Building Bridges September 4-7, 2026

Building Bridges
Developing Leaders Who Bridge Divides and Foster Belonging.

You are invited to St. Augustine—a place marked by both deep pain and enduring hope—to learn and apply tested frameworks for the healing work of belonging in your congregation and community.

This three-day training event invites you to grow as a leader using essential tools for cross-cultural hospitality as an essential expression of Christian discipleship. Rooted in prayer, reflection, and shared learning, we will journey together to listen, learn, and respond to God’s call to love our neighbors more fully.

You Will Experience

• Learning to communicate more effectively across differences, de-escalate potential violence, transform conflict into cooperation.

• Recognizing cultural differences as an asset, their importance in effective leadership and building diverse collaborative teams for success.

• Learning to recognize cultural biases and misinformation in yourself, in others, and in organizations without attack, shame or blame.

• The story of St. Augustine as a lens for understanding racial trauma and the possibilities of transformation

• Recognizing and joining God’s work of healing fractures in us and between us at personal, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural levels

• Practicing faithful, grace-filled dialogue across differences

• Growing in emotional and spiritual awareness for the work of reconciliation

• Exploring your own cultural story while honoring the stories of others

• Applying the framework for Cross-Cultural Hospitality in the context of worship

• Discern faithful next steps for living out antiracism and cross-cultural hospitality in your church and community

Facilitated by Belonging, Inc. Co-Executive Directors, Rev. Laverne March and Rev. David Williamson for equipping individuals and organizations to build communities of belonging where cultural differences become bridges to take communities further together.

 Rev. Laverne March (she, her, hers) is the pastor at Living Waters Ministries in St. Augustine and Co-Executive Director of Belonging, Inc. She grew up in St. Augustine, graduating from St. Augustine High School and holding a degree in Social Psychology from St Leo’s University. Rev. March is known for her dedicated love for her community, leading multicultural education efforts one-on-one and in group settings with St Augustine and St John’s County government leaders and concerned residents. She is the founder of a beautification and empowerment project in West St Augustine called “Pride in the West Side.” She has been using and coaching others to use the VISIONS model for building beloved community leaders since the summer of 2018.

Rev. David Williamson (he, him, his) is an Elder in the Florida Conference United  Methodist Church appointed to extension ministry with Belonging, Inc. He is a skilled facilitator providing education, support and leader development services for clergy, congregations and communities who want to build communities of belonging where cultural differences are recognized, understood, appreciated and utilized as strength for God’s mission in the world. David has 30 years of experience as a pastor in the UMC and 8 years of experience facilitating effective cross-cultural dialogue where diverse groups of people can address and transform conflict at personal, interpersonal and system levels.
david@belonging-inc.org    407-415-7850     belonging-inc.org