Recent Events:

Thursday, December 14, 10:30 - 12:00 PST: Building Bridges on Campus: Dialogue and Care in Times of Conflict. This is a zoom presentation presented jointly by the Greater Good Science Center and Interfaith America. The workshop will focus on what faculty and staff on college campuses can do to foster a more open, welcoming, and constructive atmosphere on campus in times (like these) when many colleges are under sharp divisive pressures. I will be listening in for ideas; you might want to do the same


November 13: The Oregon Bridge Podcast: Civil Conversation Across Partisan Lines (Hoover 105, 7:15 - 8:45).  Democratic state legislator Ben Bowman and Republican political activist Reagan Knopp came to George Fox to talk about how they work together to run a remarkable Oregon politics podcast. Even though they differ distinctly in their own political views, and with the wide range of political views of their guests, they maintain positive relations with each other, and with their guests, allowing them to explore ideas and options, strategies and tactics without a lot of partisan discord or distortion. Mixed in among the stories they can tell about remarkable conversations, we learned how do they keep their relationship positive, explored how much effect they have on Oregon's political culture,  and considered ways we can work to improve our state's political culture.



November 12 (11:00 AM) Ron Mock talk at Reedwood Friends Church's Forum Class.  Topic: Might Curiosity Kill the Catastrophe? Civility and Stewardship of our Political Lives


October 26: United as Neighbors steering committee meeting, Newberg Drop-in Center. UasN volunteers gathered to create and consider ideas for how to help people in the Newberg/Dundee area prepare so the 2024 election season can help us strengthen (rather than despoil) our political culture. 


October 20, 21: Interfaith Dialog workshop led by Interfaith America's Tina Grace: Camp Tilikum. 

Students from George Fox University and Pacific University gathered for a retreat at Camp Tilikum to participate in a training experience offered by the Interfaith America organization.  Students learned communication and listening skills, and practiced them in conversation about their different views on faith and life. 


The GF Civility Project agreed to participate in this project as another way of exploring what robust civility looks like across differences in faith. The workshop had about 9 hours of content, which will be followed ton November 8 by another joint GF/PU session at which students will be asked to reflect on what the workship meant to them, and how they might apply the skills they learn in future conversations with those with whom the disagree. 


Pacific students in the workshop include several who are concurrently taking a class in civic engagement.  George Fox students include some who have taken (or are currently taking) a course in conflict resolution. 

  



  • Fall 2023

October 5: “Embracing Difference as a Gift” workshop, Oregon Main Street Conference, Independence, Oregon, 1:45m - 3:15.

Civility Project director Ron Mock joined Polly Peterson, a former colleague both at George Fox and on the Newberg School Board, to describe how the Civility Project helped create United as Neighbors, a local group nurturing a healthier political culture in the Newberg/Dundee area.  

    Session attenders learned about several United as Neighbors and Civility Project initiatives, including:

 

Workshop participants got a chance to experience a Speedy Conversation, and were introduced the the three-tier model of civility developed by the Civility Project. 


Connections made at the Oregon Main Street conference  may open new doors for the Civility Project to encourage United as Neighbors-like groups in other communities in Oregon.


The Civility Project recruited two focus groups representing evangelical Christians with right-of-center political views to help with a national research project exploring the potential for interfaith cooperation on issues of common concern. Twenty-three volunteers gathered September 27 in two focus groups to talk about their views on religious freedom and the possibility of interfaith cooperation between American Muslims and evangelical Christians.


About half of the group were students or employees at George Fox University. The other half was drawn broadly from the local community. The group ranged from 19 to 86 years old.  


The lead researchers on this project are Asma Uddin, a religious liberty lawyer and professor at the Catholic University of America, and  Andrew R. Lewis, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati. Uddin, an observant Muslim, is the author of The Politics of Vulnerability: How to Heal Muslim-Christian Relations in a Post-Christian America. She has practiced law on religious freedom cases, and now teaches at the Catholic University law school in Washington, D.C.  She is also a Religious Freedom Fellow at the Aspen Institute, which is funding the research project. Lewis, an evangelical Christian, is the author of The Right Turn in Conservative Christian Politics: How Abortion Transformed the Culture Wars.  He also serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief for the journal Politics and Religion.


The research project's goal is to develop a handbook containing information on the potential for interfaith cooperation on public issues. The handbook will also suggest strategies and activities local groups can use to build dynamic, productive relationships among people who disagree, using their disagreements as sources of ideas for resolving problems and nurturing the communities where they live. Current goals include publishing the handbook as early as next year.  The Civility Project will let you know when the handbook becomes available. 



Summer 2023

  • Spring 2023


See the recap of this event at the top of the next column.


Civility Project Director Ron Mock will moderate a conversation among volunteers for the local United as Neighbors group about the Civility Pledge they helped draft.  They will discuss various election campaign scenarios, true and hypothetical, in light of the Pledge. What do civility and incivility look like in the midst of political campaigns? Does the Pledge do a good job of helping identify behaviors and language that degrade our political culture? Those in attendance will have a chance to contribute to the discussion. The event will be video recorded. 


George Fox University Campus, Hoover 105.  All candidates for Mayor and Newberg City Council, Yamhill County Commissioner, and two local state representative seats gave brief statements and answered questions in a series of forums starting at 10:00 AM and running to about 2:00. Co-hosted by the Civility Project, the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the Newberg City Club. Video of the forum is available.





On the 18th 9 will be leading a workshop on skills and practices for being good stewards of disagreement at Lake Grove Presbyterian. Organized by a long-time colleague on the GF faculty, Dr. Jeannine Graham, this event is designed to help those who want to begin to heal division in any polity — family, congregation, business, club, or community. We’ll explore the three-tiered model of active civility, how to listen to learn and build trust, and how to find common ground and build from there toward creative, constructive, justice-building outcomes.

t’s only three hours, so we will only have time to sample the possibilities, but I hope it will be enough to show that despair and withdrawal are not our only options. I will have suggestions for how people can take next steps in active civility.

The workshop is open to anyone — not just Presbyterians! If you are interested in attending, please register by Monday, February 13th at http://bit.ly/disagreeing civilly.



Read more about the project here.





The Russo-Ukrainian War: What Does Civility Have to Do With It?

Johan Maurer and Stu Willcuts, who each have extensive experience in Russia and Ukraine, will explore the role civility played -- or might have played -- in the run-up to, the conduct of, and the future aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  

Maurer lived in Russia for ten years, and has visited many times, teaching English and working with Friends meetings there. Willcuts has worked on humanitarian development and relief projects all over the globe, and specifically in Ukraine since Russia's not-so-covert intervention in the Donbas region. 

The Civility Project-sponsored event will feature conversation between these two men about what opportunities were missed, and maybe some that were seized, because of the ebbs and flows -- and ebbs -- of robust civility.  Who might have done better? And how? And to what effect? 

You can attend in person in Hoover 105 at George Fox, or via Zoom, by using this link.   The session will be recorded.

If you plan to attend -- or even if you don't -- I recommend you read a very recent reflection by Johan Maurer: The Beautiful Russia of the Future.


MLK scholar Scott Finnie discusses ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ March 15

 

How does Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s hopeful, reconciling and redemptive leadership – as exhibited in his acclaimed Letter from Birmingham Jail, written in 1963 – reverberate today? 

On Tuesday, March 15, George Fox University' Center for Peace Learning host a free special public presentation, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” by Dr. Scott Finnie.  For more about this, go to All the Latest About Civility Projects

Mayors and community leaders from three Oregon cities discuss local civility projects March 9

Canby, Silverton and Newberg will be represented on the Local Civility Projects panel


Troubled by political polarization in their communities, leaders from three Oregon cities will share about their efforts to build local political civility in a panel discussion at George Fox University on March 9, 2022.


Silverton mayor Kyle Palmer, Newberg mayor Rick Rogers, Canby community leader Ray Keen, and Newberg Downtown Coalition executive director Polly Peterson will discuss the threats to their communities' well-being that come from bitter political divisions, and how they are working to heal those divisions and move political discourse into a more productive mode.


George Fox Civility Project director Ron Mock will moderate the conversation.


According to Mock, a broad range of political opinions is crucial to a democracy. "We need the entire range of political views to be heard if we want to do the best job of solving problems, meeting needs, doing justice, and respecting every person's rights.


"But if trust breaks down, our differences become barriers rather than assets," according to Mock. "Instead of listening to every viewpoint in a spirit of cooperation, we sink into mutual distrust and animosity. At best we see with only one eye and work with only one hand. At worst we get nothing done because we spend our energy on anger, fear, and hardball politics."


All three of the communities who will be represented in the panel discussion have experienced polarization that reflects historically high levels of division in our national politics. And each of the panel members has been involved in efforts to heal their local divisions, taking different approaches in each community.


"We wanted to get together to share notes and generate ideas for how to make real progress toward frank, healthy, productive political conversation in our towns," Mock said.


"But then we thought, why not do this in public? People from our towns can hear the discussion and maybe help us improve our ideas, or hear about ways to help. And we are not the only communities in Oregon affected by this trend toward alienation. Perhaps people from other localities can join the conversation."


There will be time for questions from the audience, including questions submitted via Zoom from those attending remotely.


The session will run from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, in room 105 of the Hoover Academic Building on the George Fox University campus. Masks will be required to attend in person, in keeping with University policy and state regulations. Those who prefer to attend remotely can connect via this Zoom link. If you have any questions you can contact the Project at civility@georgefox.edu.




Biographer to Speak on "Mark Hatfield: Oregon Statesman"

In our day of rampant political incivility, Richard Etulain will remind us that it doesn't need to be this way in his talk "Mark Hatfield: Oregon Statesman" at George Fox University on Monday evening, November 15.


Etulain is Professor Emeritus of History and former director of the Center for the American West at the University of New Mexico. He has written a biography of the late U.S. Senator Hatfield, covering his years in the Senate, as well as his prior career in Oregon state politics. Hatfield was elected Governor of Oregon in 1958 and 1962, after serving as Secretary of State and a state legislator.


Hatfield was a Christian whose faith blossomed during his political career, and marked not only the policies he advocated but also the way he conducted himself during political campaigns and controversies.


"Even though he was a Republican for his entire career, Hatfield was open to working across the aisle to get things done," said Civility Project Director Ron Mock. "I'm interested in learning whether he was as fair and generous to his political opponents as I remember him being. If so, he may be a worthy role model for many of our current political leaders."


The event will run from 7:00 - 8:30 in Hoover 105. Those who attend in person will be required to wear masks. It will also be available via Zoom by registering (for free) at this link.. If you have questions contact Ron Mock at civility@georgefix.edu.



Jonathan Kuttab Update on the One-State Solution for Israel and Palestine

On Wednesday November 10 at 11 AM PST, Jonathan Kuttab and Nonviolence International will host a Zoom session to update interested people on progress toward Jonathan's vision of a one-state solution for Israel and Palestine.  You can join the event by following this link.

Kuttab gave two featured talks as part of the Civility Project last spring semester. In the first talk on February 4, 2021,  Kuttab spoke on "Civility, Justice, and Human Rights: A Vision of Israel/Palestine as One State," outlining his  vision for a single democratic nation where Israelis and Palestinians could live in peace, under a constitution featuring strong rights protecting each community's right to live and practice their respective faiths.

Kuttab came to campus in person for a second talk on March 31 on "Civility, Justice, and a Bill of Rights: Building a Successful Political Culture in the Holy Land."  In that talk, Kuttab sketched how the current violent politics among Israelis and Palestinians could be transformed into nonviolence, both in the process of negotiating a new one-state constitution, and in the future after the constitution comes into effect.

This one-state vision is not the consensus prescription for the conflict in the Holy Land.  The mainstream view is that there should be two states, one for Israelis and the other for Palestinians.  Kuttab is skeptical such a solution is possible anymore, given the permanent settlements Israel has founded in the West Bank that would leave any Palestinian state with impractical borders and very little contiguous territory.  He's also skeptical that ongoing alienation and separation can ever foster peace.

The Zoom session hosted by Nonviolence International on Wednesday will give us a chance to catch up with developments in Kuttab's project.


George Fox posts podcast with David French discussing the forces pulling America apart.

David French spoke with GF professor Abigail Favale, describing the daily aspects of current American life that are driving a chasmic wedge into our body politic. Going into details and drawing on data at a level deeper than he could in his keynote address, French gives a nuanced, textured -- and moving -- picture of our national crisis.

You can watch and/or listen to the hour-long podcast here.         


French calls on Christians to heal America's politics through justice,  kindness, and humility

    Prominent national political commentator David French blitzed through George Fox University Monday, November 1,  streaming inspiration in a 14- hour marathon sprint. 

    French's comments ranged widely, always pointing toward a rethinking of how Christians conduct their political lives, as candidates or voters.

    "What does the Lord require of us?" French repeatedly asked, invoking Micah 6:8. "To act justly, love mercy -- sometimes translated as 'kindness', and walk humbly with your God."   None of these three --  justice, kindness, or humility -- is optional for a follower of Jesus, according to French.

     French carried this message, and much more, throughout the day.  By the time he addressed the evening crowd of over 200 in Bauman Auditorium, plus about 115 on Zoom, he had already gotten up early to listen to oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on the new Texas abortion law; recorded from a borrowed GF faculty office his "Advisory Opinions" podcast for The Dispatch; met with students in two classes; had lunch with pre-law students;  and recorded another podcast for George Fox Digital.


RECENT EVENTS

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If you are a student interested in law, contact Ron Mock at civility@georgefox.edu to sign up for the free lunch with David French November 1. 



CIVILITY PROJECT EXTENDED


George Fox University President Robin Baker and Civility Project director Ron Mock have agreed to extend the Project through the 2021-22 school year.  


The extension will allow the Project to operate at least through the primary season of the 2022 elections, creating an opportunity to test tools for holding political candidates accountable for the civility with which they conduct their campaigns.  It gives new impetus to efforts this spring to assemble an advisory group of politicians and political activists to guide the accountability effort. 


The agreement renews the Project's initial mission and goals.  It adds to the Project's mission a provision for extending concepts and practices about civility into local and interpersonal settings.  


Project goals for next year include extending and upgrading the Project's on-line presence, hosting five on-campus events, creating and publishing materials, and building connections with other civility-promoting organizations, along with the politician accountability effort. 


A special feature of the Project this year is its link each semester to a regular course being taught to GF students. This fall that course is PSCI 190 American Government.  The course is covers its normal material, with a special emphasis on healthy political culture, and the role of civility in overcoming partisan polarization. 


You can read the updated version of our mission and goals by clicking on the link below.

EVENTS FROM 2020-21  Academic Year