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GPIW's beloved Chair Reverend Joan Brown Campbell passed away March 30th at the age of 94. We first met Joan in the year 2000 when we helped to organize the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders at United Nations Headquarters in New York. As Secretary of the National Council of Churches, Joan was one of the few senior woman religious leaders invited to speak at the General Assembly Hall. Troubled by the paucity of women in senior positions in religious organizations, Joan encouraged the effort to help identify and provide a platform for women spiritual leaders. Out of that effort GPIW was born, with Joan as one of the founding Co-Chairs. Joan was relentless in her commitment to the mission of GPIW and traveled around the world with us, sitting with people in conflict regions, listening, counseling, demonstrating that we deeply care about the suffering of others. But Joan was far more than a co-traveler on the GPIW journey. She was a mentor to many, a friend with great wit and humor, a wise elder with a profound sense of compassion and justice, and a loving guide to the GPIW family. She was dearly loved by our community and left a permanent imprint on the hearts and minds of those who worked closely with her. We pray that her onward journey lead her to new levels of awareness and that she may continue to be a force for good. There is no doubt that wherever she is, our dear Joan will strive to make a difference.
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