Past Events

All workshop videos on this page have been edited to protect the confidentiality of participant interactions. If you participated in a program or workshop and need the link to the full event video (full presentation with discussion sections), let us know.

Healing through grief

Annual remembrance ceremony and workshop

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Is there a healthy grieving that can care for us and support us even in the midst of continuous loss? We will approach the grieving process as an essential spiritual discipline as we age—one that honors the complexity of our feelings, deepens the quality of our relationships with others, and brings healing to our lives.

Dealing with loss impacts us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We can choose to be proactive about caring for ourselves as we also companion others.

“Grandparents” and Grandchildren Healing the World

Celebrating the 2nd World Day for Grandparents and Elders

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Engaged Grandparents have a great deal to offer grandchildren. They are natural models of important values, reliable mentors during times of challenge, and irreplaceable memory-makers. Research shows that strong elder-youth relationships encourage resiliency, foster emotional and spiritual health, and can be an important deterrent against drug use, suicide, and violence. These relationships are mutually beneficial and have a ripple effect, bringing healing to the community. 

Whether the young people you care about are two or twenty-two, whether they live nearby or far away, whether you are a grandparent, “honorary grandparent,” or an elder concerned for younger generations, this workshop is for you.

Healing Conversations: Dialogue not Disaster

Skills for Addressing Conflict in Family & Community

Saturday, February 5, 2022

Whether we realize it or not, we each have our conflict styles and ways of showing up when conflict occurs. These ways of being in conflict are shaped by a variety of factors, including how/when we were raised, what we've been taught, what we've observed, and more. Whether it is our own interpersonal conflicts or larger community-level conversations, it is crucial for us to distinguish between debate and dialogue, and to think intentionally about how we engage.

What are some tools that we can utilize to encourage healthy dialogue, and how can we help create a space where others are encouraged to utilize those same tools? This workshop explores barriers to respectful conversation and healthy dialogue techniques and discusses when to engage and when to walk away.

Healing through grief - Grief and self-care

November 2, 2021

Grandparents as a Healing Presence

October 14, 2021

The world needs grandparents—wise elders willing to put their lived experience, their resiliency, their sense of humor, and their capacity for noticing at the service of the family.

This workshop explores the meaning and the skills of Healing Presence as we reflect together and harness our own unique personalities, gifts, and style.

Every family deals with difficult issues and struggles at times. It’s unavoidable. Expectations go unmet, feelings get hurt, trust is broken, and family histories get complex. Reconciliation matters. Grandparents are the patriarchs and matriarchs in our families. What is our influence? Do we avoid conflicts? Are we interfering? Are we disengaged or even unknowingly contributing to division? Or are we safe, trusted, freeing, empowering, and healing?

As a grandparent, you are qualified as a reconciler. Your personality and life experience are just right for bringing a loving approach to the hurts and the divisions that families encounter.