I was honored to support a restorative justice circle, a deeply meaningful and emotional process for members of a church in Martha’s Vineyard.
The facilitator led members of the church community through the session using the following prompts, which I captured virtually (although the session itself was in person):
- Doing: What would a circle practice look like here?
- Can you share a kernel of a story of ‘othering’ (on the island or in the church)?
- What are the feelings that came up during the stories?
- What are the barriers to intervening in times of justice?
- What are you willing to do to allow a deeper sense of belonging for your community?
- What are you grateful for?
- The barrier – what is the goal?
- Out of these answers the covenant will be shaped. From behaviors of belonging we will create the covenant
