About
Hope for Peace & Justice
Hope for Peace & Justice is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is equipping progressive people of faith to be champions for peace and justice. Founded in 2004 by the Cathedral of Hope, H4PJ is led by the Rev. Michael S. Piazza, a longtime social justice advocate who has been a leading progressive voice in Dallas for more than 20 years.
Religious dialogue is so dominated by conservative churches, denominations and para-church organizations that the average American is left believing that radical conservative views are the only ones held by spiritual people.
In recent years, it has become apparent that there is a need for an organization that will speak to the values and views that are held by progressive people of faith and give voice to those views in our national dialogue. Seeking justice for the marginalized and advocating for peace have been, and continue to be, values deeply rooted in the tradition of Judaism, the history of Christianity and the authenticity of Islam.
The progressive church has a long and noble history of engaging the political system around issues of peace and justice. From the fight for the abolition of slavery to the modern civil rights struggle, churches, synagogues and mosques have worked for justice. In that tradition, Hope for Peace & Justice was formed to be a vocal force for those of progressive faith and ideology. To accomplish this mission, H4PJ has taken a three-fold approach:
- Create, equip and motivate progressive faith-based activists. Through education and inspiration, H4PJ seeks to equip and empower progressive people of faith to be confident and articulate about their values. By utilizing a variety of means to regularly communicate with H4PJ activists, the organization supports their witness for progressive values.
- Create a cultural orientation/bias toward peace and justice. Art for Peace & Justice, our principle strategy for advancing this goal, utilizes the arts to educate, enlighten and inspire people. Through partnering with artists and arts organizations, Art4PJ seeks to create a shift in values away from war and violence toward peace with justice.
- Create practitioners of peace. Through our Peace Practitioners program, H4PJ seeks to recruit, train and support individuals in churches, mosques, synagogues and temples who already have a value for, and orientation toward, peace and justice. These individuals will be trained through a three-level conflict resolution program, literally, to practice peacemaking in, and through, their communities of faith. They will be the resident advocates and activists for peace.
H4PJ has grown into a vital and vibrant justice and peace ministry. In addition to sending more than 2 million emails training and motivating progressive people of faith, H4PJ and Art4PJ creates and produces many peace events in the city.
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H4PJ Board of Directors
Bob Shea , Chair
Michael Piazza, President
Coy James, Managing Director
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Dennis
Bolin has over 20 years experience working
with health care and not-for-profit organizations
in the areas of strategic planning, marketing,
customer service and product development. He has
worked with top management and boards of directors
on vision and mission development and operational
implementation. He has developed and implemented
branding and marketing strategies. He has a Master
of Management from Northwestern University and
has completed Advanced Graduate Studies in Dispute
Resolution and Mediation at Southern Methodist
University. |
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Ferrell
Drum is president of Garland Insulating
Ltd., a thermal building products provider and installer
for the building trades with locations in Dallas,
Fort Worth and Houston, Texas. He has a B.S. in Business
from Harding University, Searcy, Arkansas. He has
served on the Finance and Development Committee of
the Board of Directors of Dallas Christian School,
on the Board of Directors of Heartbeat, and as founder
and director of both First National Bank of Rowlett
and Centennial National Bank. |
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Wesley
English is the president and CEO of HomeVestors
Calient Properties, LLC, a franchised real estate
investment company, a partner in Hodge Homes LP,
a residential property management company and the
managing member of Caliente Holdings, LC, a real
estate holding company. He received his B.S. from
Texas A&M University and an M.S. in Finance
and Real Estate from the University of Texas at
Arlington. He serves as secretary for the North
Texas Franchisee Council for Homevestors, is a
founding member of National Association for Responsible
Home Re-builders and Investors (NARHRI), and belongs
to the National Association of Realtors, the Texas
Association of Realtors, the Greater Dallas Association
of Realtors, and the Association of Independent
Real Estate Investors. He is a corporate partner
for Habitat for Humanity. |
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DeSorrow Golden is currently a software developer at Argo Data Resource Corporation. He owns Global Investment Solutions LLC which is a real estate investment company. He serves as a facilitator for the 20 Something and 30 Something ministries at the Cathedral of Hope. His heart is for reconciliation and peace building. He has a bachelors in Computer Science from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. |
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Jo
Hudson is Rector and Senior Pastor of the
Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas. Rev. Hudson recently
finished her 7th year as pastor of Friends Congregational
Church-UCC in College Station, Texas. A native Texan,
Rev. Hudson received her PhD in Educational Administration
from Texas A&M University in 1993 and graduated
with honors from Perkins School of Theology at Southern
Methodist University in 1994. She was ordained into
the United Church of Christ in 1997. Currently, Rev.
Hudson holds clergy standing in the Brazos Association
of the South Central Conference of the United Church
of Christ, and serves on the Board of Directors for
the Justice & Witness Ministries of the UCC.
In 2001 Rev. Hudson received a Pastoral Renewal Grant
from the Lilly Endowment Inc., which promotes leadership
education and financial self-sufficiency in the nonprofit,
charitable sector. |
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Coy James is the Canon for Evangelism at the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas. He is also the Managing Director of Hope for Peace and Justice. In addition to numerous other volunteer positions, Coy served on the Cathedral of Hope Board of Directors for 16 years, the last three as Vice-Moderator. He received degrees in Mass Communication and Medical Instructional Design from Abilene Christian University and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, now UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. His experience includes over 20 years as a manager of various communications related organizations within Abbott Laboratories, Diagnostics Division. |
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Lory
Masters, CRB, owns Master Realtors in Dallas,
Texas, a Residential and Commercial Real Estate firm
founded in 1986. She has been a pioneer for human
rights since the age of twenty and has helped create
and/or founded such organizations as The Oasis Drug
and Alcohol Program, The Women’s Chorus of
Dallas, The Extra Mile Awards and The Women’s
Motorcycle Club of Dallas. She has served the local,
state and national community as an emcee, fundraiser,
facilitator, and speaker. She is currently National
Human Rights Campaign Board Emeritus; National Board
Emeritus Member of An Uncommon “Legacy” Foundation
and a National Advisory Board Member of the National
Center for Lesbian Rights. Past state service has
included The Texas Association of Appointed and Elected
Officials. Her local involvement includes 30 years
of service to many boards, committees, training sessions
and fundraisers that include: serving on the Honorary
Steering Committee for the Dallas Area Habitat for
Humanity (October 2002 to Present) and the Arlington
Hall Conservators Committee. |
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Steven
Million is the National Lead Faculty for
Finance and Law in the Ed.D. Program for Educational
Leaders, Fischler Graduate School of Education and
Human Services Nova Southeastern University, North
Miami Beach, Florida; Professor Emeritus, Center
for Pedagogy, Richard W. Riley College of Education,
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina; and
AACTE representative to the Board of Examiners, National
Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education
(NCATE), Washington, DC. He received his Ph.D. from
University of Florida, his M.S. from University of
Kansas and his B.S. University of Missouri – Columbia.
He has served as principal investigator for a number
of educational grants and has published dozens of
books, journal articles, conference papers, monographs
and reports in the field of education. |
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Michael
Piazza serves as the Executive Director
of Hope for Peace and Justice. Named in August 1999
by The Advocate magazine as one of the most influential
people in the gay and lesbian movement, Michael S.
Piazza is a spiritual visionary, author and social
justice advocate who also currently serves as Dean
of the Cathedral of Hope. A native of Georgia, Rev.
Piazza has served in the ministry for over three
decades, pastoring churches in Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma
and Florida. He holds Bachelor Degrees in history
and psychology from Valdosta State College in Georgia
and a Master of Divinity from the Candler School
of Theology, Emory University in Atlanta. Since he
came to Dallas in November of 1987 to pastor the
Cathedral of Hope, the church has grown from a few
hundred to nearly 4,000 members. |
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Bob
Shea is president of Shea Consulting Services,
LLC, in Dallas, Texas. He has served as a Catholic
school teacher, department chairperson, Director
of Student Activities, Assistant Principal for Academic
Affairs, Principal, President, and Consultant. As
President of an independent Catholic secondary school,
he organized a ten million dollar capital campaign
to meet the costs associated with the design and
construction of an academic wing and the establishment
of an endowment program. His development efforts
included successful solicitation from foundations,
corporations, and individuals. Building upon his
teaching and administrative experiences, he founded
Shea Consulting Services in 1991. He holds degrees
from La Salle University and the University of Notre
Dame. Mr. Shea has been published by the United States
Catholic Conference, the National Catholic Reporter,
the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, Richard
J. Burke & Associates, The Consultum, and St.
Mary's Press. He is a founding Director and current
Chair of the Angela Foundation of St. Louis, MO. |
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Lynn Walters is an active member of the Cathedral of Hope. She helped to organize the Order of Saint Martin and has organized voter registration drives at COH in 2004 and 2006. She currently serves in the Altar Ministry. In addition, Lynn volunteers regularly at Justice for Our Neighbors (immigration law clinic); serves as an election judge in her precinct; is a board member of Keep Irving Beautiful and was recently appointed to City of Irving Mayor’s Human Relations Committee. She has been a member Dallas Peace Center since 2003; is a graduate of the Damascus Road Anti-Racism Training program and a graduate of Just Faith program at St. Rita’s Catholic Church.
She also spends time with her husband, Scott, and two children, Hannah and Nathaniel. |
H4PJ
Staff
Rev. Michael S. Piazza,
President
Coy D. James,
Managing Director
Dr. Tim Seelig, Director: Art for Peace & Justice
David Plunkett, Media Relations
Robert Huneke, Event Coordinator
Roger Stanley, Special Events
Kevin DeCloux, Data Manager
David McCollough, Webmaster
Marinell Wilkerson,
Research Associate |
