A Talk by Ann Wright and Ray McGovern
The Fierce Urgency of Now!
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Every August for the past twenty summers, the National Kateri Shrine in Fonda, NY has played host to the Kateri Peace Conference. Year after year, this mid summer "meeting at the edge of the woods" has offered the Capital District an opportunity to explore and to find a way forward through the tangled and ever entwining paths of racism, militarism and excessive materialism to the noble and sustainable ground of peace and justice.
August after August, folks who care deeply about a just society have gathered to listen, to share and to learn in a day of personal reflection and commitment to fulfilling the dream of truth, justice and equality. Every meeting of this twenty year quest has been punctuated by a deep concern for the world, tempered by insight and inspiration for envisioning, walking and working towards what it could be. There has always been joy and celebration in finding companionship and community, a source of sustenance for the challenges on the road ahead.
Kateri 2018 promises to provide another milestone on this continuing journey. Anchored in the realities of the geopolitical moment, our conference will invite both presenters and participants to vision both greater clarity and purpose regarding " the now" in the " tides of the affairs of men”.
This year’s speakers are renowned for their courage in embracing the journey, seeking truth, and acting with compassion and an unbridled fierceness to stop the killing of the US war machine. We will continue this work seeking peace with justice, ending war, exploring nonviolent love in action and ways toward economic equality.
One of the constants of the Kateri Peace Conference is our willingness to embrace change and experiment with programming. Our hope has always been to reach out and engage the community as broadly and deeply as possible while providing a rich opportunity for feeding joy and a spirit of celebration.
https://kateripeaceconference.org/2018-conference/fierce-urgency-now
