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The Capital NVC Community Circle is hosting a coffee/tea/NVC event on Wednesday evening, April 21 at 7:30 p.m in Dupont Circle. Come chat with us while you sip and nibble (or choicefully abstain) and get to know others in our NVC community.

“My intention is to continue the conversations I started at the community event held in January…and to start new ones,” says Rhonda Eldridge, one of the event’s co-organizers. We plan to meet at a coffee shop that is easily accessible by Metro.

Location: Le Pain Quotidien (http://www.lepainquotidien.com/ ) at Dupont Circle. It is 1 ½ blocks from the metro and features communal tables and a variety of food options.

Join us on Saturday, March 13 from 1-2 PM, for an opportunity to learn more about Family HEART Camp.

Family HEART Camp is an unforgettable one-week immersion in Compassionate Communication for families, held in an oasis of natural beauty near Washington DC.

During this informal gathering you can meet in person with one of the organizers of the camp, some families who attended last year camp and meet other potential campers face-to-face. Kids are welcome to join this gathering, being held in Takoma Park within walking distance of the DC metro. Please e-mail Inessa (dcnvc@hotmail.com) for specific directions if you would like to attend.

Compassionate Communication (also known as Nonviolent Communication, or NVC) offers a powerful set of tools and perspectives that support people in living their values, and in speaking in acting in ways that say “You matter!” to everyone involved. In doing so, we create a setting for our natural love and joy in being together to bloom.

The Family HEART Camp offers parents a chance to reflect and learn valuable skills, children a chance to play and explore, and families a chance to grow together, all with loving support. Participants in last year’s camp had this to say about it:

• “I have never experienced such dedication as I did from all the staff members! Unbelievable. I also enjoyed the support and connection with all of the participants. Thank you so much for the experience.”
• “We enjoyed connecting with so many people who value compassionate relationships and my family is committed to working to embody NVC in our lives. We’re hoping to return next year!”
• “This experience was very valuable for us as a family as a new beginning of how we want to communicate to each other and beyond! The ability to meet without the children was pivotal and addressing real situations helped to support the practice.”
• “The staff cared for our children better than we could have – we get angry with them sometimes, but the staff never did!”

Visit FamilyHEARTCamp.org for more details about the camp or contact us with any questions that aren’t answered there. Super-Earlybird pricing is available for registrations before March 15, so register early! Our goal is not to turn anyone away for lack of funds and work-exchange options are available for those who cannot pay full price.

Join us on Sunday, January 24, 2010, for a potluck with renowned activist Kathy Kelly discussing war and peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan at Maitri House.

6:00 Potluck – 7pm Presentation – 7:30 Discussion

Bring a friend! Children welcome!

Questions?  Contact Tarek (202-374-0369)

In consideration of those with chemical sensitivities, we request that you avoid bringing smoke- or chemical fragrance-producing products.

Kathy Kelly co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence, (www.vcnv.org) a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare. As a co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness, she helped form 70 delegations, from 1996 – 2003, that openly defied economic sanctions by bringing medicines to children and families in Iraq. Kathy and her companions lived in Baghdad throughout the 2003 “Shock and Awe” bombing. More recently, she has visited Gaza and Pakistan, writing eyewitness accounts of war’s impact on civilians. Kathy was sentenced to one year in federal prison for planting corn on nuclear missile silo sites (1988-89) and served three months, in 2004, for crossing the line at Fort Benning’s military training school. She and her companions at the Voices home/office in Chicago believe that non-violence necessarily involves simplicity, service, sharing of resources and non-violent direct action in resistance to war and oppression. Kathy hasn’t paid federal income taxes since 1980.  See vcnv.org/kathy-kelly-long-version for a more complete biography.