From the DirectorMy mother called last week to say, “Honey, I just attended a talk about dignity and the need to heal after this presidential election cycle! The speaker was a woman named Donna Hicks.” My folks and I have radically different political views, yet we could mutually acknowledge that profound dignity violations call out for listening, hearing and healing. Dignity violations are among the harms we discuss as potential sources of trauma in STAR trainings. How are people applying what they learn at STAR? What are new resources and developments emerging from STAR community members? Have a look…
From STAR PractitionersNo longer silent, no longer alone (by Joy Kreider)Mike Yoder and I would never have met if we had not come to STAR II at the same time at SPI 2016. We both come out of conservative Anabaptism. We both have first-hand knowledge of how trauma-producing abuse changes lives. ... more Carrying it forward in Burma-MyanmarS. Lont Mun, a 2005 alumnus of the MA program at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, was part of a series of STAR trainings facilitated by Elaine Zook Barge and David Anderson Hooker in Burma-Myanmar in 2008. He popped into the STAR office... more Upcoming EventsUnderstanding the Ecology of Violent Extremism with Dr. Lisa Schirch, November 16 in Washington, DCJoin us at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC for an engaging training led by Dr. Lisa Schirch that aims to enhance your knowledge around violent extremism through a peacebuilding lens.This is a hands on training to understand the factors that feed the growth of violent extremism. The intentional and unintentional feedback loops within the complex system of responses to violent extremism will also be explored.
Upcoming STAR I & II Trainings at EMU in Harrisonburg, VA and Lancaster, PASTAR aims to strengthen the capacity of individuals, organizations and communities to understand the impacts of trauma, interrupt cycles of violence, and build resilience at personal, community and societal levels. STAR is for people whose work brings them in contact with populations dealing with current or historic trauma.
STAR NewsTrauma-informing the Summer Peacebuilding InstituteProfessor Barry Hart and CJP alum Mikhala Lantz-Simmons worked to develop and implement a plan for trauma-informing SPI, as part of their research into trauma-informed organizations. (Check out their definition of a trauma-informed organization.) At SPI they:
STAR Practitioners and TrainersIn 2012 STAR introduced a formal path toward becoming a STAR Practitioner or Certified STAR Trainer. We have 67 Practitioners and 15 certified trainers (with a few more nearly there), and people have applied STAR in creative ways in many contexts. We will continue to invite people to become STAR Practitioners by taking STAR Level I and Level II trainings and joining our online learning community. Beginning in January, we will pause taking applications for the Trainer Certification Path as we take time to evaluate the effectiveness of our first few years of trainer certification. STAR for EducatorsProfessors Kathy Evans and Elaine Zook Barge recently convened a group of STAR practitioners engaged in trauma-informing the educational environment. They brainstormed about what would need to be part of the upcoming SPI 2017 course, which will be taught by Kathy Evans and David Anderson Hooker. Meanwhile, Kathy has also been involved with the Harrisonburg public schools to assist in their efforts at trauma-informing and deepening practice of restorative justice in the schools.Upcoming Training in Nairobi January 30-February 3, 2017 with Women’s Peacebuilding Leadership Program ParticipantsWPLP is a grant-funded program of CJP that provides academic training, practical application, and mentored support in peacebuilding leadership to cohorts of women who hold positions of leadership in conflict-affected communities. Eight women from all regions of Kenya comprise WPLP Class 5; these women are working to transform Kenya’s justice system, train peacekeepers in conflict analysis and gender-based violence, mobilize women to counter violent extremism and radicalization, and bring communities together for conflict transformation and reconciliation processes.STAR’s recent journeys and developments: “We’ve been everywhere, man…”The Johnny Cash song leaps to mind when we think about the movement over the last few months. Since SPI, we’ve shared STAR in various forms at EMU, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Fiji, New Zealand, and in Kenya with a group of South Sudanese, and closer to home in Denver and Baltimore and Charlottesville. Elaine is currently completing a STAR for Historical Harms in Zimbabwe, and we are preparing to welcome a group for STAR Level II in Harrisonburg. We are excited to welcome our new Program Associate, Hannah Kelley, to the STAR/CJP team. Hannah joins us from Fuller Theological Seminary in California, where she both completed her MDiv and worked for seven years in various coordination and support roles with the Dean and Faculty. She was also a children’s and youth minister, Leadership Team member, and regular preacher and teacher at Pasadena Mennonite Church. Originally from Ohio, Hannah studied Bible and Theology at Malone University. Resources
www.emu.edu/star | 540.432.4651 | 1200 Park Road Harrisonburg, VA, USA STAR is a program of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. |