Strengthening Relationships/Healing Divisions

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

A child dies in detention. A young, unarmed black man is killed by a white police officer, another is racially profiled and comes dangerously close to serious harm.

A woman is sexually assaulted. And another. Many more suffer the indignity of disrespect.

Do the perpetrators know what they do? Do average community members fully understand the extent of the harm when someone is killed or raped or beaten? Do WE understand the full extent of the damage when many die in an instant in a mass shooting or missile strike? Or the grief of separated families or of the mother who’s family is slowly starving to death? 

That the answer is a clear NO is obvious when we consider that many victims are not alive to tell their stories. Many more are simply not being heard—not fully, not even close. And herein lies one key to transforming ourselves and society.

Restorative, Transformational Justice

A direct path to healing–to the union of peace and justice–has been laid out by restorative justice. Here we have principles and practices that allow, as a first step, the full extent of the harm to be expressed and understood, with those who caused the harm and community representatives in the room. It’s an exquisitely impactful place to start!

Picture it. Victims and the people needed to support them, perpetrators willing to hear the full extent of the harm, and people who will speak to the impacts to the broader community, all coming together to first, express and hear the harm. Speaking from their own experience. No finger pointing. No blame. 

In an atmosphere of respect, perpetrators hear for the first time the full extent of the harm—all the ripple effects, all the damaged relationships and the long-term effects. They look the people they’ve harmed in the eyes and hear their truth.

Now the perpetrators know what they have done. Now that the “other” wears a human face, they are far less likely to repeat the behavior. It’s been proven over and over. 

It may go no further, but just this much is transformational.

Active Peace Circles and Community Peacemaking

If the harm can be fully aired and heard, if responsibility is taken—really taken in a meaningful, authentic way—if there’s a willingness by those who caused the harm to be fully accountable, then the process can move on to repair and healing. Root causes can be addressed. Systems can be changed.

Active Peace Circles go beyond restorative justice to empower communities with the core principles of nonviolence and restorative justice so that we can heal what otherwise won’t be healed. This is community peacemaking and the evolution of activism. Not a quick fix but a way of being that prioritizes respect and relationships and transforms all it touches.

Read about the Basic Stages and the Principles.

Watch sampler videos below, and enjoy!

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Get in touch to bring Active Peace to your community!