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"Jarrod McKenna and friends are beautiful examples of this new breed of emerging integral leaders. I thank God for them. May their tribe increase!" -Brian McLaren, (Prophetic Emerging Church Leader, activist and author of " )
"Amazing that we should need to tell Christians that Jesus taught and surely lived a non violent life! And almost as amazing --and wonderful-- that a young Christian like Jarrod McKenna should be able to teach it so well in our time and culture!"
-Richard Rohr, OFM (Founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation)
Jarrod's bio: I’m a lapsed vegetarian who’ll now eat happily my daily bread from dumpsters (but secretly longs for the flesh pots of evil big corporation burgers.) I spend my time as a nonviolence trainer for activists, students and whoever else will listen and sharing the gospel of a nonviolent messiah, (hopefully in more than just words!).
 I’ve recently been awarded the Donald Groom Peace Fellowship by Quakers in Australia for my work in creating EPYC (pronounced ‘epic’, stands for ‘Empowering Peacemakers in Your Community’…catchy hey) which I’m very excited about (but secretly I wish I’d won Australian Idol instead.) I’m also a co-founder of the early Friends/Anabaptist/Catholic Worker inspired Peace Tree Christian Commune which all sounds very impressive... (or cultish?) :)
When not doing other stuff I can be found day dreaming, doing things that confirming the "treehuger" stereotype, inciting young people and churches to God's transformational revolution(!!!), day dreaming, reading, volunteering with the 'Alternative to Violence Project' in prison, hang out with local kids (often skateboarding) who teaching me cool Nyungah words like "coonie" (which I though meant I'm going at skating... but since learned it means 'ugly'), doing Pace e Bene Oz stuff and spending time with the wonderful Tyson and Teresa. And more day dreaming... (the doctor calls it A.D.D. but I think 'contemplation' has a nicer ring to it)
About the Donald Groom Peace Fellowship & responses to the award
For more info on EPYC's work in "equiping a generation of eco-prophets in the transformational nonviolence of Christ" contact Wendi at
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Below are people much more respectable than myself saying despite my dreads and the fact I only wear second hand op-shop (or fair trade) clothes that even in this 'jar of clay' there may be the treasure of Imago Dei (worth keeping in mind "Woe to you when all speak well of you" though :):
- "Jarrod McKenna has practised nonviolence being more than a tool for social change - he makes it the way of his life. I've appreciated working with Jarrod on a number of campaigns, and know him to be strongly committed to peace in action, and an excellent communicator." -Jo Vallentine
(Joint Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, Environmental activist, Former Greens Senator)
- "If you are looking for a compassionate spirituality that will enable you to engage a violent world effectively, then Jarrod McKenna can help you. He can unpack the radical implications of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in a way that will give you clear, specific, practical set of guidelines for nonviolent engagement to work with. And he can do it with a magician's touch - Jarrod is cool, clever, and creative."-Dave Andrews
(Renowned advocate for the marginalised and Author of "Christi-Anarchy" and "Compassionate Community Work")
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"In my travels around the world, I see a lot to inspire cynicism -including a lot of shabby religious stuff I'd rather not even give examples of. But I also meet people who inspire hope and courage in me -emerging young leaders who "get" Jesus' message of the kingdom of God, and who are living it and giving it away. They see the integral nature of mission - that it brings together God and humanity, humanity and creation, grace and nature, contemplation and action, evangelism and social justice, faith and politics, the making of disciples and the making of peace. Jarrod McKenna and friends are beautiful examples of this new breed of emerging integral leaders. I thank God for them. May their tribe increase!" -Brian McLaren
(Prophetic Emerging Church Leader, activist and author of " )
- "Jarrod is a unique young man passionately committed to a particular, and strangely uncommon message that is an inextricable part of the Gospel of Jesus, namely that of peace-making. His passion is infectious. I commend him to you as an articulate advocate of the cause of Jesus in this war-torn world." -Alan Hirsch
(Australian Emerging Church leader & author of "The Shape of Things to Come" and "The Forgotten Ways")
- "Around the world there is an emerging generation of young leaders who are rediscovering the radical implications of Jesus' message and are letting their lives speak of these alternatives to the cycles of violence, poverty and environmental destruction. Jarrod McKenna is one such leader Australia has to offer, and his EPYC program promises to empower many more." -Rev. Tim Costello
(CEO of World Vision Australia)
- "Jarrod McKenna builds bridges between books and actions and prayers. A person of practical action, Jarrod has a real gift for showing people young and old concrete ways to make peace with their hands. A person of prayer, Jarrod has deep roots in the Gospel, knowing that all peace is a gift from God. When people ask 'What can we do about the state of the world?', Jarrod's program [EPYC] is one small but hopeful answer." -William Cavanaugh
(Theologian, Catholic Worker scholar and author of "The Theopolitical Imagination")
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"Jarrod McKenna is excellent practitioner and educationalist in the field of nonviolence. He is equipped with listening, communication & facilitation skills to share this essential tool with young people. As both a high school teacher and a peace activist, I highly recommend EYPC as an exciting addition to the education of young people." -Ciaron O'Reilly
(Internationally renowned Ploughshares& Catholic Worker Activist)
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