Civility Month
Civility month kicks off on Thursday, November 4th, 7-8pm with a wonderful collection of local leaders discussing the hows and whys of cultivating what seems a bit like an old-fashioned word—but is actually at the heart of what keeps our democracy and freedom strong: Civility.
Mark your calendar now with the above dates and times for these outstanding opportunities to explore and learn with your whole family. OWOF’s guest presenter for the month’s learning focus will be Layla Ananda. Read about her CLARA training below…
CLARA
CLARA is a well-known an acronym for people who practice non-violent communication. The word gives us an easy way to remember five concrete steps for building and maintaining respect and common ground with a conversation partner: Center, Listen, Affirm your similarities, Respond, and Ask Questions (or Add Information). The CLARA method is a way to achieve productive, civil conversations. The workshop will be led by Layla Ananda, MA, LLP, an experienced CLARA presenter. November 10th, 7pm on Zoom. Register here.
POLICING STUDY GROUP IMPORTANT DATES
Monday, October 18th at 7pm
Chelsea continues to reflect upon the report from Bobcat Consulting. Council will first discuss the report directly at a work session on Monday, Oct 18th at 6pm. Note: There will be no public comment before this work session. However, the regular Council meeting starts at 7pm with public comment. Zoom link will be published on the City website. www.city-chelsea.org
Next meeting of the Policing Group is Oct 26 @ 7.30pm via zoom to discuss the Council discussion of the Report. Email OWOFchelsea@gmail.com for the link.
MEDIA ARTICLES REGARDING CHELSEA POLICE DEPT.
Two recent media articles have done a good job of summarizing the situation with the police and the recent audit by Bobcat Consulting.
A link to the full Bobcat report is at the bottom of this article. You are encouraged to read it 🙂
Hometown Holiday Dove Coordinators, MLK Day Service Helpers Needed
Both projects are coming up fast. We need helpers of all ages. This would NOT be a huge time commitment. The ideas are in place. Please email if you can lend any assistance!! This is the time to help!
OWOF Chamber of Commerce Representative Needed
OWOF is now a member of the Chamber of Commerce thanks to a donation from a supporter! Let us know if you would like to be our OWOF representative at the monthly Chamber meetings, which include breakfast at 7:30am…our early risers, you know who you are! We would value having you share a brief written summary of the meetings with our OWOF board. A great way to meet the local leaders of Chelsea and get an insider’s view.
Please email us at owofchelsea@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering with us!
School Board and DBEI
The School Board sub-committee presented its findings regarding the efforts of the schools in Diversity, Belonging, Equity and Inclusion. The full Board will take up the issue at a future meeting. A good summary of this meeting and the sub-committee findings are here: Findings and suggestions for Chelsea’s Diversity, Belonging, Equity and Inclusion initiative
Popular support for the teachers and their DBEI work is being expressed. There is a new Facebook group that everyone can join: Support Chelsea Youth by Supporting our Educators
SPECIAL NOTE: One of the reasons that many of you are subscribers to this newsletter is because it helps you to know the best places to spend your time and energy on behalf of creating healthy change for our community. One recommendation we have, based on feedback we’ve heard, is the value of your continuing presence at school board meetings, offering support to our Chelsea teachers—currently, with regard to the criticism they are receiving about bringing personal political views into the classroom and in support of the Diversity, Belonging, Equity, and Inclusion efforts of the schools. OWOF is still intending to create a resource list of articles, books, and web sites to help others learn about the anti-CRT movement happening nationally and what we can do to support the schools locally.
“No act of love, however small, is ever wasted.” Aesop
CHELSEA INITIATES INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY 2021
About 45 people attended an OWOF-sponsored Native American Land Acknowledgement at the trailhead of the Border-to-Border Chelsea-Stockbridge Trail on Sunday, October 10th. Cathy Muha read a carefully composed Land Acknowledgment naming the various tribes known to have frequented the area in the past.
Angela Berent, a member of the planning team and of Chippewa descent, read “About Standing (in Kinship)” by Native American poet, Kimberly Blaeser.
Tim Eder shared local history about our Native ancestors and invited people to travel 1.5 miles down the trail to view the statue entitled, “Dedicated to the Women Leaders of Michigan,” by artist John David Walters.
Walters sculpted the face of the Native woman to capture the facial features of all racial backgrounds.
HOW TO GET CONNECTED TO THE WORK OF OWOF
Currently, all OWOF Board of Director meetings and Action Group meetings are held via zoom and open to the public. The next Board meeting is Tuesday, November 2 at 10:00 am. OWOF attempts to send out a newsletter a few times per month and you can also follow/like the OWOF Facebook page to stay up to date with meeting and program details. Email owofchelsea@gmail.com for more information or to be added to the email list.