PASCH 2011 Conference

2009-11-02T21:40:59Z

2009-11-02T21:39:00Z <h3>Justice for All: Overcoming Barriers to Peace and Safety in the Christian Home</h3> May 13–15, 2011 <a href="http://www.columbiabc.edu/">Columbia Bible College</a> Abbotsford (Vancouver) British Columbia, Canada <img class="image-left-first" alt="Photp credit to Vincent J. Brown at http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualsense" src="/photos/0000/0389/barriers1.jpg" /> The Organizing Committee and the Program Committee for the 2011 conference are hard at work planning for an event that will appeal to faith community members, clergy, victim/survivors, advocates, therapists, health-care workers, academics, criminal justice personnel, and others working in the field of domestic violence. Nancy Nason-Clark, PASCH board member and Program Committee member, was most helpful in offering ideas for innovative plenary sessions, breakout sessions, music and poetry. Barb Fisher-Townsend, Program Committee chair, has been considering constituencies to receive the call for papers, which will be sent out in spring 2010, breakout session themes and possible participants, and keynote speakers for plenary sessions. Both Elsie Goerzen, Organizing Committee member and coordinator of the Mennonite Central Committee’s domestic violence project, and Gwen McVicker, PASCH board member and Organizing Committee member, are utilizing their many contacts to bring together a coalition of people living and working in the Vancouver area who will assist in conference development. The conference opens on Friday evening (May 13) with a prayer session; and on Saturday (May 14), there will be two plenary sessions and a selection of breakout workshops, panels, and presentations. On Sunday morning (May 15), there will be a plenary session followed by a worship service and the conference wrap-up at noon. One new addition to the PASCH conference will be “Talking Circles,” based on specific interests. These are common in indigenous groups and are a gathering of people to discuss points of commonality and/or difference. The idea is to find common ground of shared meanings and experiences in which differences are recognized and respected. The process involves listening and attending to varied viewpoints—leading to productive possibilities for change and perhaps to future conference themes. While the conference schedule is certainly not finalized, we wish to offer breakout sessions on the following topics: <ul> <li>Men who have acted abusively and batterer intervention</li> <li>The impact of abuse on children</li> <li>The broken marriage covenant</li> <li>Incest and pornography</li> <li>Other issues as appropriate</li> </ul> We will also organize a Friday preconference workshop that will offer CEUs to specific target groups. We are excited about this conference and invite feedback about topics, speakers, and so forth. Please contact the program chair Barb Fisher-Townsend at fisher.townsend@unb.ca. Abbotsford is located on the Canada/US border with Washington State about 45 minutes outside Vancouver, BC. The city, located in the heart of the Fraser Valley, has a culturally diverse population of about 145,000. It is also known as “Sport Town Canada” because of its wideranging sporting venues and events. true false 7 PASCH 2011 Conference

2009-12-09T12:08:20Z