Welcome to the Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus!

                                                                  Statement of Purpose

The purpose of “the Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus,” a nonprofit organization, is to teach and promote the nonviolence of Jesus.

Mission Statement:

To reclaim the Gospel message that Jesus was nonviolent; his followers are called to be nonviolent; and we are all called to create nonviolent communities and together welcome God’s reign of nonviolence and peace on earth.

Vision Statement:

We strive to help Christians study and live Jesus’ Gospel teachings of nonviolence, especially in the Sermon on the Mount. In this way, we hope more people will practice creative Gospel nonviolence, as Gandhi, Dorothy Day and Dr. King did. We work for the abolition of racism, sexism, poverty, war, systemic injustice, nuclear weapons and environmental destruction, and for the coming of a new culture of nonviolence, justice and peace. We use Pope Francis’ Jan. 1, 2017 World Day of Peace Message, “Nonviolence—A Style of Politics for Peace,” as a guidepost.  We offer online zoom programs, podcasts, videos, books, articles, eblasts, social media, conferences, networking and consultation to help fulfill our mission.

 

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Since the Beatitudes Center began on November 1, 2020, it has offered over one hundred zoom programs with leading voices, teachers and practitioners of peace, justice, nonviolence, and the Beatitudes, including: the late Rev. James Lawson, Dr. Cornel West, Elizabeth Johnson, Bill McKibben, Helen Prejean, Ray East, Kathy Kelly, Matthew Fox, Kerry Kennedy, Greg Boyle, Jim Finley, Rajmohan Gandhi, Roshi Joan Halifax, Medea Benjamin, Zoughbi Zoughbi, Marisa Guerin, Shane Claiborne, Kazu Haga, Judith Valente, Frida Berrigan, Catherine Meeks, Michael Nagler, Anne McCarthy, Ron Rolheiser, Robert Ellsberg, Bill Wylie-Kellermann, Wes Howard-Brook, Ken Butigan, Rivera Sun, Bishop John Stowe, Archbishop John Wester, Maria Stephan, Brad Wolf, Kristal Parks, Martha Hennessy, Carolyn Whitney-Brown, Larry Rasmussen, Steve Georgiou, Jonathan Montaldo, David O’Brien, Joseph Brown, Jonathan Eig, Terry Rynne, Judith Kelly, Paul Quenon, Greg Boyle, Kerry Kennedy, John Dominic Crossan, Elizabeth Johnson, Judith Valente, and others, all hosted by Fr. John Dear.
 
On January 6, 2025, the Beatitudes Center launched a free, weekly, thirty-minute podcast called “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” hosted by Fr. John Dear. Episodes are posted every Monday morning on this website, as well as on Apple, Spotify, The National Catholic Reporter (www.ncronline.org) and many other platforms. Recent guests have included: Martin Sheen, Joan Chittister, Richard Rohr, Helen Prejean, Bernard Lafayette, Martin Luther King, III, Bryan Stevenson, Bill McKibben, Bishop John Stowe, Marie Dennis, Maria Stephan, Martha Hennessy, Munther Isaac, Shane Claiborne, Frida Berrigan, Brian McLaren, Kazu Haga, and others.
 

The Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible.

The Beatitudes Center
PO Box 1915
Morro Bay, CA 93443

www.beatitudescenter.org
info@beatitudescenter.org

The Beatitudes of the Nonviolent Jesus:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons and daughters of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

–Matthew 5:3-12