Have You been harmed/hurt?

Do you seek to Repair, restore and return to right relationship?

The work of community is not always easy. It brings together people with different hopes and dreams, different origins and pathways, different personalities. The thing that makes it hard also makes it amazing. 

Land of the Sky UCC commits to a paradigm of repair and seeks to restore relationships when hurt and harm has taken place. Land of the Sky UCC believes in the value of restorative practices and believes it provides a meaningful way to bring people back together, allow for engagement with intention, and hopefully, restore relationships. 

Restorative practices are embedded in our culture. Restorative practices have the greatest impact when they are foundational. We ask our teams to start meetings with a focus on connection, allowing folks to share about themselves and know the people around them. We ask teams to close with intention, offering silence, a reading or prayer. This way of being with each other and choosing connection intends to set a foundation that allows people to engage in a process for restoration when injury has occurred. 

This system prioritizes grace and commits to healing and right relationship as a goal.

The short version of what happens:

When an injury/harm has occurred you may reach out to the church as outlined below. You will be contacted to discuss the process and steps to move forward. A Circle Keeper will be identified to hold the space. The Circle Keeper will meet and talk with each affected person. A Repairing Harm Circle will be scheduled.

Why?

Restorative Practices engage a Repairing Harm Circle when a breach in relationship occurs A Repairing Harm Circle involves a third party, known as a Circle Keeper. The Circle intends to allow both parties to speak and begins with a commitment from both parties to hear the other person and find a path of healing and restoration.

The participants

First Points of Contact receive the request from within the community for a Repairing Harm Circle. First Points of Contact are Co-Facilitators of the Leadership Team, Ministry Support Team, Pastor Sara.

Circle Keepers convene a Repairing Harm Circle for the people seeking to repair and restore relationships. Circle Keepers are people trained in Restorative Practices within our community.

Affected Participants are those in the midst of harm/injury/conflict. While sometimes there is a participant who has been harmed and another participant responsible for the injury, many times both participants have been harmed and may be responsible for some injury.

Reflection Question for a Repairing Harm Circle

What happened, and what were you thinking at the time?

What have you thought about since? 

Who has been affected by what happened and how? 

What about this has been the hardest for you? 

What do you think needs to happen to make things as right as possible?

Let’s Heal

Please read about the process below and engage, as you are able.

  1. Complete the Breeze Form or Make Personal Contact to a First Point of Contact named above. The Breeze form goes to Pastor Sara and the Co-Facilitators of the Leadership Team so please note that if you seek to bypass these parties being engaged (i.e. they may be involved in the harm) then you should reach out directly to the Ministry Support Team. You may also give permission to someone to reach out on your behalf.  

  2. Circle Keeper is identified.

  3. Circle Keeper reaches out to the parties to explain the power of restorative practices, the intentions of our community, and what this process will look like.

    1. An invitation to this work can be declined. It is deeply human to get defensive and isolate. However, we hope that people will choose community and engagement. This is a spiritual discipline. It is hard and it is what is needed to be in right relationship. 

  4. If everyone agrees to move forward, the Circle Keeper will meet individually with each person involved and talk through their responses to the restorative questions.

  5. Circle Keeper and Affected Parties will schedule a Repairing Harm Circle.

Would you like to learn more about the story of LOS? Read about our beginnings here.