Webinar: Restorative Justice, Restorative Theology, Restorative Church

Over the past couple of decades we have seen greater cross-fertilization between the realms of restorative justice, restorative theology, and restorative church practices. What might be gained if there were more deliberate efforts to encourage these cross-over conversations? Could theologians of the Christian faith benefit more from having direct knowledge of restorative justice case studies? Could church leaders foster the normalization of apology and reconciliation practices if they learned how restorative frameworks can be adapted to any community setting? Join this webinar to learn what has already been happening in this fertile zone of sharing and blending, and also to add your contributions for how practitioners and stakeholders in all three areas can strengthen each other’s realm of work.

Guest Bios

Chris Marshall is holder of the Diana Unwin Chair in Restorative Justice at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He is author of six books and more than a hundred articles, book chapters and reference work entries, many dealing with restorative justice and restorative theology. He has been widely used as a conference speaker and lecturer around the world and has won several awards, including two for excellence in tertiary teaching and two international awards for contributions to restorative justice. His books include Beyond Retribution: A NT Vision for Justice, Crime and Punishment (2001), The Little Book of Biblical Justice (2004), and Compassionate Justice: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue with Two Gospel Parables on Law, Crime and Restorative Justice (2012).

Ted Lewis (Duluth, MN) is a Communications Consultant for the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking, University of Minnesota, where he works with Dr. Mark Umbreit. Since 1996 he has worked as a restorative justice practitioner, program manager, trainer, teacher, writer, and consultant, largely supporting community-based nonprofits that have partnered with government agencies. As an acquisitions editor for Wipf & Stock Publisher, he oversees the Restorative Justice Classics Series and promotes works on restorative theology. Having provided mediation services for Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference churches, he now provides prevention-based workshops on Servanthood Communication, and has written numerous articles on conflict fluency through the lens of biblical narratives.