Braver Angels

In several Braver Angels meetings this year, we have focused on what the national Braver Angels movement calls the LAPP skills: L = Listening; A = Acknowledging; P = Pivoting; P = offering a different Perspective. But the thing about skills is that they can’t be mastered without practice. In this case, it means continuing to engage with opinions that differ from our own. Our St. Matt’s Braver Angels group is offering an opportunity to do just that on Tuesday, October 7, at 7:00 pm in the undercroft. You can also participate by clicking on this Zoom link.

The discussion will focus on the pros and cons of land acknowledgement statements. These are statements that have been written and adopted by numerous organizations to remind their members, audiences, and others that the land on which their activities now take place used to be the traditional land of Native Americans. Some people consider such land acknowledgement statements to be essential and long overdue, while others find them inadequate and even offensive. You might have strong feelings about this already, or you might not have thought much about it but would like to hear some of the arguments and venture into the conversation. Wherever you stand on the matter, please join us as we continue to build our skills for engaging in constructive disagreement in our increasingly polarized society.

Note: While our Vestry has just begun considering whether St. Matt’s might develop a land acknowledgement statement of its own, this meeting is not a consultation on that question. Rather, we will look at some examples from other organizations and engage some of the broader issues.