Growing Restorative Churches: November 8th & 9th

This two day interactive training is a collaboration between FaithCARE, the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP), Sherman Street Church, and the Christian Reformed Church in North America. The training will take place at Sherman Street Church: 1000 Sherman Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan from 8:30 am to 4:30p, Friday & Saturday, November 8 - 9. Cost: $120 (includes lunch) 

View the event on Eventbrite at: RestorativeChurches.eventbrite.com

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This event is sponsored by the following Christian Reformed Church agencies: Safe Church Ministry, Office of Race Relations, Office of Social Justice and Sherman St. Church

Schedule of the Training: 

Day 1: What Does it Mean to be a Restorative Church?
Explore:

• a relational framework and explicit practices that help to build, sustain, and heal relationships to build stronger, more connected congregations

• the congregational restorative practice continuum

• the restorative paradigm that underpins the practice

• how does this fit with our faith? With living out the Gospel in practice?

Day 2: Circles
Learn and practice:

• how to facilitate circles, through experiential, hands-on learning 

• various types of circles and their differential uses in many church contexts, such as meetings, decision-making processes, Sunday school, youth groups, congregational gatherings, and more

• circle dos and don’ts: harm caused by poor circle practices

Moving forward: developing an implementation plan
- What does all this mean for my faith community?
- How can we begin to implement some of the practices?

Training will be provided by Anne Martin, an IIRP-certified trainer and facilitator, and Director of Restorative Practice Services for Shalem Mental Health Network. Her extensive restorative practice experience includes work with faith communities, schools, workplaces, camps, families and community organizations.

Looking for more information? Here is a link to a brief article from an IIRP Forum detailing the formation of FaithCare and ways restorative practices have been used in churches.