‘Our aim is to help participants learn peace-making skills’ 

Baptist minister and mediation trainer Joanna Williams introduces a five-session course she is hosting for anyone interested in transforming conflicts in a church setting – and beyond

 
What can you do when relationships become strained in your church or faith community? Do you want to help but are concerned about how – anxious not to make things worse?
 
When tension and conflict escalates mediation may be just what is needed.
 
Mediation is a structured process in which a neutral third party (the mediator) facilitates dialogue between people to help resolve disagreement.
 
Central to it all is careful, respectful listening which builds understanding, enabling participants to find ways forward that bring life and reconciliation.
 
Our Mediation Skills Course at the Blackley Centre in Yorkshire is designed to help in situations like these.
 
This course introduces a five-stage process that you practise step by step. Although the focus is on transforming conflicts in churches, the skills that you learn can be used wherever there is a role, formal or informal, for mediative intervention by a third party.
 
The course features an introduction to Conflict Theory, and covers the nature of church conflict, its escalation and opportunities for transformation.
 
It also explores the important role of interpersonal communication within mediation, particularly in stressful storm conditions, to minimise misunderstanding and increase possibilities of positive outcomes.
 
Our aim is to help participants learn and develop peace-making skills that can be used both formally and informally in situations of conflict between individuals in a church setting – and beyond.
 
The Biblical mandate for peace and reconciliation runs throughout the New Testament. For example, Ephesians says, 'lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' (Ephesians 4: 1-3) 
 
Easy to read, but how do we do it?
 
We hope our course will be of interest to ministers for CMD and for church leaders, elders, deacons and congregations who want to be equipped to make a difference using mediation skills.
 
 

Joanna Williams is a Baptist minister with more than 25 years experience of devising, and delivering high quality training in and for churches, colleges, and other organisations.
 
She is an experienced Trainer/Training Partner for Bridge Builders Ministries, delivering the Mediating Interpersonal Conflicts Course (15+yrs).
 
Joanna is a joint director of the Blackley Centre alongside husband Andy. The Centre offers a developing range of events, services and training for peace making and inter faith relations