Metta Center for Nonviolence

05/27/2026

One minute of reflection...

“Nonviolence is not sterile passivity but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation…the foundation of such a method is love.” , ...

05/13/2026

The Metta Center for Nonviolence is hosting Mobile Peace Teams trainers Mary Hanna and Marquise Williams in Petaluma on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31 for a Training of Trainers focused on unarmed peace teams. Originally envisioned to support the development of our local peace team in Petaluma, we have now opened the training to anyone currently involved in a peace team — or interested in forming one in their own community.

Participants will gain a strong foundation in the de-escalation skills and practices essential to peace team work, along with opportunities to explore the practical and logistical questions that arise when building and sustaining a team. Drawing on MPT’s extensive experience training and deploying teams in communities across the United States and internationally, the workshop will combine hands-on practice, discussion, and collaborative learning.

This is an in-person event. There is no cost to attend, thanks to the generosity of a community member who believes that this work is valuable and necessary. Metta is not able to provide lodging, though there are several hotels and motels nearby in the Petaluma area.

If you are interested in attending, please fill out this form:
https://tally.so/r/EkDlZX

or reach out to me/Stephanie directly by emailing me at [email protected]

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Warmly,

Stephanie Van Hook

Metta Center for Nonviolence

05/11/2026

In this conversation, restorative justice practitioner Dominic Barter reflects on more than three decades of work at the intersection of community, justice, and nonviolence. Beginning with his early experiences in Rio de Janeiro, he describes how communities already hold a “dialogical” capacity to respond to harm—one rooted in listening, relationship, and shared needs.

From grassroots work in favelas to collaborations with courts, prisons, and governments, Barter traces how restorative justice has evolved across contexts while resisting reduction to a fixed method or technique. Instead, he emphasizes that this work must emerge from within each community’s own culture and lived experience.

At a time of deep polarization, the conversation explores how conflict itself can become a source of transformation rather than division. Barter invites us to move beyond retribution and toward rebuilding the relational foundations that make community—and a more humane vision of justice—possible.

Listen at nonviolenceradio.org

05/08/2026

05/01/2026

Love Nonviolence Radio? Love public community radio? Support our mother station KWMR. Today is the last day of their pledge drive. Donate to them and let them know you love our show!

04/30/2026

Thrifting...and repair... is part of the circular economy.

04/29/2026

KWMR - West Marin Community Radio is raising funds to stay on the air. They are our Mother Station for Nonviolence Radio. Like our show? Support our Mother station. :-)

We're raising money for KWMR West Marin Community Radio during our Annual Spring Pledge Drive! Help us reach our goal of $150,000 before May 2nd (KWMR Day!)

04/27/2026

“Retributive theory believes that pain will vindicate, but in practice that is often counterproductive for both victim and offender. Restorative justice theory, on the other hand, argues that what truly vindicates is acknowledgment of victims’ harms and needs, combined with an active effort to encourage offenders to take responsibility, make right the wrongs, and address the causes of their behavior. By addressing this need for vindication in a positive way, restorative justice has the potential to affirm both victim and offender and to help them transform their lives.”
― Howard Zehr, The Little Book of Restorative Justice

Join us for a month-long study of restorative justice and its role in nonviolence during the month of May. Register at mettacenter.org/nonviolencestudies

04/22/2026

Dear Community,

Registration for Nonviolence Studies, our online program exploring multiple entry points into the broader movement for nonviolence, is now open for May 2026. In May, we’ll focus on restorative justice—an approach that invites us to move beyond punishment and toward healing, accountability, and the repair of relationships. In a time when harm often leads to further separation, restorative justice offers a path back to one another.

Each week, you’ll receive study material to engage with at your own pace. As always, participants are invited to form ad-hoc study groups, connecting at times that work best for them. In addition, we’ll host at least two restorative justice trainings with partner organizations and experienced facilitators for this cohort.

To learn more and register by April 30, please visit the program page. Mettacenter.org/nonviolencestudies

04/20/2026