By JOEL OCKENHEIM March 16, 2007

Goldstar Mother for Peace Cindy Sheehan—the nationally known antiwar demonstrator who became a peace activist following the death of her soldier son Casey in Iraq—will speak at Central Congregational Church at 85 Seaverns Ave. (corner of Elm Street) at 8 p.m. on Fri., March 23, the day before a massive peace demonstration is planned for Boston Common. (See www.march24.org.) A $10 donation is being requested to raise funds for the protest and march.

Sheehan will be introduced by Boston City Councilor At-Large Felix Arroyo, whose own long-time opposition to the war is well-known. Grace Ross, recent Green-Rainbow Party candidate for governor, will also speak. Sheehan, Arroyo and Ross will also take questions.

Sheehan, who established an activist commune just outside President George Bush’s vacation ranch in August, 2005, asked him to meet her face-to-face to answer her questions about the necessity of the war in Iraq. The president refused.

Nowadays, with opposition to the war spreading throughout American society, Sheehan’s message is receiving increasing coverage in the national media. She has been described as a riveting, compelling speaker. Her retelling of the events that took place on the day that military personnel arrived at her home to tell her that her son had been killed has helped to change the minds even of some ultra-conservative former supporters of the war.

Her book “Peace Mom: A Mother’s Journey Through Heartache to Activism,” published by Simon and Schuster, has been enjoying brisk sales and will soon be listed as a bestseller by the New York Times. As the military gears up to escalate the Iraq war, Sheehan offers a charismatic voice clearly articulating the feelings of the vast majority of Americans, who, as public opinion polls make clear, now strongly oppose the war.

All those who wish to hear and meet this remarkable woman should plan to arrive early.

The writer is one of the organizers of the event.