IIRP Canada and FaithCARE (Communities Affirming Restorative Experiences), a program of Shalem Mental Health Network, announce a three-day event February 5-7, 2013 for congregations interesting in building restorative cultures. The two organizations draw on five years of experience working with congregations as outlined in this article, FaithCARE: Creating Restorative Congregations, which includes stories about how the program has helped congregations, as well as interviews with program leaders.
Event: Learning How to Grow Restorative Churches
When: February 5-7, 2013, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Where: Queen of the Apostles, 1617 Blythe, Mississauga, ON L5H 2C3
Fee: Includes training and coaching. $400 before January 15, 2013; $425 thereafter. 10% discount for two or more registrants from one organization.
Publicity for the event notes: "When conflict goes unresolved in a congregation or faith community, it can cause bitterness and break that community apart. Learning How to Grow Restorative Churches trains pastors and faith community leaders in an exciting approach to building healthy relationships and strong communities in congregations."
The two-part program involves three days of intensive participatory training and three one-hour sessions of future personalized field coaching in practice implementation.
Part One – Interactive Training – With Director of IIRP Canada Bruce Schenk
Day One: What Does it Mean to be a Restorative Church? Explore a relational framework and explicit practices that help heal relationships and build stronger, more connected congregations.
Day Two: Circles – Learn to facilitate circles through experiential, hands-on learning.
Day Three: Formal Restorative Conferences – Practice facilitating formal restorative conferences to address conflict and harm.
Day Three Dinner: Hear stories from FaithCARE members on how they’ve used the practices; discuss outcomes and what they’ve learned.
Part Two – Individualized Field Coaching – With FaithCARE
Three situation-specific one-hour sessions mentor Part One attendees in how to implement restorative practices with their congregation (in-person or long-distance: phone/SKYPE).
To learn more and register click here or call 905-528-0353.
Director of IIRP Canada Reverend Bruce Schenk is a Lutheran pastor and founding member of FaithCARE. He has brought restorative practices to schools, churches and other organizations across Canada and served in youth and adult justice.
