Apr. 23—- Political and cultural divisions continue to strain relationships in communities and families across Minnesota and the
will be in Willmar next week to conduct workshops that offer practical skills to strengthen relationships with families, friends and community members.
The bus tour stop is a collaboration between the Willmar Lakes Area Vision 2040, the city of Willmar,
University of Minnesota Extension Service,
the
and the
according to a news release from the Willmar Area Community Foundation.
The tour will offer a skills workshop for elected officials to enhance their effectiveness across divides, an interactive discussion for elected officials and community leaders on building community beyond differences and two workshops for the public on Monday, April 28, according to the news release. The purpose is to strengthen communities and our democracy.
“Communities are built on social trust and relationships,” said Sara Carlson, co-chair of Willmar Lakes Area Vision 2040 and executive director of the Willmar Area Community Foundation, in the news release. “It is really important that we all do our best to guard that trust and those relationships carefully so we can tackle hard things together.”
James Miller, co-chair of Vision 2040 and president of the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber, added that the organizers are pleased “to bring Braver Angels to the Willmar area, so we can continue to grow skills that will result in stronger local ties and a better future.”
Established in 2016,
is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to reducing unhealthy polarization without either side compromising its values. Braver Angels offers proven methods and strategies that people can use immediately in their lives to forge better relationships with family, friends and community members.
“On this tour, we invite everyone to actually experience the difference it can make to have a fair and open conversation across differences. Bear in mind, we’re not trying to change people’s views on issues, but to change how we relate to each other,” said the Rev. Jeff Thiemann, a retired Lutheran pastor and business executive who co-chairs the campaign.
“(The high cost of polarization) undermines our ability to address shared problems, damages social cohesion, and weakens the foundations of democratic governance. Thus, it’s increasingly difficult to find common ground even on issues where broad agreement might otherwise exist,” he said in the news release.
“We know that people want to engage but don’t always know how,” added Bill Doherty, a co-founder of Braver Angels. “This tour provides real skills and opportunities to connect. We have a solid track record of success with our workshops and methods, which originated in 2016.”
Doherty is a University of Minnesota professor emeritus of family and marriage therapy who has designed most Braver Angels workshops. Local leaders in Willmar selected the Braver Angels events that would best strengthen the Willmar community, according to the news release.
“By working with local citizens, we believe we will lay the groundwork for ongoing and meaningful conversations across divides,” Doherty said.
The first event open to the public is an open house — “Bridging Divides, Building Community” — from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Willmar Area Community Foundation, 1601 East Highway 12, Suite 9. Registration is requested, but walk-ins are welcome. People can register at
.
This event is described as a welcoming space for anyone who wants to bring friends, families and communities back together despite political and cultural differences. Braver Angels focuses on changing not what people believe, but how they see each other, through respectful disagreement and civic friendship.
The second event open to the public — “A Community Conversation: Hopes and Concerns for the New Administration” — will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Willmar Senior High School, 2701 30th St. N.E. Registration is requested, but walk-ins are welcome. People can register at
.
The event description notes that reactions to the last election are as divided as the election itself, and feelings range from excited and hopeful to concerned and fearful. People don’t need to agree, but the country will be stronger if people can at least understand and respect others in the community who differ from them, it states.
In this 90-minute interactive session, a subgroup of participants will volunteer to share hopes and concerns while others listen and learn. The goals are to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences, feelings and beliefs of those on the other side of the political divide, and to find possible areas of common ground.
Other Braver Angels tour stops in Minnesota include Worthington, Fergus Falls, Moorhead, Bemidji and Brainerd, as well as Kerkhoven. It is funded by grants from the McKnight Foundation and the Voigt Foundation and is intended to be the first of several Braver Angels outreach efforts in the state.