I Relate Workshop ~ By Aeri Lee

More and more, conflicts and misunderstandings arising from cultural differences between individuals and groups are a daily occurrence in our lives. As followers of Jesus, the prince of peace, we are called to be peace-makers, bridge builders, and lovers and welcomers of strangers and the alien among us. But often times, many of us who want to follow Jesus' call are left wondering just "how" we may go about acquiring the skills necessary to be welcomers of strangers and to make peace with our dissimilar neighbors and our brothers and sisters. Well, there is chance to acquire the skills to begin our work! Everyone is warmly invited and strongly encouraged to attend a 1 day workshop on cross-cultural mindfulness on Saturday, September 27th from 10am - 2pm. The workshop will cover how to recognize that we may be having a cross-cultural encounter, how we may redirect our initial negative reaction to encountering difference toward better and deeper understanding of our selves and of those that may be different from us. The workshop, led by I-relate facilitators, Aeri Lee, and Rev. Kim Montenegro, will include many fun and interactive activities, self-discoveries, and "a-ha" moments, as well as a time to get to know our new pastor, Brenda Walker, in an in-depth interview. We will be inviting members of our Chinese-speaking congregation, so that we may learn and begin to explore how to not simply co-exist, but to creatively work together across our cultural differences to build God's kingdom. Please RSVP to our lay leaders, Steve Chan and Becky Wong, so that we may have enough food for lunch.