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{{Short description|American Religious Sister and anti-war activist}}
{{for|the civil rights attorney and academic|Margaret McKenna (academic)}}
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'''Margaret McKenna''' {{post-nominals|list=[[Medical Mission Sisters|MMS]]}} is an American [[religious sister]] and [[anti-militarism|anti-militarist]] activist. Raised in [[Hackensack, New Jersey]], she earned her PhD in the origins and religious thought of [[Christianity]] from the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. In the 1970s, McKenna began participating in non-violent civil disobedience with the [[Plowshares Movement]], sometimes being arrested or imprisoned for her actions. Her activism has continued through recent years.

In 1989, McKenna helped to found New Jerusalem Laura, a [[North Philadelphia]] addiction treatment center that strives to help people recover from substance abuse without the use of medication,<ref name=Thompson /> by substituting community service, discussion, and Bible study as routes to recovery.

==Early life and education==
McKenna grew up in [[Hackensack, New Jersey]] and upon graduating from high school entered the Medical Mission Sisters, a [[Catholic Church]] organization of women dedicated to improving world access to health care.<ref name=MMS>{{harvnb|Medical Mission Sisters}}</ref> She earned a bachelor's degree in English from [[Chestnut Hill College]],<ref name=Kolodziej/> then a small Catholic women's college, and a master's degree in liturgy from [[Notre Dame University]] before moving on to the [[University of Pennsylvania]] and earning a doctorate in Christian origins and religious thought. For her doctorate thesis, she traveled to Israel for the clarity and solitude.<ref name=Kolodziej>{{harvnb|Kolodziej|2006}}</ref>

==Activism==
{{Quote box
| width = 24em
| align = right
| quote = ''me and Sister Margaret on the Pentagon lawn<br/> with our wrists in a plastic tie''
| source = —"Timothy Hay" by [[mewithoutYou]]<ref name=mewithoutYou>{{harvnb|mewithoutYou|2009|p=8}}</ref>
}} McKenna has been arrested for several acts of [[civil disobedience]] since becoming an activist in the 1970s.<ref name=Campellone>{{harvnb|Campellone|2010}}</ref> In 1987, she participated in a protest over the [[Iran–Contra affair]] during the bicentennial celebration of the signing of the constitution in Philadelphia.<ref name=Stevens>{{harvnb|Stevens|1987|p=A36}}</ref> In 1988 on Easter Sunday, McKenna and three other [[Plowshares Movement|Plowshares]] activists accessed the third deck of the {{USS|Iowa|BB-61|6}} and symbolically hammered on empty [[Tomahawk (missile family)|Tomahawk]] missile housings before pouring their own blood on them.<ref name=Ellis>{{harvnb|Ellis|1988}}</ref> At the same time, a banner that read "Follow the nonviolent Christ" was placed on the side of the ship.<ref name=Thompson>{{harvnb|Thompson|2009}}</ref> The group was charged with trespassing, and McKenna was sentenced to four months in prison.<ref name=Thompson />  In 2007, McKenna, as well as musician [[Aaron Weiss]], was arrested for participating in a "[[die-in]]" to protest the civilian casualties of the [[Iraq War]] on the grounds of [[The Pentagon]] in [[Arlington County]], [[Virginia]].<ref name=JonahHouse>{{harvnb|Jonah House|2007}}</ref> This event was referenced in the song "Timothy Hay" by Weiss's band, [[mewithoutYou]], on their album ''[[It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright]]''.<ref name=Hagerman>{{harvnb|Hagerman|Weiss|2009}}</ref>
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==New Jerusalem Laura==
McKenna and [[Richard Withers]], a modern-day [[hermit]], both of whom were passionate about [[Desert Fathers]] at the time, asked themselves, "Where is the desert today?"<ref>{{harvnb|Schenk|2014}}</ref> After concluding that "the desert" was the inner cities, in 1989, they moved to the [[Fox Chase, Philadelphia|Fox Chase]] neighborhood in [[Northeast Philadelphia]]. There, they witnessed the impact of drug addiction on the lives of the residents. In reaction, McKenna and Withers founded New Jerusalem Laura in an attempt to treat drug and alcohol addiction.<ref name=Thompson /> In addition to New Jerusalem, McKenna helped set up the Peacemakers Reflection Center and the Alternate to Violence Project in her community.<ref name=Kolodziej />

New Jerusalem Laura's addict counseling methods were influenced by those of One Day at a Time, founded by the Rev. Henry Wells.<ref name=Thompson /> For the first 60&nbsp;days of their stay, recovering addicts are prohibited from contacting the outside world, must surrender their cigarettes, and must be escorted if they leave the building. During this time, residents occupy their time with chores, community service, meetings, and Bible studies.<ref name=Campellone /> After the first 60&nbsp;days, residents' actions are less tightly restricted; however, they are still required to participate in the chores, Bible studies, and meetings. Residents graduate from the program after six&nbsp;months.<ref name=Thompson />

McKenna believes that the reason for the New Jerusalem Laura's success is the community. "In a recovery community, you can't get away with [lying], because it shows," she said. "It forces you to be honest."<ref name=Thompson /> Nearly 400 residents have graduated from the program since its inception.<ref name=MMS /> Of those, close to seventy percent are reported to remain drug-free, well above the results of traditional recovery methods.<ref name=MMS />

==References==

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite web|last=Campellone|first=Christopher|title=North Central: Addicts and Activists Provide an Oasis on Norris Street|url=http://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2010/06/16/north-central-addicts-and-activists-provide-an-oasis-on-norris-street/|work=Philadelphia Neighborhoods|publisher=Temple University|access-date=14 January 2013|year=2010}}
*{{cite web|last=Ellis|first=Lisa|title=An Activist Nun Trying To Provoke People To Think|url=http://articles.philly.com/1988-04-12/news/26249993_1_female-prisoners-protesters-religion-professor/3|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|year=1988 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228065757/http://articles.philly.com/1988-04-12/news/26249993_1_female-prisoners-protesters-religion-professor/3 |archive-date=2013-02-28 |access-date=2022-02-26}}
*{{cite web|last=Hagerman|first=Sarah|first2=Aaron |last2= Weiss |title=mewithoutYou: Let It Go|url=http://www.jambase.com/Articles/18525/mewithoutYou-Let-It-Go/0|publisher=Jam Base|access-date=16 January 2013|year=2009}}
*{{cite web|last=Jonah House|title=Feast of the Holy Innocents Faith and Resistance Retreat Pentagon December 28, 2007|url=http://www.jonahhouse.org/archive/FRDec07Pen.htm|publisher=Jonah House|access-date=14 January 2013|year=2007}}
*{{cite web|last=Kolodziej|first=Maureen|title=Sister McKenna speaks about her call to serve|url=http://www.lasalle.edu/collegian/features/articles/06/oct18/mckenna.html|work=Collegian|publisher=La Salle University|access-date=14 January 2013|year=2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207133124/http://www.lasalle.edu/collegian/features/articles/06/oct18/mckenna.html|archive-date=7 February 2013}}
*{{cite web|last=Medical Mission Sisters|title=Sister Margaret McKenna|url=http://www.medicalmissionsisters.org/meet/sister_margaret.htm|publisher=Medical Mission Sisters|access-date=14 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106165522/http://www.medicalmissionsisters.org/meet/sister_margaret.htm|archive-date=6 January 2009}}
*{{cite AV media notes|title=It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright |year=2009 |last=mewithoutYou |type=liner notes |publisher=Tooth & Nail Records|location=Seattle |asin=B0024RI77A}}
*{{cite web|last1=Schenk|first1=Christine|title=And the desert shall bloom|url=http://ncronline.org/blogs/simply-spirit/and-desert-shall-bloom|website=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=8 January 2015|date=2014}}
*{{cite news|last=Stevens|first=William|title=Congress Marks Birth at Fete in Philadelphia|newspaper=The New York Times|year=1987}}
*{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Isaiah|title=The Rehab Wars|url=http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/2009/12/10/the-rehab-wars|publisher=Philadelphia City Paper|access-date=14 January 2013|year=2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202103737/http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/2009/12/10/the-rehab-wars|archive-date=2 February 2014}}

==External links==
*[http://newjerusalemnow.org/ New Jerusalem Laura]

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Margaret}}
[[Category:People from Hackensack, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Notre Dame alumni]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni]]
[[Category:Chestnut Hill College alumni]]
[[Category:American anti–Iraq War activists]]
[[Category:20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns]]
[[Category:Catholics from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns]]