Keeping up with Friends
Weekly tips for better conflicts
We’re excited to offer a fresh series of short tips for better conflicts. Years in the making, this series distills expert knowledge on what works in difficult conversations down to simple bite-sized videos. It’s a calendar, one tip to reflect on each week for a year. Download all of the tips in one PDF, find a new tip video on our social media each week, or sign up to get your weekly tip delivered right to your email!
https://QuakerService.ca/Tips
New on our website
Staff picks of 2024—were you wondering what CFSC staff listen to, watch, and read when they’re not at work? Check out our staff picks! https://QuakerService.ca/StaffPicks
Most popular content of 2024—we created a lot of great resources in 2024. Here’s what you clicked on the most: https://QuakerService.ca/MostPopular2024
Ten Quaker groups leave Twitter/X—in December CFSC joined nine other Quaker groups in disengaging from X. Find out why: https://QuakerService.ca/Twitter
Anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—joint statement reflects on how far implementing the Declaration has come in Canada and what remains to be done: https://QuakerService.ca/DeclarationAnniversary
Toolkit for responding to wars
People of conscience, especially those who believe that killing humans is never alright, are deeply challenged by violent conflicts in our world. Our hearts ache from the pain and suffering we witness, and our heads race with questions. CFSC has produced a brief toolkit for Quakers or anyone concerned by wars and violence. It explains the responses we recommend. The toolkit is broken down into six sections:
1. Expressing our sympathy and solidarity
2. Exploring historic context
3. Violence won’t solve the problem
4. Nonviolent alternatives to war
5. Government calls to action
6. Tools and resources
https://QuakerService.ca/ViolentConflicts
Psychology Today posts
CFSC’s Matt Legge continues to blog for Psychology Today. His latest posts are:
- The surprising truth is that people change all the time—one reason people give up on conflict transformation processes is that they believe change is impossible. But this surprising evidence says otherwise.
- The fine line between confidence and closed-mindedness—an example from basketball shows why “just following the evidence” is so tricky, and how that impacts conflicts.
- The two hands of active nonviolence: oppose and propose—active nonviolence means both opposing harms and offering ways forward together.
