Weldon Nisly

 

 

Married to Margaret with married daughter and son each with a daughter and son. Grandparenting is one of the great blessings of life — and we all live in Seattle! 

I have recently retired from 4 decades of Mennonite pastoral and peace ministry in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Seattle. But I could never retire from following Jesus or ministry. My retirement ministry is Contemplative Just Peacebuilding dedicated to being a prayerful listening active presence for peace locally and globally. I have served on peace teams in Nicaragua (1984, 1990), Russia (1988), and Iraq (2003, 2010, 2014). Prior to ministry I was a political organizer in Iowa, my home state where I grew up on a farm. I earned a BBA in economics and political science at the University of Iowa and an MA in Peace Studies at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. I am a lifelong Mennonite and also a Benedictine Oblate with Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN. I have been a Resident Scholar at the Collegeville Institute of Saint John’s Abbey, most recently from December 2014-April 2015, writing and speaking on pastoral and peace ministry. 

Articles published: “Victims of War are Not Our Enemies” (Seattle Times, CommonDreams, The Mennonite, 2003); “To Guide Our Feet: Pastoral Action in Impossible Times” (Stumbling Toward a Genuine Conversation on Homosexuality, edited by Michael King, 2007); “From Silence to Salaam: A Reflection on Contemplative Peacebuilding” (The Oblate, June 2015).