Grace in the Mountains is hosting a Braver Angels Skills for Bridging the Divide workshop on Saturday, December 5 at 10 AM, facilitated by Tom Daily. Registration will be opening soon. Please visit https://www.gracewaynesville.com/ to stay updated or check our diocesan E-news for registration updates.
What is a Skills for Bridging the Divide Workshop?
In our current polarized political environment, many people avoid or dread political conversations with friends or family members whose politics differ from their own. They worry, rightly so, that any attempts at political discussions will devolve into arguments and acrimony, and result in hurt feelings or anger.
Braver Angels Skills for Bridging the Divide Workshops teach skills for having respectful conversations that clarify differences, search for common ground, and affirm the importance of the relationship. They also give participants a safe environment to practice those skills.
Skills for Bridging the Divide workshops are approximately 2 ½ hours long.
Who Can Attend?
Anyone in the Diocese interested in having better conversations with people on the other side of the political aisle.
Skills for Bridging the Divide is ideal for organizations like communities of worship, social clubs or educational institutions who want to reduce or avoid the divisiveness of political polarization.
Goals of the Workshop
To learn about the perspectives, feelings, and experiences of someone you care about who differs from you politically
To have a sense of satisfaction about how you conveyed your own perspective, feelings, and experiences
To discover some common ground, if it’s there
The Process
After a brief introduction and a discussion about what can go wrong in political discussions, participants in a skills workshop can expect to learn the following:
Tone setting skills
Listening skills
Speaking skills
Handling difficult moments
Participants will also get opportunities to practice these skills.