It’s challenging being a mainstream Christian church these days, in Canada. Declining membership, aging congregations, questions about relevancy, not to mention dealing with the Indian residential school legacy, witness Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Yet, paradoxically, there is opportunity. Opportunity to reach out, engage, dialogue, explore new possibilities. This is the approach The United Church […]
Constructive Conflict: Revisiting the genius of Mary Parker Follett
July 11, 2010 by · 3 Comments
Last month, my collaborative-minded web friend, John Folk-Williams, introduced us to Mary Parker Follett, in this article on his excellent blog Cross Collaborate. Among the living humans from 1868-1933, her insights reflected a brilliant mind, systems thinking, and in retrospect, are visionary. I was totally intrigued, and so I followed up… First, I procured […]
Victoria's Family Collaborative Law Group: Raising the bar on ways to manage family conflict
May 25, 2010 by · 1 Comment
The Collaborative Family Law Group (CFLG) is a Victoria-based interdisciplinary group of independent professionals, whose mission is to encourage and promote a new process to create positive solutions for people in conflict and families in transition. Indeed that’s why I’m a fan of theirs. Recently I attended, as a guest, one of the regular monthly […]
Lessons in community values and culture from the Canadian outposts
April 30, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Communities that are isolated from the mainstream population often develop distinct, rich cultures, based on a firmly established set of values and practices. There are many examples of these communities in Canada, from sea to sea to sea. Yet, a strong set of values is no guarantee that community or its culture will persist. And […]
