Throughout history, Christians have engaged the politics of nation-state in many different ways. Most have chosen their path of engagement with much discernment and deep convictions. They seek to participate in God’s restorative work in the world, but have come to different conclusions on how to make peace real on a systemic level. In this webinar, we will hear from two friends who were part of the same Jesuit order early in life (and roommates!) and in the decades since have chosen sharply contrasting paths toward living those convictions as Christians in the United States.
Juan Vargas is a senior representative in the United States House of Representatives. From the halls of power, and informed by the reality on the streets of his neighborhood, Rep. Vargas is a fierce advocate for who Jesus considered the most vulnerable. Fr. John Dear is a nonviolent activist who has mobilized countless Christians to live their faith on the streets in an effort to dismantle the broken systems that threaten to extinguish humanity through nuclear warfare. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize multiples times and continues to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people across the country in a nonviolent struggle for systemic change.
Panelists
Juan Vargas – House of Representatives – California’s 51st Congressional District
Congressman Juan Vargas was raised on a chicken ranch in National City, in California’s 51st District. He is one of ten children. His father, Tomas, immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the late 1940s as part of the Bracero Program which brought millions of Mexican guest workers to the United States on short-term, primarily agricultural labor contracts, as part of a series of bi-lateral agreements between Mexico and the United States.
As a young adult, Juan entered the Jesuits, a Catholic religious order. For years, his work with the Jesuits focused on the health and welfare of children and issues of social justice but eventually left to pursue family life.
Juan was first elected to the United States Congress in 2012. He represents California’s 51st Congressional District which includes portions of San Diego County, all of Imperial County, and the entire U.S. – Mexico Border in California. Currently serving his fourth term in Congress, Juan serves on the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Read Rep. Vargas’ full bio HERE.
Father John Dear
John Dear is an American Catholic priest, Christian pacifist, vegetarianism advocate, author and lecturer, and a former member of the Society of Jesus. He has been arrested over 75 times in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience against war, injustice and nuclear weapons as part of his “consistent ethic of nonviolence”. Dear has been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, in January 2008 by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and most recently with Leo Rebello for the 2015 award.
Jon Huckins – Co-Founding Director of The Global Immersion Project
Jon is the Co-Founding Director of The Global Immersion Project; a peacemaking training organization helping individuals and communities move toward conflict equipped to heal rather than to win. He writes for numerous publications including USAToday, Red Letter Christians, Sojourners, and RELEVANT, and has written three books of his own; his latest being Mending the Divides: Creative love in a Conflicted World. Jon has a master’s degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in theology and ethics. He lives in San Diego with his wife, Jan, three daughters (Ruby, Rosie & Lou) and one son (Hank) where they co-lead an intentional Christian community seeking to live as a reconciling presence in their neighborhood of Golden Hill.
Connect with him on Twitter, Instagram or his personal blog jonhuckins.net