Introduction to Practitioner-bridge
I have caused a lot of disruption in my Quaker meeting over the past several years, much to my dismay. The root of these conflicts is the significant gap created as a result of my past decade of work in Indigenous communities.
This was puzzling to me because the meeting has supported the Prairie Awakening/Prairie Awoke ceremony for many years. This is an Indigenous-led event held just a few miles from the meetinghouse.
Recently I have come to see there is another gap there. One couple in the meeting was deeply involved in the ongoing planning of Prairie Awakening. They have develop deep relationships with the Indigenous people involved. Many others in the Quaker meeting have attended this annual event, but don’t have such relationships.
That couple has served as a bridge between their Indigenous friends and the Quaker meeting. I recently discovered there is a concept referred to as a practitioner-bridge, which describes a person who bridges such gaps.
Learning about practitioner-bridges has already been very helpful to me. It has taught me a different perspective regarding this gap between my Quaker meeting and me. Hopefully explaining this to the meeting will help their understanding as well. So I am turning my focus to the concept of practitioner-bridge now.
