Events & Opportunities
May 6, 2025
Conversation Project: Everyone Can Be a Leader
Popular understandings of leadership tell us that leaders look a certain way: they are in charge. They possess outward strength. They are extroverted and act pragmatically rather than emotionally. Perhaps most important, leaders are people in positions of authority and power. Is there an alternative type of leadership? When are we leaders in our communities? How can our unique senses of self contribute to our roles as leaders?
6:00 p.m., Happy Valley Library, Happy Valley
May 11, 2025
Softening Sharp Teeth: Getting Curious About Conflict
Interpersonal conflict and disagreement are part of being in relationship with others, but many of us fear conflict. Motivated by many factors, including cultural norms, concern for social consequences, and personal safety, many of us avoid it. What might we learn and how might we grow by making more room for conflict? What skills do we need to responsibly engage in conflict? How can shifting our relationship to conflict offer us new perspectives about ourselves and the groups we belong to? This community conversation is an opportunity to reflect on our relationships to interpersonal conflict outside of where we might most often encounter it, like the heated context of an argument at the dinner table or online. Facilitator Emily Squires will lead a judgement- and jargon-free discussion of what we mean when we say conflict, considering how interpersonal conflict shapes our lives and tools to use when experiencing it.
3:00 p.m., Ledding Library of Milwaukie, Milwaukie
May 17, 2025
What Matters at Life’s End? Exploring Your End-of-life Wishes
Many of us know we should talk about what matters at the end of our lives, but we don’t always know where or how to start these conversations. Once people start exploring death and dying, they often realize it’s not so scary to talk about after all. It can be comforting and empowering to know more about your options and consider what would be helpful for those who may be making decisions on your behalf. Who do you want with you when you are dying? What environments feel most comfortable? Do you have a preference for what happens to your body and your possessions after you die? How do you want to be remembered? This conversation provides a space and dedicated time for reflecting and exploring your end-of-life wishes.
2:00 p.m., Ledding Library of Milwaukie, Milwaukie