Bridge
Building Civic Muscle, Together: Notes from the July Civic Innovation Forum
On July 6, the Thriving Together Washington Civic Innovation Forum gathered faith leaders, community organizers, and civic innovators from across the state on Zoom. Paths to Understanding convenes this forum in partnership with Renew to Thrive and the InterMovement Impact Project — because this is exactly the civic engagement work we believe our moment requires:…
Read MoreWhat Happens When Neighbors Meet?
A few weeks ago, more than 70 people gathered for the public celebration of Let’s Go Together in Skagit County. Over the previous months, they had participated in conversations, shared meals, visited one another’s communities, and asked human questions. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Indigenous, people of many cultures and backgrounds, people of many ecoinomic situations, longtime…
Read MoreThe Moral and Relational Crisis Beneath American Division
One of the deepest questions many activists, organizers, faith leaders, and community leaders ask today is this: Why don’t people seem to care anymore? After violence, cruelty, corruption, or public dishonesty, many people feel exhausted and bewildered. It can seem as though empathy itself is disappearing. Some conclude that America is in a moral crisis.…
Read MoreLeadership After Radical Individualism
Over the last 60 years, radical individualism has reshaped not only our society, but also how many leaders imagine leadership itself. It has taught us to focus almost entirely on our own group. Our own congregation.Our own organization.Our own audience.Our own success or survival. And in some ways, this made sense. Many groups have faced…
Read MoreWe Cannot Heal Society With the Tools That Burned It Down
The attack on a mosque in California is heartbreaking. It is also terrifyingly familiar. After violence against Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Indigenous people, Black churches, immigrants, LGBTQ people, as well as violence against those considered conservative, we often hear the same question: “How could this happen?” The answer is always complicated. But some patterns are becoming…
Read MoreThe Civil Contract and Cross-Group Relationships
Many leaders I talk to feel the same tension. We can see the division.We can feel the distance growing.We know something deeper than politics is breaking down. So we ask: What do we actually do about it? For a long time, we thought the answer was better ideas. Those matter. But they are not enough.…
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