Online Zoom Forum: Empowering and Courageous Conversations:
Building the Capacity for Dialogue across Difference.
Date: Wednesday 15 March 2023.
Time: 7pm-9pm (UK time).
Event Description:
Format: There will be four talks, each of 10 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of discussion among the speakers, the chair, and the audience, followed by Q & A.
Chair:
Lilian Helen Brzoska:
Bio: Lilian is a hybrid Scot. She had a Polish father and a native Scottish mother. Her Roman Catholic upbringing, in a happy European Scots family, in Stirling, grounded her in Care for Others in a World-with Community. Seeking truth, her exploration of Comparative Religions while working on her emotional and creative fields, through Co-counselling International, led her through Jung and Buddhism to the Findhorn Foundation and thence to the Theosophical Society in Scotland. She is a founder member of Fife Writes, a B.A., qualified teacher of The Arts and a lover of our vibrant Standing Stone Circles.
Speakers:
Rolf Billes:
Title: Building the Capacity for Dialogue across Difference in a Church and Community Setting.
Description: Wherever people live and work together, we are bound to be drawn to each other by common interests and challenged by our different world views and approaches to life. This is no different in churches who serve their local communities up and down the country. Sometimes our differences can appear so great that it becomes impossible to share the same space without experiencing major fallouts.
Drawing on his experience of living in three different countries and working in seven distinctive communities across Scotland, Rolf Billes shares his understanding of Building the Capacity for Dialogue across Difference in a Church and Community Setting. Chairing local leadership teams, connecting church and community groups around issues of mutual concern, working towards LGBTQ+ inclusion, or engaging with an extensive planning process that will lead to the merging of church congregations – in his talk Rolf will explore how each area presenting itself as an initial challenge can provide opportunities for deeper understanding and meaningful collaboration.
Bio: Born in Romania and having spent his teenage years in Germany, Rolf Billes has lived in Scotland since 1992 and has been a parish minister in the Church of Scotland since 1996. Ministering in congregations and communities in city centre, urban housing estate, rural and suburban settings has taught Rolf how to navigate difference by cultivating an attitude of curiosity about what makes people unique and how their context shapes their views and outlook in life. By engaging people from different backgrounds to collaborate on shared projects and inviting them to listen deeply to each other, Rolf has enjoyed building the capacity for dialogue in church and community settings witnessing a growing sense of cohesion and mutual respect.
Rolf has a special interest in the use of the speaking and singing voice. As a Naked Voice facilitator, he has worked with many individuals and groups in cultivating authentic self-expression and non-judgmental listening to others.
Anila Mirza:
Bio: Anila Mirza is a human right activist who campaigns to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion. She has vast experience working in the gender-based abuse sector, where she worked to promote women’s rights and justice by having an intersectional approach.
Anila has an in-depth knowledge of issues related to migrant women living in the UK.
She is the project initiator and co-editor of ‘Real Women: Unheard Stories - based on true stories of migrant women living in Scotland.
She writes short stories and poems in two languages, Urdu and English.
Dr Martin Williams:
Bio: Dr Martin Williams is Founder and Director of Ultimate People Empowerment Consultancy (UP).
He has worked in Children’s Homes, Hospitals, Primary and Secondary Schools, Colleges and Universities, Fostering and Adoption Agencies, and Charities in UK and abroad.
He has helped to start two Schools for AIDS Orphans in Africa.
He is proud to be on the Board of Father’s Network Scotland.
His interests include: Children and Young People, Psychology and Psychotherapy, Mental Health, Suicide, Trauma, Quakerism, Africa, The Philippines, Food, Nature, Healing, The Mankind Project (MKP), Huggng, The Ukulele, Non - Violence, Mentoring, and finally Peace and Fulfilment.
Nathália Urban:
Bio: Nathália Urban is a Brazilian journalist based in Scotland, she writes about anti-imperialism and is an activist for the visibility of Latin-Americans in Britain.
An archive recording will be made for the EICSP archive.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: By Donation. For a Registration Form:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(for late inquiries on the day, then email, do not phone.
If you book on the day of the event you will be emailed the Zoom sign-in details 1-2 hours before the event).