Member Musings

Three members of Community Assemblies of New Jersey, Marcelle McGovern, Gayla Olson and Laura Jurkiewicz attended a celebration of the late Peace Pilgrim, a woman who walked over 25,000 miles on foot, for peace.  The celebration was held in Peace Pilgrim Park in Egg Harbor City, NJ, where Peace Pilgrim (born Mildred Norman) was born and raised, and also where she resided when she was not on the road. 

The picnic gathering included song, fellowship and a ten-minute audio recording of one of Peace Pilgrim’s many talks which she gave while travelling on the road for peace.  We sat in a circle under a canopy of pine trees in “receptive silence” as Peace Pilgrim called it, taking in the strength of her words and wisdom. 

Who was Peace Pilgrim?  Born in 1908, she lived through the nuclear age and threat of the cold war and atomic bomb.  In 1953, during the Korean War, she decided to walk 25,000 miles on foot for peace.  After meeting her goal of 25,000 miles, she continued walking the rest of her life until her death in 1981 at age 73.  She believed that in order to achieve outer peace, we must each strive for inner peace. 

“The situation of the world is a reflection of our own immaturity.  If we were mature, harmonious people, war would be no problem whatever, --it would be impossible.” 

Peace Pilgrim crossed the country many times, all on foot, with no supplies, relying only on the kindness of others to supply her with food, water, and shelter.  She wore a tunic which read “Peace Pilgrim” on the front and “25,000 miles on foot for peace” on the back.  This got people’s attention which she used to spread her message.  She never asked people for anything, she accepted only what was offered from folks.  In return, she gave talks at local churches and community halls whenever she was invited, which was a lot. 

Peace Pilgrim often said that she wanted each town to start a “Community Peace Fellowship” where they could reflect on peace and then take steps in the community to achieve it.  If more and more towns and cities had a “Peace Fellowship” she felt it could truly change society.  We felt this intention and so many of Peace Pilgrim’s teachings align with those that inspired the forming of the Community Assemblies of New Jersey, in the British Isles, and all the Assemblies of the World. 

 Peace Pilgrim firmly believed that “A few really dedicated people can offset the ill effects of masses of out-of-harmony people.”  We share her believe that as more and more people embrace and embody peace everyday, the world will inevitably change. 

Peace Pilgrim also stressed being positive over being negative and being very deliberate in the thoughts we choose to believe.

 “When evil is attacked, it mobilizes, and, although it may have been weak and unorganized before, the attack gives it validity and strength.  When there is no attack but instead good influences…the evil tends to fade away…”

Rather than pushing against or giving our power away through reactions to what we do not want in this world, we have the option to be creators and focus on the peace and harmony that we want to build and embody.  If the Peace Pilgrim can come out of the dense materialism of being born a "Jersey Girl" and align with her own inner peace any of us can!

You can learn more about Peace Pilgrim's life and her message on the website www.peacepilgrim.org where you can also order or download a free copy of her pamphlet Steps Toward Inner Peace.

(all of the quotes in this article are taken from Peace Pilgrims free pamphlet Steps Toward Inner Peace)