Maintaining Connections and Nurturing Relationships

Since The Guibord Center’s beginning, our mission has been about relationships – about breaking down barriers of misunderstanding and bringing people together. Currently, amid coronavirus concerns, we face a different kind of barrier: one of physical separation as community leaders are cancelling events and asking their friends and colleagues to stay home.

Today, after much prayer, we join them in postponing our Annual Celebration Dinner. While I know this is disappointing, it is the right thing to do. We hope to reschedule the dinner once this crisis is under control.

During this difficult time of social distancing, our challenge is to overcome isolation and maintain community, encouragement and much-needed interaction. We at The Guibord Center see this as a time for quiet, prayerful reflection and (re)discovering ways we can nourish our current relationships and build new ones. There are plenty of ways for all of us to reach out, old and new: phone, video conferencing, social media, email, and even old-fashioned postal mail.

Like many other organizations, The Guibord Center is working on ways to continue facilitating community while we’re physically apart. We have been working on a new webinar series that we are launching this month. Its aim is to inspire thoughtful and respectful “courageous conversations” (to borrow a phrase) on timely topics. The initial webinar, “When Worldviews Collide,” is premiering Tuesday, March 31, at 6:30 pm PDT. Learn how you can join us and register here.

The Guibord Center is committed to supporting community by doing what we can to offer ways to connect, interact, and uplift one another. While we may be apart, let’s remember we’re not alone.

Dr. Lo Sprague