Connecting Across Divides: Prophetic Empathy

Tuesday, June 1, 4-6 ET

Guest Presenter Cat Zavis

Cofacilitators Rosa Zubizarreta and Rivera Sun

Guest Presenter Cat Zavis from the Spiritual Progressive Network will share her tools and practices on Prophetic Empathy. Her presentation will be followed by exercise/conversation on how to apply and use this approach. “What is it that draws people to groups that demean and harm others? People need to have a sense of belonging, community, and purpose. One of the most critical aspects of our approach is that as we challenge politicians, policies, and behaviors that are abhorrent and resist efforts to undermine the gains we’ve achieved thus far, we do so with love and compassion in our hearts – emphasizing our shared humanity. If we want to create a sea change we need to take a long, hard look at how we got here and what we can do to create long-term lasting change.” This is part of a Pace e Bene series on how ordinary people like us can help disarm hate, connect across divides, and decrease the likelihood of violence. In these times of increasing toxic polarization, we all need to gain skills in communicating with people who hold views opposed to our own - whether they’re family members, neighbors, coworkers, or others. 

Cost: $20, scholarships available

This public event is also part of the Disarming Conversations, Connecting Across Divides 8-week program. If you'd like to dive deeper with this work, it's not too late to sign-up! Find out more here>>

Cat Zavis is the Executive Director of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP), a collaborative divorce attorney, mediator, coach, and trainer in conflict resolution and empathic communication. She is currently pursuing a Rabbinic ordination through Aleph – the Jewish Renewal Ordination Program. Since November 2015, she has been leading trainings for hundreds of people on Spiritual Activism: Prophetic Empathy & Revolutionary Love in an effort to help people understand the underlying psycho-spiritual crisis in our society that has given rise to our current situation and ways to transform our society to one of love and justice. Cat uses her empathic training and expertise to draw connections between people’s personal life struggles and the larger social context and systems in which they live, empowering people to change not only their personal lives but also society as a whole. www.spiritualprogressives.org and www.tikkun.org