Loving Conflict

Podcast – Pasadena Mennonite Church

Lisa Danner spoke to the topic of conflict in relation to pacism on May 29. Lisa was asked a question as a topic to preach on: if someone she’s connected to says or does something offensive, or as something she sees as wrong, how does she confront this as a person who wants to respond nonviolently?

Norman Rockwell

She goes on to talk about the challenges of family conflicts for those attempting to live a pacifist lifestyle. Some of our toughest conflicts involve issues where we feel forced to choose between articulating a deeply held value or “maintaining peace” by way of keeping silent. Lisa summarizes a key finding of Dr. Tania Israel’s research on dialogue across political lines and asks the congregation what feels applicable to their own family conflicts.

She closes with some questions for the congregation:

• What frustrates you the most about conflicts in your family?
• For any ongoing conflicts between you and someone in your family, how has your understanding of the situation changed over time?
• What might your family member experience if you were more curious/patient than usual? What about if you were more assertive than usual?

Hear more in the audio below.