Restoring Our Humanity: Finding our Way Home through Restorative Justice

Restoring Our Humanity
Finding our Way Home through Restorative Justice

Presented by Fr. Daniel Griffith and National Restorative Justice leaders Kay Pranis, Sr. Janet Ryan and Eric Anderson.

Saturday, October 25
The Basilica of Saint Mary
Teresa of Calcutta Hall

8:30am Gathering & Food
9:00-12:30pm Program

This workshop will offer a vision and practical steps for a cultural transformation.

In this moment of upheaval and disruption to our sense of security about who we are as a people and where we belong, we are reminded that the question of justice is alive in every human interaction. Many interactions, in our daily lives and the lives of those around us, do not feel just. Restorative Justice as a philosophy points us in the direction of right relationship, of living together well. The peacemaking circle process offers a concrete way to practice the principles of restorative justice in daily interactions. Transformation starts with each of us in our own lives.

• This workshop will offer an opportunity to explore the vision of Restorative Justice and Peacemaking Circles and to relate that vision directly to our own lives.
• The workshop will include an opportunity for dialog based on the wisdom of the lived experience of each person present.

We have in us, as humans, the capacity to do better with one another. We can be intentional about nurturing that capacity. Restorative justice combined with circle process is one pathway for moving in that direction. Come join us as we make the path by walking together, not in blind following, but in active dialog and learning together.

To begin to explore the vision and practical steps toward bringing peacemaking into our lives and culture, consider reading some of these Little Books of Justice and Peacemaking. We will have these books available at the event.

• The Little Book of Restorative Justice, by Howard Zehr
• The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice, by Fania E. Davis
• The Little Book of Circle Processes, by Kay Pranis
• The Little Book of Trauma and Healing: Revised and Updated, by Carolyn Yoder
• The Little Book of Environment and Restorative Justice, by Wanbli Wapháha Hokšíla, Nirson Medeiros da Silva Neto, João Salm, Josineide Gadelha Pamplona Medeiros

Visit tables of organizations to find ways to continue this process individually and collectively.

 

Register

 

Kay Pranis

Kay Pranis teaches and writes about the dialog process known as ‘peacemaking circles.’  Kay learned about peacemaking circles in her work in restorative justice in the mid-90s. From 1994 – 2003 Kay held the position of Restorative Justice Planner at the Minnesota Dept of Corrections.

Her initial teachers in the circle work include Barry Stuart, a judge in Yukon, Canada, and Mark Wedge, a member of the Tagish/Tlingit First Nation, Yukon, Canada. Tahnahga Yako, New Brighton, Minnesota, has been on-going mentor for her practice. Since the initial exposure to the use of peacemaking circles in the criminal legal system, Kay has been involved in developing the use of peacemaking circles in schools, social services, churches, families, museums, universities, municipal planning and workplaces. She has partnered with many individuals and groups in developing applications of the peacemaking circle process for healing, community building, conflict resolution, repair of harm, responding to acute trauma related to climate disaster, teaching and learning, collective visioning and celebrating!

Kay has authored or co-authored several books about circles:

• Peacemaking Circles – From Conflict to Community; 
• The Little Book of Circle Processes – A New/Old Approach to Peacemaking; 
• Doing Democracy with Circles – Engaging Communities in Public Planning; 
• Heart of Hope – A Guide for Using Peacemaking Circles to Develop Emotional Literacy, Promote Healing & Build Healthy Relationships;
• Circle Forward – Building a Restorative School Community.

Since 2003 Kay works primarily as a trainer, sharing the peacemaking circle process with people in the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica and South Korea. She is also an adjunct professor at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts. Kay has presented numerous webinars about circles and restorative justice since 2020.

Kay has a particular interest in the use of circles to support social justice efforts addressing racial, economic, class and gender inequities.  That interest includes the use of peacemaking circles to understand and respond to historical harms to groups of people.  The peacemaking circle process has been a source of energy, inspiration and continuous learning for Kay for the past 30 years.

Sr. Janet Ryan

Janet Ryan, OSF, originally from Boston, is a Clinton Iowa Franciscan Sister. For the past 12 years she has been ministering at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation on Chicago’s South Side doing educational and restorative justice work. The past 2½ years she has been working primarily in correctional centers throughout Illinois, doing 4-day Circle-Keeper trainings for men & women who are incarcerated.  Last year PBMR expanded its ministry to include a 3-day circle experience for corrections staff.  Sister Janet is also involved in restorative circles throughout the city which build community and bring healing.

Eric Anderson

Eric Anderson is a Peace Circle Keeper and restorative justice practitioner who brings 27½ years of lived experience within the Illinois Department of Corrections to his work transforming carceral systems through healing-centered practices. After receiving a life without parole sentence at age 15, Eric discovered restorative justice principles during his incarceration across multiple maximum-security facilities, where he became a paralegal and helped pioneer ways to bring established Circle Keeper training programs into correctional settings.

Since his release in April 2023, Eric has continued expanding circle work both inside and outside prison walls. Working in close partnership with Sister Janet Ryan OSF at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, together they conduct intensive 4-day Circle Keeper trainings throughout IDOC facilities. Their collaborative pioneering efforts represent innovative ways to institutionalize restorative practices within correctional settings, emphasizing the transformative potential of circles to build authentic community and heal trauma in even the most challenging environments.