An Increase in Human Dignity and Confidence

Dear Pali Pres,

With all the partisanship we hear about in Washington D.C. these days, I thought I would highlight in my blog this week an example of bipartisanship among our elected officials. Exactly 63 years ago this week—September 22nd to be exact—Congress overwhelmingly voted in favor of establishing the Peace Corps. Earlier in the year, President Kennedy signed an executive order to start the new agency, but it wasn’t until the House of Representatives voted 288-97 in favor of it that the Peace Corps was formally authorized.

At first, the idea of establishing a Peace Corps faced stiff challenges and a successful vote was far from certain. However, Republican Representative Marguerite Stitt Church (Illinois 13th District) made a compelling speech before the House which persuaded many to support the bill. She said, in part, “Here is something which is aimed right, which is American, which is sacrificial — and which above all can somehow carry at the human level, to the people of the world, what they need to know; what it is to be free; what it is to have a next step and be able to take it; what it is to have something to look forward to, in an increase of human dignity and confidence.”

Since its inception, more than 240,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps and served in 142 countries. Volunteers are tasked with “development assistance” in lesser developed nations, with projects focused on health, education, women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, and community service. To this day, the Peace Corps shows what is possible when effort, resources, and willing hearts and minds come together for a common good. As JFK once said, “Every young American who participates in the Peace Corps—who works in a foreign land—will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace.”

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt