In January, while the campus is closed, ARI staff convened with professional trainers to undertake an intensive 5-day course in non-violent communication.
NVC starts with understanding ourselves. Trainers taught ARI staff the skills in observing our situation including others’ actions, savoring our feelings based on the situation, seeking and understanding our needs, then making a request of others to fulfill that need.
ARI staff also practiced conflict resolution based on the skills of NVC, seeking to understand the feelings and needs of aggrieved members of the group. Even in a workshop-style safe space, it was intense activity! But a powerful tool for building empathy for others.

At ARI, a diverse community of members live together in an equitable and inclusive environment. While this vision reflects powerful ideals, it is incumbent upon the staff to actually live those ideals in their daily life. With tools such as NVC, we come one step closer to making it a reality.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for the financial support for this workshop.