53: Empathy Movement News: Register for Oct 3 Empathy Summit & Oct 4 Braver Angels Empathy Cafe Launch

The Empathy Center News
Building a Culture of Empathy Together
Issue #53 | September 27, 2026

Dear Friends,

Join us in building the Empathy Movement this coming weekend across two major online gatherings:

The Global Empathy Summit (Saturday, Oct 3): A half-day exploration into global empathy training methodologies featuring leading practitioners.
Braver Angels & The Empathy Center Empathy Cafe Launch (Sunday, Oct 4): The kickoff of our new bi-monthly series bringing structured Empathy Circles to the civic depolarization movement.

We need your presence and your facilitation skills to make these events thrive. Explore the details and schedules below.

Warmly,

Edwin Rutsch
Director, The Empathy Center
Building the Empathy Movement

1. Global Empathy Summit: A Global Review of Empathy Training Programs
Join our half-day online summit featuring international educators, authors, and practitioners sharing experiential models for empathy training.

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM PT / 12:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET
Location: Online Zoom https://zoom.us/j/9896109339
Register

Summit Agenda (All times PT)

9:00 am - Introduction: Host Cara Jean Wilson

9:05 am - Edwin Rutsch: The Empathy Circle: The Foundational Practice for Experiential Empathy Training
9:20 am - William Filler: The Empathy Circle Facilitator Training, an experiential first step on your empathic journey.

9:40 am - Lou Zweier: Ongoing Learning and Capacity Building for Empathy Circle Facilitators: the Empathy Circle Facilitator’s Support Group

10:00 am - Allan Rohlfs: Empathy Training: What are you listening to?

10:20 am - David Steele: Empathy Training: The Medium Is The Message

10:40 am - William R. Miller: Teaching Accurate Empathy

11:00 Empathy Circle: Host Janna Weiss

12:10 Debrief
12:28 Closing

2. Launch: Braver Angels & The Empathy Center Bi-Monthly Empathy Cafe

Topic: How Might We Bridge Our Social and Political Divides?

We are excited to partner with Braver Angels to host a bi-monthly Empathy Cafe series bringing structured Active Listening dialogue to political bridging efforts.

Call for Facilitators: We are looking for experienced Empathy Circle facilitators to hold breakout rooms for this series. Supporters of The Empathy Center are also eligible for a free Braver Angels membership.

Launch Date: Sunday, October 4, 2026
Schedule: 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month
Time: 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM PT / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET
Zoom Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/9896109339
Register on LinkedIn and invite contacts

UPCOMING DATES: 1st and 3rd Sundays

October

Sunday: Oct 04 - Empathy Cafe

Sunday: Oct 18 - Empathy Cafe

November

Sunday: Nov 01 - Empathy Cafe

Sunday: Nov 15 - Empathy Cafe

December 2026

Sunday: Dec 06 - Empathy Cafe

Sunday: Dec 20 - Empathy Cafe

January 2027

Sunday: Jan 03 - Empathy Cafe

Sunday: Jan 17 - Empathy Cafe

EVENTS CALENDAR

Google Events Calendar for Dates and Times

The Empathy Center and many other people host Empathy Circles around the world. Here is a list of some of them.
Everyone is welcome to any events. Check the Calendar to confirm dates and times.

You can add your public Empathy Circles to our Google calendar by emailing me EdwinRutsch@gmail.com

Register Next Empathy Circle Facilitator Training

Learn to Facilitate an Empathy Circle and build the Empathy Movement!

Dates: Oct 17 · Oct 24 · Oct 31 · Nov 7 · Sat 10 AM – 12:30 PM PST Contact: Bill Filler paddlinman@yahoo.com

Empathy Circles with the 16 Guidelines

Dates:

4-Oct-2026 Generosity
11-Oct-2026 Right Speech
25-Oct-2026 Respect
1-Nov-2026 no circle
8-Nov-2026 Forgiveness
15-Nov-2026 Gratitude
22-Nov-2026 Loyalty

Time:10:00–11:30 am PT / 1:00–2:30 pm ET / 6:00–7:30 pm UK

Location: Zoom

Contact: Janna thangkha123@gmail.com

Empathy Cafe: Whatever is on your mind

Date: Weekly Tuesdays

Time: 10:00 am (PT)

Location: Zoom

Contact: Ingrid - ingridhirtz@gmail.com

Empathy Cafe: Whatever is on your mind

Date: Weekly Wednesdays

Time: 6 pm (PT)

Location Zoom

Contact: Ingrid - ingridhirtz@gmail.com

Empathy Cafe: Whatever is on your mind

Date: Weekly Thursdays

Time: 6 pm (PT)

Location: Zoom

Contact: Bill - paddlinman@yahoo.com

Empathy Circle Facilitator’s Support Group

Continue learning and building capacity as a facilitator

Date: 1st & 3rd Fridays of each Month

Time: 8 - 10 am (PT)

Location: Zoom

Email: Lou - lou.zweier@gmail.com

Empathy Movement Development Team

Empathy Training Curriculum & Circle Development Team

Date: Weekly Fridays

Time: 9 am to 10:30 am (PT)

Location: Zoom

Contact: Edwin - EdwinRutsch@gmail.com

Empathy Summit Development Team

Date: Weekly Many Fridays

Time: 10:30 am to 11am (PT)

Location: Zoom

Contact: Edwin - EdwinRutsch@gmail.com

Empathy Cafe

Date: Weekly Sundays

Time: 11am to 1pm (PT)

Location: In Person Santa Barbara

Contact: William - william@cleoinstruments.com

See More Empathy Cafes

Support The Empathy Center,
a 501c3 tax exempt nonprofit organization.

Resources Links

TheEmpathyCenter.org - Main gateway website for our 501c3 nonprofit.
CultureOfEmpathy.com - Edwin's website with over 400 interviews of empathy experts plus more.
EmpathySummit.com - Site for our ongoing series of Empathy Summits and Conferences.
EmpathyCircle.com - All about the Empathy Circle practice.
BestEmpathyTraining.com - All about the Empathy Circle Facilitator training.
EmpathyTent.com - Website for the Empathy Tent public listening, empathy and mediation project.
Empathy Movement Magazine on Scoop It - Over 9,000 articles, papers, etc. about empathy sorted by subtopic. Updated daily with current links.
The Empathy Center Facebook Page
The Empathy Center LinkedIn Group Page - Empathy Movement: Practice, Projects, Dialogue, Training, Curriculum Design and Development

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