MCC staff honored for groundbreaking work in faith-based depolarization

Minnesota Clergy Honored for Groundbreaking Work in Faith-Based Depolarization
United Methodists’ inaugural “Wesleyan Way” award goes to Rev. Jerad Morey for Minnesota Council of Churches’ Respectful Conversations, a model for civic healing adopted statewide
(Saint Cloud, Minn) – In a time of record civic polarization, a Minnesota pastor has been honored by his denomination for building bridges where others see divides. Rev. Jerad Morey, co-founder and steward of the MCC Respectful Conversations project that has helped over 9,000 people find empathy amid disagreement, received the inaugural Wesleyan Way Award on June 11 in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.
“Minnesota Council of Churches is rooted in communities bridging differences in belief and tradition in order to enact the common good. We are proud of this further recognition of the impact of our democracy-strengthening MCC Respectful Conversations and of our staff,” said Elder Suzanne P. Kelly.
According to Bishop Lanette Plambeck of the Minnesota Annual Conference United Methodist Church, the Wesleyan Way Award spotlights individuals and churches who embody what are known as John Wesley’s “Three Simple Rules: Do no harm; Do good; Stay in love with God.” Bishop Plambeck explained of the denomination’s founder that “Wesley gave these rules as framework for early followers of the Wesleyan Way who were seeking some sort of guide for living faithful, holy lives that would show honor and love to God and to their neighbors.”
The award presentation continued to name how, “in a season when fear and anger could be easy defaults” to live according to these rules “is a truly countercultural way of living.” Bishop Plambeck stated that Rev. Morey was receiving the award because “he has been instrumental in developing the Respectful Conversations Project:
“Respectful Conversations are structured, facilitated conversations designed not to change minds, but to soften hearts. For a community that is experiencing or anticipating a polarizing conflict, having a trained facilitator to navigate the conversation can help people feel heard while serving to strengthen relationships and bring about a greater sense of peace.
“Since 2012, more than 8,500 Minnesotans have participated in Respectful Conversations ranging a variety of topics, including the amendment defining marriage, guns in Minnesota, and the local impact of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. On average, 70% of participants report having a stronger sense of empathy for those whose viewpoint is different from their own. And months after participating in a Respectful Conversation, people report a greater awareness of their own listening attitudes, more curiosity about those they might have previously considered opponents, and transformed family relationships.”
The presentation was met with a sustained standing ovation, representing the glowing experiences that hundreds of faithful Minnesotans at the Conference already had with the conflict-depolarizing process that Minnesota Council of Churches launched thirteen years ago.
Rev. Morey, who was surprised by the never-before-given recognition, encouraged those present to “host a Respectful Conversation as a peacebuilding opportunity in your community,” saying “in just two hours, you are a few more steps down the path of sanctification.”
In a later social media post, Morey also thanked MCC Respectful Conversations lead facilitators, table facilitators, Glenwood United Parish and their then-Pastor Jeff Ozanne, who hosted the project’s very first pilot conversation in 2012.
Watch a four-minute clip of the Bishop’s announcement and Morey’s acceptance remarks: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ZjP2MLkFN/
For 13 years Minnesota Council of Churches’ Respectful Conversations have engaged over 9,000 people in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota in empathy-building events with lasting impact. Begun with support from the Bush Foundation in 2012, MCC Respectful Conversations have been offered on a fee-for-service basis since 2015. In 2025 about 300 people have participated in two Respectful Conversations and related interventions. They are hosted through cities, campuses, congregations and nonprofits.
The Wesleyan Way award is the seventh recognition associated with MCC Respectful Conversations since its inception and the fourth in the last 12 months.
Earlier MCC Respectful Conversations-related honors include:
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- May 2025: The Minnesota Character Council gave the 2025 Minnesota Ethical Leadership Award to Minnesota Council of Churches “for demonstrating excellence in the development of character strengths and ethical leadership skills through the MCC Respectful Conversations Program.”
- January 2025: MCC Respectful Conversations Lead Facilitator Victoria McWane-Creek received the Star Tribune Bridge Builder 2024 Award in part for her leadership of A Respectful Conversation about This Election at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Saint Cloud.
- September 2024: Rev. Jerad Morey, was named an Obama Foundation USA Leader in part for his leadership of the depolarization work of MCC Respectful Conversations.
- October 2023: Minnesota Council of Churches won the competitive Strengthening Democracy Field Test grant award from Stanford University’s School of Humanities and Sciences’ Polarization and Social Change Lab to partner with Michigan State University’s Belief Systems Lab for an experiment in boosting democratic attitudes with MCC Respectful Conversations as the platform and employing the Civity Storytelling Intervention.
- September 2022: Rev. Jerad Morey was named an Aspen Institute Better Arguments Ambassador, in part for the impact of MCC Respectful Conversations.
- May 2020: Respectful Conversations in Schools, which MCC co-developed with Civic Youth Minnesota (now YMCA Center for Youth Voice) was named a Promising Practice by the Minnesota Academic League, Synergy & Leadership Exchange, and the Minnesota Service Corporation.
- May 2025: The Minnesota Character Council gave the 2025 Minnesota Ethical Leadership Award to Minnesota Council of Churches “for demonstrating excellence in the development of character strengths and ethical leadership skills through the MCC Respectful Conversations Program.”
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To bring a Respectful Conversation to your campus, congregation, or city, visit mnchurches.org or contact Rev. Morey directly.
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About Minnesota Council of Churches
Representing 27 member judicatories and around 1,000,000 Christians, the Minnesota Council of Churches builds the common good through programs like Refugee Services, Racial Justice Truth & Reparations, Interfaith Relationships, and Respectful Conversations™. Learn more at www.mnchurches.org