Principles & Values
- We are created for relationships of interdependence with other human beings and with God—with all Creation.
- When relationships are broken, we are called through the Holy Spirit to work toward reconciliation, the creation of new relationships.
- Shalom or right relations is God’s vision for humankind and all Creation.
- Believing that conflict is opportunity, not just danger, we can engage conflict constructively, growing and learning and even experiencing divine revelation.
- The justice we seek is not retributive justice, but restorative justice—a justice that through engagement acknowledges brokenness, affirms accountability, and looks to the future for healing and restoration of community.
- The process that serves reconciliation and restorative justice is one of dialogue and mediation, not an adversarial process.
- Conflict is both personal and systemic. We must engage people as well as systems, the principalities and the powers.
- We are committed to being inclusive and being sensitive to all differences in the ways we engage and transform conflict.
- Believing that there are skills that are critical to the process of dialogue and mediation, we are committed to learning, teaching and practicing those skills—skills we practice as spiritual disciplines.
- We seek to empower both people who see this work as a career and all of us who see this work as a lifestyle.
- We believe that we need to do this work together, for mutual support, spiritual discernment, and the creation of community.
- We will work with all others who are committed to these principles, with humility.
