Restorative Justice Practices

Restorative Justice (RJ) is a way of life that helps us repair relationships, for creating, sustaining or restoring a sense of community. Space is created for deep listening and the exchange of stories needed for healing relationships. Peacemaking is different to peacekeeping. Peacekeepers try to keep the lid on conflict. Peacemakers seek truth and lasting reconciliation.

Key guiding values or principles of Restorative Justice • Hospitality: Restorative processes generate the safety and respect for people to feel ownership of the process and to speak freely. • Truth: We may have experienced an event differently but as we tell our own stories and then build a collective story together we can get closer to the whole truth. • Integrity: Being accountable for our own participation and action means having the courage to look at our own woundedness and capacity for harm, and the strength that we have for loving and caring. • Mercy: Reintegration is the goal. The Christian practice of mercy calls us to celebrate the return of the prodigal. We are all on a journey to wholeness and need each other’s kindness, forgiveness, and recognition that we carry the Imago Dei in us.

Western culture prioritizes action over relationships. Restorative Practice slows us down and invites us first to get to know each other. Instead of asking “how do we fix this,” or “who is to blame,” can we rather start by being curious about each other, taking time to connect as humans.

Once we have sufficient human connection, we can start exploring the issues of concern. This is especially where the principles of truth, integrity, hospitality and mercy come in. The real work here is to move behind the visible issues and to explore together and in each of ourselves, the fears, doubts, hurts and even hatreds that still feed the roots of our responses. In making these truths conscious, in bringing them to the light, we hold open the chance to let them go, to unlearn them. In this common acknowledgment, the possibility to forgive and reconcile may appear.

As we honestly and curiously endeavor to understand what is going on inside each of us we lay the basis for action, for doing something to reconcile. This is the work of love.

There are many practical tools that can help us through these processes. Such practices include: 1. Peace circles (used to involve a group of people for planning, conflict transformation, healing, expressing grief and trauma, promoting life, celebration, community building) 2. Restorative Conversations help to develop empathy by providing opportunity: – For all involved to tell their stories and express their feelings – To consider the impact of one's actions – To consider the feelings of others – Promote consideration of reparation by both sides (what is needed and what can be given) – Promote mutual determination of how the relationship can be more successful in the future. 3. Individual and community asset mapping to assist in identifying positive attributes that can be leveraged to assist in healing.

Adapted from Trauma, Resilience and Equity Informed Programming World Café (Art of Hosting) and Nehemiah Trinity Rising

The work of love

"Love is higher than After they had all read though the handout from Debra she opinion. If people love continued. "The wisdom of our faith traditions offers us structures that are stepping stones through the layers. We have councils and one another the most boards to keep us accountable. We have prayers and rituals that help varied opinions can us name our hurts and release anger. We teach the lessons over and be reconciled." over—Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. Conflict Rudolf Steiner becomes creative and transformational in practice.” Zachary felt unsettled. “As Christians, we often talk about the concept of “love” and the power of love to heal. I’m a curious person who frequently asks the question, “but why and how”? Why do we talk about love so much, and what might it mean for the practice of our faith as followers of Jesus Christ? What does it mean to put love into action? To quench my curiosity, I searched for information regarding how often the word “love'' appears in the Bible. According to a January 2022 article in Christianity, the word is mentioned between 361-645 times in the Bible.” Debra was curious. “But why the difference in how many times?” Zachary continued. “How often it is mentioned depends on the version you’re reading. My next “but why” question was why love is important to me as a follower of Christ. I found an answer in Matthew 22: 37-40 when the Pharisees asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. Listen.”

Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Angela nodded. “This scripture is a declaration of the importance of love and a call to be in a loving relationship with God, our neighbor and ourselves.” Zachary smiled. “Yes, good, but then my next question is, what does love look like in practice? This time 1 Corinthians 13 had an answer.”

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”