We give people the means to strengthen relationships, deepen belonging, and renew hope in their communities.
Our Impact
Dr. Jill DeTemple, Religious Studies FacultyAfter using this approach in my classroom, I am now more willing, and more able, to engage students in meaningful conversations about potentially contentious issues. Whereas I used to nod toward things like homosexuality in religious life, interfaith marriage, or the role of government in reproduction, now I build these conversations into the class so students can learn to speak about their experiences, and so they learn to listen and learn from those with whom they might disagree.
Southern Methodist University, Texas
Parent, Cary AcademyEssential Partners's dialogue initiative is, literally, the best forum I have attended during my time at Cary Academy. The openness and sharing in our group led to genuine connections. I’m not sure words can express how meaningful this event was to me. Truly priceless.
Cary, North Carolina
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Program ParticipantWhile our differences remain, the relationships between us have been strengthened and deepened. We have gained in mutual respect, affection, and appreciation of one another as followers of Jesus and fellow-bishops.
Anglican Community & Human Sexuality Retreat
Resisting Polarization in an Election Season: A Free Resource
Partisan polarization (Democrats versus Republicans) turns our huge, complicated, diverse democracy into a political sport where everyone has to pick a side and only one side can win. In this four-part, scaffolded, self-paced curriculum, we will help you develop the internal capacities, skills, and confidence you need to become a positive force in conversations around the election where you live, work, worship, and learn.
Related Resources
News: Blaming faculty when protests erupt ignores how we teach
“In a polarized climate where adherence to one side of an issue can seem to demand the complete rejection of opposing views or the people who hold them, complexity can be an unwelcome reality. University classrooms are precisely the places where students encounter and meet such complex challenges.”
Jill DeTemple, EP Academic Associate and faculty member at Southern Methodist University, highlights the role that college professors play in fostering open-mindedness and critical thinking in their students in the Dallas Morning News.
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