Welcome to Restorative Circles at FUUSB

Our congregation adopted Restorative Circles (RC) as one of its resources in 2017. The Healthy Congregation Team (HCT) saw a need for the FUUSB to be able to facilitate conflict resolution. RC is a community self-care process that can help us re-establish relationships between ourselves, according to the FUUSB covenant, when we don’t seem able to do so on our own. 

Over the years the HCT has funded several FUUSB members to receive the training necessary to facilitate the RC process. The RC team meets once a month to practice and hone our skills. We welcome your interest in the process and our team. Please feel free to contact us (information is listed below) with any questions about the process, to request a circle, or about joining the team.

About the Restorative Circle Process

If someone in our Society becomes involved (directly or as a witness) in a conflict that is unable to be resolved, then they can request a Restorative Circle process to help restore the relationship(s). 

The person requesting the Circle may choose who else they would like to participate in order to resolve the conflict. In addition, each participant may also request another/others they feel are needed in the Circle. Depending on the scope of the conflict, a RC can have just a few or many participants. 

Before everyone is together in the same room, a facilitator will conduct a Pre-Circle by speaking one-on-one to each person involved to understand their perspective and ask for their willingness to participate. This allows the facilitator to become multi-partial (the ability to understand each person’s perspective).

The Circle gathers at an agreed time with those who are participating. The Circle relies on a facilitated reflective dialogue process that enables each participant to express their experience(s) and to be heard and acknowledged. Through this process, understanding is reached and an Action Plan is agreed upon. 

A Post-Circle occurs at a later date to review the Action Plan and discuss if there needs to be further action taken, or if the results are satisfactory to all participants. 

Below are simple diagrams of the Reflective Dialogue and Restorative Circle processes.

If you would like to explore initiating a Restorative Circle (anybody can) or explore joining the team, please contact Sarah Forbes or John Byer.

We will contact you by telephone for a brief conversation to ensure that a Restorative Circle is the best tool for the situation and, if so, to schedule an in-person meeting. At that meeting a team member will describe the process and answer any questions. At the end of that interview you may then decide to proceed or not. 

Thank you. We look forward to being of service.

Restorative Circle Team

Nancy Hellen
Sarah Forbes
Marty Garrett
Sal Millichamp
John Byer
Elizabeth Logan

The Reflective Dialogue Process: Listening for Deeper Meaning 

1. The speaker chooses a listener. 

2. The listener states back what they heard the speaker say.

3. The speaker confirms or corrects the understanding of the receiver.

Process developed by Dominic Barter ([email protected]). Adapted from materials by Gail Claspell ([email protected]).

The Restorative Circle Process: A Community Self-Care Process