Elmer Maas -- In Memoriam
(Eulogy by Art Laffin offered at Elmer's Funeral Mass at Maryhouse, NYC, May 14, 2005)

Elmer Maas was my very close friend who I loved like a brother. I first met Elmer in Hartford in the fall of 1977 during a gathering of ALC friends. Elmer was living in New York at the time and working part-time. Like several other friends who were present, Elmer had participated that spring in the Seabrook occupation where he was among over 1400 that were imprisoned. (Could those of you who were with Elmer at Seabrook please stand, thank you.) I would see Elmer during the next several years at different protests, especially at EB, the sole manufacturer of Trident subs.

In 1980, Elmer moved his belongings to the basement of the Covenant Peace Community house in New Haven where Dean Hammer and I lived (Over the years the Covenant Peace Community was comprised of Chris Grannis, Bob Forsberg, Elin Schade, Hud Richard, Michele Zachs, Peter Holladay and Bill Boston). Dean helped Elmer move from the YMCA in NYC where he was staying. Elmer and Dean went on to participate in the Plowshares Eight action in King of Prussia, PA, the first of three plowshares action Elmer would do. Following the Plowshares Eight action Elmer said it was the happiest day of his life.

I remember visiting Elmer at Graterford Prison following his sentencing. He was glowing! I don't know if I remember seeing anybody so at peace with their confinement. He told me all about the litany of injustices at the prison as well as the incredible people he had befriended. He always identified with the plight of those who were victimized by a racist and oppressive system that thrives on dehumanization.

When Elmer was released from prison after 18 months, he returned to New Haven to offer support for the Trident Nein plowshares action which I was part of. Elmer was our chief chef in residence and, as was his customary trademark, offered whatever support we needed. Following our arrest and trial, Elmer was part of the Plowshares #4 action. After his imprisonment for this action, Elmer moved back to New Haven where he, Jean Grosbach, Bill Boston and I formed the Isaiah Peace Ministry. In 1989 Elmer and I disbanded the Isaiah Peace Ministry and were part of the Thames River Plowshares action. I can still see Elmer in the canoe with Jim Reale  and me hammering and pouring blood on the Trident and kneeling in prayer on top of the Trident as we were being fire-hosed.(If truth be told, when we were first training to beach our canoe it capsized in the lake. Yet we were able to do what we needed to do with Elmer as the captain of the ship!)  Following this action and imprisonment, Elmer moved back to NYC and the peace community here, which he loved so much.

Over the years I savored Elmer's friendship, was inspired by his wisdom, and marveled at his intellect. A musician, historian and philosopher and master of numerous disciplines, Elmer spent his adult life refining his interdisciplinary curriculum--oh that curriculum-- to help us all better understand how the world came to be what it is, how US empire formed and the biblical imperative we all have to be nonviolent peacemakers. Now we all know how Elmer could turn a short question about something into a seminar about the interconnections of politics, history, science and faith. Brevity was usually not one of Elmer's strong points.

We also know that Elmer had a light side. He was always gregarious and upbeat. He loved to visit with his friends, entertain and tell stories about his native Kansas City, his teaching jobs, and the times he lived in Chicago, Maine and Boston.

[He was a great teacher in his own right. Before he devoted his full-time energies to peacemaking, Elmer taught at Juniata College in Pennsylvania. A popular teacher who loved his students, Elmer risked his job during the civil rights struggle when he took some of his students to help Dr. King in the south. Elmer actually was in a photo in Life Magazine, which shows him cradling the body of a close firend who was badly beaten.]
Elmer's heart was as big as the ocean and his infectious smile lifted all of our spirits. His hospitality was all-embracing. A gourmet chef, Colleen and I, like many of you, were treated to five star meals he prepared. How many here were recipients of Elmer's elegant meals? I can still see Elmer sitting at the dining room table set with that green lamp that he moved with him from Juniata College to Maine to New Haven to NYC.  We have to make sure to find a good place for Elmer's dining room table set.

A maestro par excellance of the piano, organ and keyboard, his gifts as a musician were endless. He produced a play called the "Insurance Company" and a composition titled "Dusk Leaves." I had the privilege of hearing Elmer play this compaosition at different times/ How many here present also heard him play it? Colleen and I can still see and hear Elmer playing at Colleen and my wedding. Elmer was indeed our choirmaster--he helped us to sing our songs of peace and freedom and to celebrate life in an unforgettable way.

Elmer's life was centered in the scriptures and his faith was rock-solid. He believed and boldly lived out Jesus' admonition that we must give our lives completely out of love rather to kill. In the face of a nuclear empire committed to total violence and global domination, Elmer's commitment to nonviolent resistance was unwavering. He was a guiding light and companion to so many of us who picked up the hammer to enflesh God's dream for the human family to beat swords into plowshares and abolish war. He was truly a pillar of strength for all our communities. 

Elmer deeply cared about each of his family and friends. He loved and supported his dear Mother who lived in Kansas City. I was very moved by the tribute he gave her at her funeral in September 2001.

Elmer's steadfast support for me and my family were unwavering following the deaths of my sister, brother, Dad and Mom. Last Saturday at this time, Elmer attended my Mom's funeral. We all knew of Elmer's declining health and that he needed to take better care of himself. I had a good chat with him and he seemed to be doing better than the last time I saw him. But little did I, or any of us know, that Elmer would go home to God later that day.  Although we all grieve his sudden death, we take consolation in knowing that he died where his beloved community was gathered and that he is now with God interceding for us with Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin, Phil Berrigan, and the entire cloud of witnesses.

Elmer Maas was truly a man of abiding faith and love, a beacon of hope for our world. He was a man for the ages who was deeply passionate about life. I thank God I had the privilege of knowing such a kind and amazing man. Thank you Elmer for the gift of your beautiful life. Your spirit will live on in all our hearts! Deo Gratias for Elmer Mass. Presente!!!