Purpose & Values

We weave contemplation, silence, ceremony, ritual and reflection in what we do as a necessary part of the work to bring about healing and transformation.

Practices: We support spiritual grounding and leadership directly in certain programs as well as woven throughout our work and way of moving in the world. Tatamagouche Centre is multi-faith in its values and community commitments including those who do not actively follow a faith. Common to all, however, is an aspiration to wholeness, both personal and collective. 

Tatamagouche Centre offers a living welcome and joyfully affirms and celebrates human diversity in sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, ability, neuro-diversity, race, religion or lack thereof, age, and other aspects of our identities regardless of economic situation. We recognize that equity is needed to ensure that especially those pushing from the margins are able to bring their full selves without harm.

Practices:  We are intentional about our hiring, programming, spaces, culture, symbols, language and regularly have conversations, listen to feedback from guests and reflect on how to accommodate diverse barriers, and allow a wider diversity of bodies and identities to shape what we do and how we do it. We are growing Black, BIPOC and Indigenous leadership and affinities while working to own past harm.

We embrace equity and seek to understand and address systemic barriers and colonial norms that prevent people from leading, participating, claiming their voice, dignity, rights and freedom to belong.

Practices: We strive to host spaces that support organizing, accountability, and harm reduction. The Centre has a sexual harassment policy in place and an anti-racism process in development. We are working to refine these processes. Accountable to one another, we offer programs that help us to listen, dialogue well, recognize power and privilege, harm and name it when it arises. We work on these practices regularly.

We believe in learning and gathering rooted in experience, reflection and the wisdom in the room to transform ourselves and our communities in more just and loving ways.

Practices: Through our core educational model, ASPIRE and programs such as Dialogue for Peaceful Change, Courage to Lead, we create collective containers that grow trust and belonging, learning, collective care. If the container is well-constructed by the people in the gathering, even in conflict, we challenge one another to grow and transform in generative ways.

We acknowledge the interconnectedness of all beings and understand that we are mutually dependent on one another. In wider circles of love and belonging, we can do more together. Even conflict can be generative when well-held.

Practices: Telling our stories and building new stories together is key to connecting across difference. Many of our programs focus on learning skills to build circles of trust, build bridges and resolve conflict peacefully. All programs co-create community norms and consent.

“No matter the context, consent is about making sure that everyone is an enthusiastic participant who gets a say in what happens next. Consent means being able to negotiate outcomes and being able to walk away if something feels wrong. Consent at our gaming tables helps to make sure that everyone feels safe and excited to play…..Consent isn’t just about sex. It’s about asking and listening, no matter what the context is.” (Avery Alder, Games Facilitator).

We embrace ecological responsibility and have a deep love and respect of the land, its creatures now and with future generations in mind. We commit to reducing our environmental footprint and doing all we can to face the current climate crisis.

Practices: We are actively sourcing as much food and services as we can locally, and reducing our dependence on Corporate food which also reduces the distance food is traveling and greenhouse gases. We are in a large-scale Green Retrofit of Stewart Hall & other buildings to reduce our carbon footprint and costs by more than 40%.