May 20: Bystander intervention skills workshop

Meta Peace Team and Pax Christi USA are pleased to offer an online skills workshop for nonviolent bystander intervention, to be held Saturday, May 20, 12-4:30 PM Eastern on Zoom (including a 30-minute lunch/screen break).

>> Use this link to register. Pre-registration is required.

Cost is $35, which includes an extensive, printable color manual. Scholarships are available; contact us for more information.

Workshop information

The increased violence in our communities is adding yet another layer of divisiveness and “us versus them” thinking. As compassionate, concerned people of faith, we CAN do something. We will begin by exploring how active, assertive nonviolence can make a difference: What does it mean, how is it used, and how can people disagree (sometimes strongly!) while maintaining mutual respect and a willingness to reach understanding?

Our emphasis will be on BYSTANDER INTERVENTION: This workshop offers skill-building on how to do compassionate yet effective bystander intervention when someone is being harassed or threatened with violence.
• What can you do when you’re alone and see this happening?
• What do you do when the someone being harassed is YOU?

Participants will learn and gain practice in specific skills, techniques, and tools that are useful both in conflict intervention situations and in daily life, including:
• Active listening
• The importance of body language
• The CLARA technique (and its adaptations)
• Why “trying” matters

Participants will leave knowing that assertive nonviolence is not just an aspiration: It’s a set of attainable tools that work to create what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to as “The Beloved Community.”