James Hendrickson Forest (November 2, 1941 – January 13, 2022) was an American writer, Orthodox Christian

lay theologian A lay theologian is a theologian "who is not ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominati ...

, educator, and

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pea ...

Biography

As a young man, Forest served in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, working with a

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

unit at the US Weather Bureau headquarters near Washington, DC. It was during this period that he became a Catholic. His

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft ( conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) requ ...

ended with an early discharge on grounds of

conscientious objection A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...

. After leaving the navy, Forest joined the staff of the

Catholic Worker ''Catholic Worker'' is a newspaper published seven times a year by the flagship Catholic Worker community in New York City. The newspaper was started by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin to make people aware of church teaching on social justice. His ...

community in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, working close with the founder,

Dorothy Day Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-know ...

, and for a time served as managing editor of the journal she edited, The

. In 1964, while working as a journalist for the ''

Staten Island Advance The ''Staten Island Advance'' is a daily newspaper published in the borough of Staten Island in New York City. The only daily newspaper published in the borough, and the only major daily paper focused on a borough, it covers news of local and ...

'', in his spare time he co-founded the Catholic Peace Fellowship, working closely with Tom Cornell. This became a full-time job for both of them in 1965, a time that coincided with deepening US military engagement in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. The main focus of their work was counseling conscientious objectors. In 1968, while Forest worked as Vietnam Program Coordinator of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Jim and thirteen others, mainly

Catholic clergy The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing order of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy" means "set apart for a sac ...

, broke into nine

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

draft boards, removing and burning some of the files in a nearby park while holding a prayer service. Most members of the " Milwaukee Fourteen" served thirteen months in prison for their action. In the late sixties and mid-seventies, Forest also worked with the

Fellowship of Reconciliation The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...

, first as Vietnam Program coordinator and later as editor of Fellowship magazine. From 1977 through 1988, he was Secretary General of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, work which brought him to the Netherlands. He received the Peacemaker Award from

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main camp ...

's Institute for International Peace Studies and the St. Marcellus Award from the Catholic Peace Fellowship. In 1988, Forest was received into the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

. From 1989, he was international secretary of the as well as associate editor of its quarterly journal, ''In Communion''. In 2017, he was ordained as Reader. Forest had a long-term friendship with

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and g ...

, who dedicated a book to him, ''Faith and Violence''. Jim also accompanied the famed Vietnamese Buddhist monk,

Thich Nhat Hanh Thích is a name that Vietnamese monks and nuns take as their Buddhist surname to show affinity with the Buddha. Notable Vietnamese monks with the name include: * Thích Huyền Quang (1919–2008), dissident and activist * Thích Quảng Độ ( ...

. A journalist and writer, Forest's books include ''Praying with Icons'', ''Ladder of the Beatitudes'', ''The Road to Emmaus: Pilgrimage as a Way of Life'', ''Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment'', ''Eyes of Compassion: Learning from Thich Nhat Hanh'', biographies of Thomas Merton (''Living With Wisdom''), Dorothy Day (''All Is Grace'') and Daniel Berrigan (''At Play in the Lions' Den''), and several

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

, including ''Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins'', ''Saint George and the Dragon'' and ''Silent as a Stone: Mother Maria of Paris and the Trash Can Rescue''. He also wrote a memoir, ''Writing Straight With Crooked Lines''. Forest and his wife Nancy, a translator and writer, lived in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

, the Netherlands. He died there on January 13, 2022, at the age of 80.

Publications

* * * * * * * * * * * ; Contributions to books by other authors *

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
A Short Biography of Jim Forest

''Getting From There to Here''
(autobiographical essay)
orthodoxwiki.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forest, Jim 1941 births 2022 deaths American Christian pacifists American conscientious objectors Catholic Workers Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism Eastern Orthodox theologians Lay theologians Military personnel from Salt Lake City Nonviolence advocates People from Alkmaar Russian Orthodox Christians from the United States Writers from Salt Lake City

Biography

Publications

See also

Citations

Sources

External links