Our Founders and History
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MJ and Jerry Park are lifelong peace educators with over 35 years of experience leading year-round programs for children and adults. In 1981, they founded Little Friends for Peace in St. Paul, Minnesota, responding to the call to answer violence with practical skills for peace and as a way to live the Gospel non-violently. They moved their family to Mount Rainier, Maryland, in 1988, bringing peace-building programs to the D.C. metro area.
In 1999, LFFP became a founding organization of the Perry School Community Services Center, where MJ and Jerry established a Peace Room serving the Youth Development Department and the Sursum Corda neighborhood. Their peace curriculum has since reached communities across the United States and internationally, including China and El Salvador. Together, MJ and Jerry co-authored the book Live Peace, Teach Peace: Tools, Practices, and Cooperative Games. MJ and Jerry have been married for 50 years and are parents to six children, always living by the belief that peace is not just something to teach — it is a way of life. In 2006, LFFP was officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and today it continues to thrive through the generosity of dedicated donors and the commitment of its community partners. They continue to be formed in the spirit of St. Francis as associates of the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota. |
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MJ Park | Director and Co-Founder
MJ Park grew up in Minnesota in a Catholic family of eight and was raised with the values of St. Francis – to treat others the way you want to be treated, find a way to love and care for others, and to be an instrument of peace in the world. After graduating from Mount Mary College in 1970 with an education degree, she worked for nine years as a school teacher and founded the Sundance Ranch, a residential children's summer camp in northern Michigan. After the camp closed, MJ and her husband Jerry used their leadership experience and answered the call of their neighbors to develop a summer peace camp, founding LFFP in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1981.
In the decades since, MJ has raised six children in the way of peace and has spread the mission and curriculum of LFFP to four continents. You can still find MJ teaching peace in schools, building peace with various adult communities, leading peace circles online with peacemakers around the world, and witnessing for peace in the streets — all with a smile on her face and love in her heart. She continues to believe we can build a culture of non-violence where we can use peace tools to live and solve our problems.
In the decades since, MJ has raised six children in the way of peace and has spread the mission and curriculum of LFFP to four continents. You can still find MJ teaching peace in schools, building peace with various adult communities, leading peace circles online with peacemakers around the world, and witnessing for peace in the streets — all with a smile on her face and love in her heart. She continues to believe we can build a culture of non-violence where we can use peace tools to live and solve our problems.
Jerry Park | Co-Founder
Jerry Park grew up in a Polish Catholic family in Milwaukee, WI, where he studied for years to be a priest. He left the seminary and joined the Peace Corps, working in India. After returning to the United States, Jerry worked as a director of religious education in Washington, D.C. and Minnesota, where he met his wife MJ Park at a religious education supply center. He has completed graduate course work in theology, religious education, and counseling therapy.
Jerry has since worked as a social worker with teen refugees in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Central America; a children’s nurse; a nurse for homeless men at Christ House, a community of men recovering from sickness and alcoholism; a hospice nurse at Joseph’s House, a community of men with HIV; and a hospice nurse for private patients with Capital Caring.
With LFFP, Jerry continues to facilitate peace education, most regularly co-facilitating a Peace Circle with MJ at the Father McKenna Center, a day shelter for homeless men. He is also very involved in Peace Camp, where he especially enjoys leading the cooperative games station. He also enjoys maintaining and preparing the Peace Oasis for individuals and groups who come to the forest for retreats, reflection, and renewal.
Jerry has since worked as a social worker with teen refugees in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Central America; a children’s nurse; a nurse for homeless men at Christ House, a community of men recovering from sickness and alcoholism; a hospice nurse at Joseph’s House, a community of men with HIV; and a hospice nurse for private patients with Capital Caring.
With LFFP, Jerry continues to facilitate peace education, most regularly co-facilitating a Peace Circle with MJ at the Father McKenna Center, a day shelter for homeless men. He is also very involved in Peace Camp, where he especially enjoys leading the cooperative games station. He also enjoys maintaining and preparing the Peace Oasis for individuals and groups who come to the forest for retreats, reflection, and renewal.