Peace Chaplains

Peace Chaplaincy is a program which illustrates the tremendous potential of The Peace Abbey. It is integrally linked with inter-religious dialogue in a pluralist society.

The Peace Chaplain is a person who draws from the spiritual teachings and traditions of the major faiths of the world in an effort to promote understanding and harmony, love and forgiveness, and peace and justice in a world where religion far too often divides, rather than unites people. Religion is one of the major solutions to intolerance, hatred and war precisely because it is one of the major causes.

The pastoral ministry of the Peace Chaplain may include religious education centered on world religions and the Prayers for Peace, sharing solidarity bread, advocacy on issues of peace and justice, the promotion of interfaith dialogue, conflict resolution, pastoral counseling, participation in Courage of Conscience Awards ceremonies, draft counseling and the distribution of The National Registry for Conscientious Objection. Because of the creative attributes of the Peace Chaplains, ministry finds fullest expression through music, art, teaching, writing and providing authentic personal witness to the ideals of peace as a way of life.

The potential of the Peace Chaplaincy, however, lies not in the activities the Chaplains may promote, but in the Chaplains themselves. There are currently eight Peace Chaplains: Lewis Randa, Dot Walsh, Wayne-Daniel Berard, Gina Rose Halpern, Julie Pierce, Christine Parsons, Dan Dick, and Will Tuttle.

Peace Chaplains are commissioned by the Peace Abbey and hold full authority to perform weddings, conduct funerals, assist parents in anointing their child as an instrument of peace, and all legal activities generally associated with clergical designation within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and through formal filing, in each state and throughout the world.

Dan Dick

Dan grew up in the Chicago area, and has degrees in Anthropology (BA) and Education (MST) from the University of Chicago. He has taught students from preschool to graduate students, and has homeschooled his own children. Dan is a Vietnam-era Conscientious Objector, has been a vegetarian for almost forty years, and vegan for about eight years.

Dan was commissioned a Peace Chaplain in September, 2005, in the words of Lewis Randa, “in recognition of his long unofficial service as Peace Chaplain to the Peace Abbey community.” He especially enjoys helping couples envision a wedding ceremony that reflects their unique relationship and values. Dan is an active member of the Abbey community. His contributions include planning, political actions, musical events, website maintenance, hosting, and assisting with ongoing operations.

Dan plays a variety of folk instruments in several bands that perform at the Abbey's Coffeehouse, and enjoys walks in the woods. He lives in Natick, MA with his wife, Carol, a women’s health advocate, and his teen son, Jonah. Daughter Leah attends Smith College.

You can meet Dan most Sunday mornings at the Abbey's Pacifist Meditation Service.

Will Tuttle

Will is a long-time vegan devoted to providing uplifting and healing music, books, articles, and lectures.

A pianist, composer, educator, and author, Will has performed and lectured widely throughout the United States and Europe. His recent book, The World Peace Diet, has been receiving rave reviews, and has been called the ultimate "why to go vegan" book. In addition, he has created six beautiful CD albums of original piano music. His CD AnimalSongs is a well-known vegan favorite, being the first instrumental album to feature the voices of animals who are mainly thought of as "food animals" in our culture. People have been known to go vegan just listening to the music combined with the touching voices of the ducks, chickens, cows, pigs, turkeys, geese, lambs, calves, and other animals.

Will's Ph.D. degree with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley, focused on educating intuition in adults, and he has taught college courses in creativity, humanities, mythology, and philosophy. He has a broad background in both Eastern and Western meditation traditions, and is a Dharma Master in the Zen tradition.

Will and and his wife Madeleine, also a featured Veganica artist, travel and provide concerts, lectures, workshops, and exhibits, and their intuitively-inspired personalized music and art portraits for individuals and couples. They are co-founders of Karuna Music and Art (www.willtuttle.com) and The Worldwide Prayer Circle for Animals (www.circleofcompassion.org).

Will is a recently commissioned Peace Chaplain, a regular columnist for VegNews Magazine, a member of the board of advisors of EarthSave International, and a regular presenter at animal rights, vegetarian, and vegan conferences and gatherings. Will and his wife Madeleie have been traveling in their "home on wheels" for over a decade. He can be reached via their beautiful website.

Gina Rose Halpern

Founder and Co-Director of the Chaplaincy Institute for Arts and Interfaith Ministries, Author and illustrator of "To Heal the Broken Heart", Gina Rose continues to exhibit her work including exhibitions at Marin General Hospital and the Institute for Health & Healing.

Between 1983 and 1998 Gina Rose was the Executive Director for Healing Through the Arts, a nonprofit organization created to build bridges between the creative arts and the healing arts. She has been an administrator for the Antioch College Buddhist Studies Program in India, and led educational groups for ten years in India and Nepal.

Gina Rose has been on the board of the Society for Arts in Healthcare, and designed healthcare facilities, including work for The Children's Hospital in San Diego.

In 1995 she toured Russian pediatric hospitals as a clown with Patch Adams, MD and in Gesundheit Institute. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island , School of Design, Holy Names University, Oakland CA. and the University of Creation Spirituality. She is the author and illustrator of the bilingual children's book "Where is Tibet?" She is also an internationally know visual artist, with works displayed around the world.

Wayne-Daniel Berard

Wayne-Daniel Berard, Ph.D. is Professor of English, Director of Spiritual Life and Chaplain of Nichols College, Dudley, MA .

Raised in Taunton, MA, Wayne-Daniel spent five years in Franciscan seminary. An adopted child, his discovery as an adult of his Jewish birth-parentage led to thirteen years of Torah study with Rabbi Alan Ullman’s School for Judaic Studies, Newton, MA.

He is a published poet and essayist, his chapbook The Man Who Remembered Heaven having received the 2003 Chapbook Award from the journal Ruah. His first full-length book When Christians Were Jews (That Is, Now), subtitled, Recovering the Lost Jewishness of Christianity with St. Mark’s Gospel, was published in 2006 by Cowley Publishing.

Wayne-Daniel lives in Mansfield, MA with his wife, Christine; their shared families include five children, numerous cats, and a very spoiled dachshund.

Dot Walsh

Perhaps one of the most significant steps on my life path has been my appointment as a Peace Chaplain in 1992.

At various times in my life there have been serendipitous spiritual events that have been instrumental in forming my personhood.

Although I was educated as a teacher with a graduate degree in Special Education from Boston University my further studies and professional life took me in a different direction.

I spent many years in the Massachusetts correctional system first as a recruiter and trainer for volunteers in a Christian Fellowship program, then as a lay chaplain on a Catholic chaplaincy team., and finally as a program director in the county system.

The prison environment helped me to understand the roots of violence and the need for the roots of nonviolence. I learned the importance of pastoral presence and compassion. Then on June 4, 1988 I spent a day with Mother Teresa in the prisons which then connected me to The Peace Abbey. I have remained as Peace Chaplain for The Peace Abbey where I find daily nourishment for all aspects of my life. My beliefs as a pacifist, my commitment to nonviolence and cruelty free living shape my daily life and the prayers for peace from the twelve major faith traditions are the foundation of my spiritual life. As a married woman, mother and grandmother I have a deep concern for the future of our planet and the quality of life for all beings.

Lewis M. Randa

As a Quaker, pacifist and vegan, Lewis established Peace Chaplaincy at the Abbey in response to ongoing requests to officiate at wedding ceremonies and to conduct memorial services and funerals. Once members of the Abbey community who possessed qualities of heart d mind, a deep commitment to further the teachings of pacifism and nonviolence and were learned in the faith traditions of the world applied, the Abbey began commissioning Peace Chaplains. In 1989, Abbey Peace Chaplains were registered with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and have performed the duties and responsibilities associated with clergy in furtherance of the mission of the Peace Abbey.

Having graduated from the University of Iowa (1969) and Cambridge Goddard Graduate School for Social Change (71), Lewis has directed the Peace Abbey since its founding in 1986 and the Life Experience School since 1972. His life's work at the Abbey is rooted in his experience of being discharged from the military in 1971 as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War.

The mission of the Peace Abbey is, in the words of the Greeks, "to make gentle the life of world". Peace Chaplaincy strives to accomplish this in a unique way that Lewis envisioned, through the lives of remarkable men and women whose journey in life reflects the ideals of the Peace Abbey and those it serves.

Christine Parsons / Walks in Peace (Native American Indian)

Christine Parsons came to The Peace Abbey in 1991. Curiosity during a drive through Sherborn lead her to wander through the abbey and sit for a few moments of silence. Lewis encouraged her to read the long version of the Prayers for Peace, on a weekly basis, which lead to volunteer work at the school. That developed into work with the Special Peace Corps and teaching students at the school.

Being commissioned as a Peace Chaplain was a part of her ongoing dedication to the concepts of peace and social justice. Lewis’ support in the development of the Eastern American Indian Cultural Center, an educational non-profit organization that she and her husband developed in 1998, was an outgrowth of the multicultural commitment of The Peace Abbey.

After 10 years of work & service in Sherborn, Christine and her husband moved to New Hampshire where they expanded their cultural programs. Presently Christine’s chaplaincy work occurs through occasionally performing weddings and most especially providing service to children needing a safe setting to visit with their non-custodial parent.

Julie Pierce