A connecting space that holds our differences, differently

I circled back to my classmate Eric Paul to make sure I attributed this quote correctly. I love this description of Restorative Justice – “a connecting space that holds our differences, differently.” Eric included it in his final presentation, which was titled, “Can the Church be Trusted with Justice?” What an exceptionally well done presentation. Our final assignment was to review three of our classmate’s presentations and provide comment. Eric’s topic had parallels to mine so it particularly resonated. He described the work of restorative practices as needing to “tap into the restorative impulse of the Gospel” and that very much mirrored how we have talked about the spiritual roots of Restorative Justice in our work here in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. That’s a wrap for PAX 571. Extremely grateful for the opportunity and for the heart and wisdom Dr. Johonna Turner shared with all of us.

Got a chance to participate in additional circle practice work and training with Ashley McGuire from the University of San Diego Center for Restorative Justice last week. Her talk was titled, The Art of Crafting Community Building Circles Online. Early on in the pandemic, virtual circles were something of a fall back, last resort when we could not gather in person. Ashley described the over 150 virtual circles she has conducted since the pandemic began and in the quarantines that followed, and shared some of the adaptations as well some of the benefits of circles where the room location is Zoom link.

More thought provoking work this week. The Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph presented the fourth in their restorative justice series of talks titled, Restorative Justice with Sister Helen Prejean. I had certainly heard about Sister Helen, the immediate connection is the movie, “Dead Man Walking”, but I’d not heard her speak. What an engaging storyteller. She spoke frankly and critically about her outrage about the executions that are happening in the waning days of the Trump administration and alternated between the specific legal and the theological arguments against capital punishment. The organizers launched this conversation locally in June after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. This first series included a monthly virtual event with guest speakers and/or panels. They described plans for 2021, still in the works that will continue a discussion about Restorative Justice and its applications. They expressed their appreciation to the folks at the Catholic Mobilizing Network for supporting the series.

Covid silver linings.