Events

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Nonviolent Communication

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a tool for peaceful communication that involves listening empathically and discerning both parties’ feelings and needs. Effective with family, co-workers, F/friends, and oneself, NVC is a technique developed by Marshall Rosenberg and explained in his book Nonviolent Communication A Language of Life. “What I want in my life is compassion, a flow between myself and others based on a mutual giving from the heart.”

Evanston Friends have shared the following invitation –

For a couple of years, Evanston Friends has held a Nonviolent Communication (NVC) practice group in which a core group of six or so has met regularly. This fall we wish to open our practice sessions widely to Friends, community members, and the greater Chicago NVC community. We will learn NVC basics in our fall practice sessions and invite you and anyone who may be interested to join us.

Thursday, September 20th we will focus on Giving from the Heart. Giving when we can do so with the joy of a young child feeding ducks. The four basic steps of observations, feelings, needs, and requests will be reviewed and practiced through roleplays chosen from recent situations encountered in our daily lives.

Thursday, September 27th and Thursday, October 4th will build on those concepts and introduce Communication that Blocks Compassion, judgments that alienate us from compassion.

You don’t have to attend all three sessions. Come when you can. No prerequisites. See how NVC affects your life. All are welcome. There is no fee.

Our Agenda:
6:30 we gather in the basement for an optional general check-in (about our week) and to eat our bring-your-own dinner.

7:00 we start our NVC specific check-ins (recent NVC opportunities/conflicts – acted on or missed; what is alive in us right now). Individual NVC check-ins often reveal situations for role-play. We also use exercises from the NVC workbook, Nonviolent Communication Companion Workbook by Lucy Leu.
9:00 we conclude.

On Friday evening, October 5 and Saturday, October 6 we will host a workshop on the basics of Nonviolent Communication.

PRESENTERS: Myra Walden, MA, certified trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication, and Carolyn Blum, MS, mediator and conflict coach.

CONTRIBUTION: Single registrant, $50 / Two or more registrants: $40 each

Fee reductions apply to those registering together with registration and payment postmarked by 9/29/12. Partial scholarships are available through work exchange. No one turned away for lack of financial means. Registration closes on 10/3/12.

CEUs: Seven continuing education units are available for LSW, LCSW, LPC, LCPC and LMFT.

PLACE: Evanston Friends Meetinghouse, 1010 Greenleaf, Evanston, IL 60202

TIME: Friday: Arrival, 6:45 pm, Workshop, 7-9 pm / Saturday: Arrival, 9:45 am, Workshop, 10 am – 4 pm (lunch not provided)

QUESTIONS & FOR REGISTRATION DETAILS: Michael Grygleski, michaelgrygleski@gmail.com, 630-510-1980

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Seeking Peace: Preserving Apples

Saturday, October 13
10am – late afternoon/early evening
Illinois Yearly Meeting Meetinghouse & Kitchen
McNabb, IL

THIS JUST IN: Peace Resources Committee is thrilled to announce the generous contribution of apples from Tanner’s Orchard of 740 State Route 40, in Speer, IL. We will be gifted all we need for the workshop, so come join us for a day of learning and fun! (posted 9/14)

Thanks to the gracious planning assistance of Beth Schobernd, Grayce Mesner, and Mariellen Gilpin we – the Peace Resources Committee – invite Friends to gather at the Yearly Meetinghouse for a day of storytelling and apples. This is a Peace House on the Prairie program, the first of many we hope to facilitate. The day will include:

– apple prep* with worship sharing around several apple-themed queries
– period of sterilizing jars and cooking apples
– an exploration of an assembly line process
– queries while the apples simmer
– processing apples with Foley mills
– processing apples with blenders/food processors
– boiling extra jars
– filling jars
– possibly learning about other ways to preserve apples (at least a small demo)

*apples will be prepared for processing with Foley mills and food processors, so some apples will be washed & cored while others will be washed, peeled, chopped and freed of seeds.

The day will proceed at its own pace. The goal is to share knowledge, learn more about each other and this fruit, listen to each other’s stories and walk away having made a delicious treat for ourselves and our loved ones. Especially in this year of drought, let us celebrate food and our access to it. This is an opportunity for us to build & deepen our community; we who haven’t yet been taught, we who desire a refresher, and we who want to share past experiences of preserving apples.

There are about a dozen Friends who have already expressed interest. We ask that those excited to participate please RSVP by October 1: email PRC clerk Breeze Richardson at breeze.richardson@sbcglobal.net.  This will ensure we arrange appropriate hospitality, purchase enough apples, and confirm the necessary equipment. The day will be free to all who wish to attend, with the opportunity to overnight at Clear Creek House. Our shared midday meal will be potluck.

Friends are encouraged to bring the following items:
– a paring knife/peeling knife
– cutting board
– preferred mixing bowl
– your personal Foley mill, food processor, or blender*

*If a participant wants to know more about these options we can provide additional details about what might be used. Some of those attending are purchasing needed equipment both for use in this workshop and future personal use with these new learned skills.

We will provide:
– enough apples to provide multiple quarts of applesauce to each participant
– sugar, cinnamon
– jars and lids
– some structure and queries to get us started…

The day will begin in the Meetinghouse Kitchen, and possibly expand to the outdoors if the group is big enough to divide into smaller worship groups & some want to prep apples outdoors (at the possible risk of attracting bees).

There is a need for some Friends to gather Friday evening or earlier on Saturday morning to wash down counters, sweep, and clean the necessary pots and accessories. Thanks to Beth and Diane who are kindly taking inventory of cooking pots and appliances during Fall Work Weekend.

We look forward to spending the day with you!

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Democracy, Earthcare Witness, and Holy War

Three remarkable events over the next three months:

Healing the Heart of Democracy
Noted writer, teacher and activist Parker Palmer and one of the definitive voices of the heartland and progressive spirituality, singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer, will be presenting a evening of song and spoken word on “Healing the Heart of Democracy: A Gathering of Spirits for the Common Good” through a a three-stage journey of hope celebrating ‘we the People’, exploring the power of ‘The Broken-Open Heart’, and inviting reflection on ‘How The Shall We Live.’ This evening with these two Quakers will be on Saturday, September 29 at the Crimi Auditorium in the Institute for Collaboration at Aurora University (407 S. Calumet Ave., Aurora, Illinois).  The event is free. However, reservations are required as seating is limited.  To register, please visit auartsandideas.com, email artsanddideas@aurora.edu or call 630-844-4924.

Quaker Earthcare Witness
The Quaker Earthcare Witness October Gathering and Steering Committee meeting will be held at the Cenacle in Chicago, October 4-7, 2012. The theme, for this year, will again be Food and Biodiversity and will be commemorating 25 years of bringing earthcare concerns to Friends. In addition to ILYM’s Noel Pavlovic and Jim Kessler, farmer and environmental educator from Iowa Friends United Meeting, speaking Friday and Saturday evening on food and biodiversity, Jose Aguto, FCNL Legislative Secretary for Sustainable Energy and Environment, will address the challenges of FCNL in working on the environment today; a panel of QEW members will address special aspects of food and biodiversity. We will celebrate with stories from our 25-year history, and we will be planning for our future work: what will our priorities be and how will we work with Quaker organizations and others who share our concerns? Please consider joining the committee for the entire three-day gathering. Bring your stories, your passions and your ideas. Registration is due by September 7. If you have questions or want to register for the Gathering either full-time, for a day or two, or as a commuter, please contact treadway@ilstu.edu or call 309-454-1328.

The Holy War Conference
How do religious traditions link God and war? How have these linkages been misconstrued or exploited? Is religious violence distinct or do appeals to religious justification for violence serve as an excuse or smokescreen? The UIC Holy War conference will examine iterations of religious violence across temporalities and space. Conference presenters will speak to the internal categorizations of war and violence and their relations to imperial, national, and religious political forms. While individual papers will address specific religious traditions, the panels and conference as a whole is comparative and will bring out specificities and similarities among conceptions of holy war. The Keynote Address will be at 5pm on November 15 and is titled “Revelation and Militancy in the Traditions of Abraham” to be presented by Michael Sells, John Henry Barrows Professor of Islamic History and Literature, University of Chicago, and member of 57th Street Meeting. This conference is free and open to the public: November 15-16 at the University of Illinois at Chicago Institute for the Humanities (701 South Morgan Street, lower level Stevenson Hall); more information. Preregistration is not necessary, but is appreciated so attendance can be calculated. Click here to register.