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Braver Angels Part 1: Depolarizing Within
June 2 @ 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
As members of a liberal faith community, we are called on to both live our values and interact respectfully and productively with family, friends, and other congregants who have very different views than our own. This two-part workshop, offered in partnership with Braver Angels (https://braverangels.org/), builds the skills to navigate these sometimes contradictory goals.
The world today can be very polarized, with people of divergent views often unwilling to talk with each other, or even treat each other respectfully. This pattern is obvious on the American political scene, but it can also sometimes be seen more locally, even within the First Parish community, around issues like Israel and Gaza or how to respond to our history of slavery. STAR has partnered with Braver Angels, a national organization dedicated to fostering communication across divisions, to offer a pair of workshops at First Parish.
“Depolarizing Within” will be on Sunday, June 2, 1:30-4:30 p.m., and “Skills for Disagreeing Better” will be on Thursday, June 6, 7-8:30 p.m., both in the Vestry. You can register for this pair of workshops through the E-Bulletin or the Events page of the First Parish website. Participation in the “Depolarizing Within” workshop is a prerequisite for attending “Skills for Disagreeing Better.”
The first workshop, “Depolarizing Within,” will examine the assumptions and vocabulary we bring to thoughts about people with whom we have strong disagreements. We will identify stereotypes we hold (consciously or not), explore phrases that help us engage and that create distance and defensiveness, and discuss how to engage with people who share our views when they express contempt or ridicule for people with other views.
Learn more about Part 2, Skills for Disagreeing Better, will be held on Thursday, June 6, from 7:00-8:30pm.
Please register via Realm for both Parts 1 (June 2) and 2 (June 6). Questions? email STAR@firstparish.info