independent interfaith not-for-profit corporation promoting peace and justice through education, social action, and prayer.
He is also the founder and international co-coordinator with Kathleen McGinnis of the Parenting for Peace and Justice Network, the animator of the Families Against Violence Advocacy Network (FAVAN), and the director of the Teens Acting for Peace Program, a special violence prevention training program designed to empower youth to live and teach the Pledge of Nonviolence in elementary schools and peace camp programs
Organizations:
Institute for Peace and Justice

1. How were you called to your current ministry/service?
   I was a graduate assistant at St. Louis University, teaching ethics, in the spring of 1970 when the University held an historic debate about its ROTC program. When the SLU President decided against his University Council’s recommendation to alter or terminate the program, and instead, moved it off campus for lower visibility, I was disturbed. This coincided with the killing of the Kent State students by Ohio National Guardsmen. A month later I saw a flyer advertising a talk on “Peace Studies” and decided to show up. Only one other person came to the talk, but I was so moved by this idea that I pursued other faculty members. Within 8 weeks we had created an undergraduate curriculum in Peace Studies, got it approved and got initial funding with myself as the first director. I completed my PhD in ethics during the next 4 years at SLU, with my dissertation on Gandhi. Our trip to India in 1972 to interview many of Gandhi’s co-workers and delve more deeply into nonviolence as a way of life had a profound effect on deepening the call to live and teach nonviolence in the holistic sense that Gandhi lived nonviolence.
   But I think the “call” went back two years earlier when I was a member of the Tennessee National Guard in Memphis when Dr. King was killed. I saw and challenged overt racist acts that night and felt I was being called, along with my wife Kathy, to a life that included working for racial justice. After Robert Kennedy was assassinated 2 months later and then my cousin David Darst (one of the “Catonsville Nine” burning draft board files in May 1968) was killed in a crash in 1969, I sensed that God was calling me to step up to the plate and do what I could to end the war in Vietnam and promote racial and economic justice.
2. Who inspires you?
   Dr. King, Gandhi, Francis of Assisi, Robert Kennedy, David Darst, Jim Douglass, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, the people of Nicaragua, and Kathy McGinnis.
3. What are the biggest obstacles to peace?
   The rampant materialism and militarism of the United States; the pervasiveness of the “power” of domination and its manifestations in racism and patriarchy (as well as materialism and militarism) in most societies; “exclusive” – i.e., tribal, “fundamentalist,” nationalistic, racist – values and behaviors.
4. What is the biggest challenge your organization faces?
   Two of the biggest organizational challenges – in contrast with the challenges of confronting violence and injustice – are financial and new leadership. We struggle every year for the resources to continue our ministry, always doing more with less. After 35 years, most of our supporters are older and our best constituents and customers for our resources are also older. It’s a real challenge to develop younger leadership, but we’re doing so through interns and volunteer service corps members.
5. How do you get the news?
   For news, I listen to NPR daily and watch PBS occasionally. I subscribed to the New York Times Internet service on global issues last year and continue to read a variety of analyses on the Internet and in selective newsletters/journals (e.g., Pax Christi USA, Sojourners, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Jubilee Partners).
6. How do you nurture your faith life?
   I nurture my faith life in several ways. Our African American Catholic parish is a tremendous source of faith, hope and love, with a special sensitivity to the needs of marginalized peoples in our community and world. The Eucharist has always been important for drawing me more deeply into the life of Jesus and in solidarity with the whole Body of Christ. Reflection on the Scriptures, silent meditation, and my “gratitude journal” are part of my daily faith life. Being part of a 4-family prayer group the past 27 years has been quite helpful. Reading the lives of people of faith and performing (as a clown) the life of Francis of Assisi challenge me to become ever more compassionate and courageous.
7. What advice would you give the next generation of church and civil leaders?
   My advice to younger leaders reflects the sources of my own growth and fidelity to the social mission of Jesus. Find “soul mates” – a life partner and close friends to nurture, challenge, and support you in your values. Link your life with people whose witness will stretch you and with people whose suffering and struggles will touch your heart. Reach out beyond your own comfort zone and ally yourself with people and groups from other racial/cultural groups, other faith communities, and people whose life experience is different from your own. Make time for daily communion with Jesus and the Word of God, for beauty and play, stay close to the earth and don’t be afraid to try new stuff. Becoming “Francis the Clown” at age 44 gave me a whole new lease on life and a whole new way of being and doing ministry.
8. Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t know.
   I make greeting cards out of the photographs I take of natural beauty, with the words on the back reading – “Savor creation as the revelation and celebration of God’s love.”
9. Last good book you read?
   THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver.
10. Last good movie you saw?
    HOTEL RWANDA
11. What were you like in High School?
    In high school I was a two-sport athlete, good student, and participated in what was called “Catholic Action” through the Young Christian Students movement. I dated a lot and worked as a park director and coach during the summer.
12. What is your favorite comfort food?
    Mixed nuts and Wine.
13. Share a favorite quote that inspires you.
    “In the face of escalating violence, escalate love.” This came to me the night the US began bombing Iraq in January 1991. I left a gathering of peace activists at the Episcopal Cathedral in St. Louis and began walking alone, asking Jesus “what do you want of me in the face of this new violence?” Within in a few moments, I knew – “in the face of escalating violence, escalate love.” And I carry a “pebble of love” in my pocket as a symbol of all the tiny acts of kindness and love I can commit every day as a way of offsetting the impact of the “boulders of violence” on our lives and world.