Interfaith Workshops & Programs

Ongoing 90-minute workshops we offer our Congregations and Partners*

*For health and safety purposes, we are offering our workshops via ZOOM in an online environment.

Most of our programming has been recorded after moving to online meetings during C-19.  To see the recordings on our YouTube Channel – including our Anti-Racism Trainings – please visit here: https://tinyurl.com/I4CYouTubeChannel

Our Interfaith Racial Justice Resources are updated regularly and are available here.


Interfaith Skills Training Series:

Defusing Hatred Program (part 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPULJub12Eg

Everyday Peacemaking Program (part 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIyDmLizTmo&t=13s

Courageous Conversations Program (part 3): https://youtu.be/p9fN960C-4M


Defusing Hatred Program

We share our Defusing Hatred Program teaching non-violent communication skills …..on Youtube for now:  the recording of this program is Part 1 of this Interfaith Skills Training Series at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9fN960C-4M&t=6s

Learn nonviolent communication skills in a safe environment and develop tools for responding to uneasy situations and interrupting harassment and hate speech.  Enjoy an informative, visual presentation followed by conversation and hands on experience through role-play.

Available at your congregation or small group by signing up a team from the Interfaith Council. Contact Rev. Will McGarvey below. (Currently available via zoom.)

We host this program with the hope of building communities of care and protection of the vulnerable around us, especially in this time of heightened tension and public acts of aggression.

We will share institutional and personal forms of interruption of cultural oppression, followed by  role-playing different situations to discuss how best to be present for others. We will do a quick survey of history of hate crimes in CCC and then review the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

This gathering is offered to congregations and members of the Interfaith Council. For more information, contact Rev. Will McGarvey at 925.933.6030 or eye4cee@gmail.com.  We recorded this program on July 21, 2021, and it is available to share with your congregation’s educational forums at our YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9fN960C-4M&t=6s

Everyday Peacemaking Program

We share our Everyday Peace Program teaching communication skills for difficult situations …..on Youtube for now:  the recording of this program is Part 2 of this Interfaith Skills Series at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIyDmLizTmo&t=100s

Following up on The Defusing Hatred Program, the Everyday Peacemaking Program explores practical ideas for staying in conversation with others, conflict management, and how our spiritual practices help us stay calm in tense situations. Then we break into small groups to create a response to a particular, potential situation.

We host this program with the hope of building communities of care and protection of the vulnerable around us, especially in this time of heightened tension and public acts of aggression. For more information, contact Rev. Will McGarvey at 925.933.6030 or eye4cee@gmail.com. We recorded this program on July 28, 2021.  Please share with your congregation’s educational forums at our YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIyDmLizTmo&t=100s

Courageous Conversations Program

We share our Courageous Conversations Program teaching Compassionate Listening Project Skills…..on Youtube for now:  the recording of this program is Part 3 of this Interfaith Skills Series at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9fN960C-4M&t=6s

Also, a follow up on The Defusing Hatred Program, the Courageous Conversations Program explores Compassionate Listening in a supportive environment, teaching:

  • A way to hear more deeply
  • The necessity to set ground rules
  • Not about changing minds
  • Ability to really hear others and to be heard by others

We will record this program on August 18, 2021, when it will be available to share with your congregation’s educational forums at our YouTube Channel.  If you’d like to share an experience you have had of a time when you have been discriminated against, please email Rev. Will at interfaithcccc@gmail.com.  This was recorded on Wed., August 18th at 7 pm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9fN960C-4M&t=6s


Interfaith Skills Training Series:

Defusing Hatred Program (part 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPULJub12Eg

Everyday Peacemaking Program (part 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIyDmLizTmo&t=13s

Courageous Conversations Program (part 3): https://youtu.be/p9fN960C-4M


Now available from ICCCC and the Interfaith Peace Project —

“Coping With Nationalisms: Searching for the Soul of a Nation — Religion, History, and Politics” taught by Father Tom Bonacci.

Join Father Tom Bonacci and members of our Interfaith Council exploring the rise of nationalism in our time, the differences between nationalism and patriotism and the idea of exclusion, supe- riority and identity. Then we explore the Doctrine of Discovery, and the impacts of the Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny from the past to today. We then explore the relationship between systemic racism and nationalism, the 1619 Project, Critical Race Theory and current manifesta- tions of racial animus. We wrap up the series considering anti-racist responses to the issues of identity, politic, and religion. Reclaiming the ideals of America helps us answer the religious call to systemic justice in each of our traditions. This series is on our YouTube channel, and can be played from there for your religious education programs with our permission.

See the series at: https://tinyurl.com/CopingWithNationalisms

PART I – IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM

PART II – EXPLORING THE DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY:  The Definition, History, and Importance of the Doctrine The Impact of the Doctrine of Discovery:

  • The Monroe Doctrine
  • Manifest Destiny
  • Voices of Descent – Then and Now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj1Bz0i20a4&list=PLXLvyIbIUDdHrXOZ_AcfIllwFTWK5PUGY&index=2

“The Doctrine of Discovery preyed upon the human tendency towards hubris and self-elevation, contributing to the diseased theological imagination that could not envision a world with any other expression of the fullness of humanity other than white flesh. As the European colonial Christian mind began to encounter inhabitants of the African continent, the doctrine affirmed that they were encountering a people who were inferior. This sense of superiority paired with the motif of dominance and power assumed by the European Christians resulted in a severely dysfunctional theological imagination. The assumption of superiority and the concomitant sense of dominance and power would also form the European colonial Christian perception of Native Americans.6 The encounter with the other resulted in the elevation of white bodies and minds over and above African and American Indian bodies and minds.”

  • Charles, Mark; Rah, Soong-Chan. Unsettling Truths. InterVarsity Press. Chapter Six. Kindle Edition.

PART III – THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYSTEMIC RACISM AND NATIONALISM

  • Whose History is “Our” History?
  • The 1619 Project Debate
  • The Critical Race Theory Debate
  • Systemic Racism and Current Manifestations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YofZEWcdM4M&list=PLXLvyIbIUDdHrXOZ_AcfIllwFTWK5PUGY&index=3

PART IV – ANTI-RACIST RESPONSES

  • Revisiting the Issue of Identity Reclaiming the Ideals of America
  • Is America a White Christian Nation? The Religious Call to Systemic Justice Resources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9kJkh4MDrI&list=PLXLvyIbIUDdHrXOZ_AcfIllwFTWK5PUGY&index=4


Suicide Prevention Workshop for Chaplains and Religious Leaders March 17th, 2021

March 17, 2021 @ 12:30 pm1:30 pm

“If You See Something, Say Something” is a suicide alertness and mental health awareness training which is open to individuals from all walks of life. It teaches participants to recognize the signs of one struggling with suicide or mental health and gives them the tools to help those in need. In a very short time frame, participants are given life-saving tools and skills.  Link to the program in the events calendar.

The free workshop will be taking place on Wednesday, March 17 at 12:30 pm PST. Registration is required, and can be done here: http://geltcharitable.foundation/ICCCC