Building Bridges
Description:
The following text is the keynote talk delivered remotely by Kenya Casanova to North Pacific Yearly Meeting on July 23, 2020.
The following text is the keynote talk delivered remotely by Kenya Casanova to North Pacific Yearly Meeting on July 23, 2020.
Dear Mary:
Thank you for your visit to Maui. The time was so pleasant that I was shocked to find four hours had sped by, leaving me to dash to a meeting of my homeowners’ association (HOA). I hope the remainder of your trip was pleasant.
In your Quaker meeting, you may have experienced events similar to these: a Friend doesn’t want to be on a committee with another Friend due to a past conflict; two Friends complain about a third party, whom they find to be impossible (yes, it does happen); a Friend speaks up in business meeting about a conflict that is going on, and no one responds or takes any follow-up action.
Lists of helpful ideas concerning approaches for seeking to resolve conflicts.
Report on a primary-school program in Dzerzhinsk, Russia, co-sponsored by Friends House Moscow.
Dear Editor: I am part of the Council of Elders, a volunteer organization in the Rogue Valley of southern Oregon, committed to promoting civil discourse. We started this organization after hearing about Better Angels (www.better-angels.org), a nation-wide organization that sprang up after the politically polarized 2016 elections.
Inspiring account of a nonviolent descalation of a dangerous situation.
From Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends
Dear Friends: Conflict in our meetings is often not resolved in a manner satisfactory to all involved. Frequently, some individuals or groups are left on their own to swallow changes they are not ready for. This happens even though much willingness to being open to a way forward has been experienced within the meeting.
