Hello, everyone!
We are happy to let you know that the Agenda has been set for the January 23/24 Joanna Macy-informed workshop, facilitated by Karen Starz . . .
AGENDA
Friday, January 23; 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Facilitator Karen will provide an overview of Joanna Macy’s “Work That Reconnects”, and how it intersects with Nonviolent Communication. Introductions and Intention setting for the weekend will round out the evening.
Note: You may be wondering: What is Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and what does it have to do with environmental despair and hope?
NVC is a compassion-based approach to communication that helps people speak honestly and listen empathically by focusing on shared human needs rather than blame, judgment, or coercion.
Environmental challenges are not only technical problems – they are also relationship and values problems. NVC helps by:
- Centering care for life—human and non-human—by clarifying the needs underlying environmental harm
- Transforming conflict into collective action, rather than cycles of accusation and resistance
- Reducing burnout and polarization within environmental movements
In short, NVC supports the inner and relational skills needed to create the outer changes sustainability requires—aligning personal compassion with systemic ecological care.
Saturday, January 24; 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (doors open at 8:30 AM; please be in place and ready to start at 9:00 AM)
9:00 AM – Noon: Listening Circles and Grief/Despair Work
A listening circle is a structured group practice designed to cultivate empathic listening, mutual understanding, and emotional safety—rather than debate, persuasion, or problem-solving.
Listening circles are designed to:
- Ensure that everyone is heard
- Slow down communication
- Build connection among members of the circle
- Practice empathy without fixing, advising, or judging
These listening circles will be facilitated by Karen
Noon – 12:45 PM: Lunch break (BYO); please remain on the UU campus
12:45 – 3:00: Embodied Hope and Reconnection to Life
Embodied Hope, as presented in Joanna Macy’s “Work That Reconnects”, is a way of understanding hope that is felt, lived, and enacted through the body and relationships, rather than held as an abstract belief or optimistic prediction about the future.
Reconnection to Life is the experience of remembering that:
- You are not separate from the world you care about
- Your pain for the world arises from love and belonging, not weakness
- Life is participatory, intelligent, and resilient
- You are part of a larger web of relationships that includes people, species, ecosystems, ancestors, and future generations
- This reconnection restores energy, courage, and purpose
3:00 – 4:00 PM: Small group Going Forth Exercises
Your takeaways from the workshop . . .
- Tools for self-connection practice and grounding during triggering times
- Strategies to transform grief and despair
- Ways to direct your hope and make changes in your communities
- A general understanding of Nonviolent Communication principles
Note: All sessions will be at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Silver City; 3845 N. Swan Street
Nevertheless, They Persisted; Grief and Courage in Times of Environmental Peril
January 23; 6:00 – 8:00 PM
January 24; 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Silver City; 3845 N. Swan Street
Cost: $45
Please click this link in order to register and pay: