Update from the Right Relations Team 

The Right Relations Team is an Eliot committee that works to help our community embody our covenant, and to help us restore covenantal community when things go awry. Our team members have been finalizing the language on the committee charter, and have developed a helpful–and colorful!–flyer explaining the Restoring Right Relations process. A shortened version of the flyer can be found below. We’re also working on other fun materials to help the camp community become more familiar with restoring right relations.  We will be doing a workshop at summer camps about how to give and receive feedback in ways that maintain–rather than rupture–right relations. 

–Right Relations Team members Lauren Mac Neill, Camille Killorin, Bonnie McDaniel, Tandi Rogers

Restoring Right Relations 

When we’ve been hurt, it’s a human tendency to react defensively, sometimes in  ways that do further harm to our relationships. As part of our covenant, we  promise to bring our best selves to the Eliot community and to make an effort to  resolve conflicts and repair relationships in a direct and caring manner. That’s  easy to say and can be very difficult to do in the heat of the moment! We offer  these guidelines as a series of steps you can take to respond to a conflict  situation with care and with an intention to repair and restore relationships.  

Step 1: Self-Reflection 

Pause for a moment to clarify your understanding of what happened and its  impact on you. You can chose to engage in this process on your own or with a  trusted support person, or you may request coaching from a member  of the right relations team.

Step 2: Dialogue  

After engaging in self-reflection, you are encouraged to either speak to the other  person(s) directly, or through a facilitated process.

Step 3: Direct Intervention 

If a person involved in a conflict does not want to participate in an RR facilitated  conversation and the issue involves a risk of substantial personal or community  harm, then the Safe Community Team can be assembled. 

Safe Community Team Response

When there is an issue of substantial  individual or community safety, as determined by the Deans at camp or by the  Executive Committee between camps, a team of three people, a “Safe  Community Team” (SCT), will be assembled. If an SCT is formed, they will listen  to each person involved (but will not facilitate a dialogue) and will make  determinations about what action is needed.