This week of advanced training is for those wanting to extend their foundation training with Bridge Builders. The course provides follow-on training to equip people to work with church groups facing conflict.

The five-day Consulting with Church Groups course is designed to equip participants with processes and skills for working with conflicted groups. The course will explore the group intervention approach used by Bridge Builders through the use of a large-group role-play, illustrating the processes being introduced. It will also seek to develop familiarity with the broad range of skills needed to lead such a process. The course is geared to those who want to take their skills training further, and be equipped to design and lead an intervention process for church groups.

Spaces are limited to only 16 participants, and we hope to have a breadth of different denominations represented.

The course is designed for those who have completed one of Bridge Builders week-long foundation courses, either Transforming Church Conflict, or Skills Training for Mediation and Facilitation in the Church, especially those who have joined our Bridge Builders’ Network.

The course will include presentations, group work and role-play. Active and practical in focus, the sessions will emphasise hands-on skills training and the exploration of case studies. Consideration will be given to how processes will need to be adapted to fit different denominational structures. Each day will include times of prayer and worship. Because the course is intensive, significant evening commitments are best avoided during the course.

Presenters

Alastair McKay is director of Bridge Builders at the London Mennonite Centre, providing training, mediation and consultancy services to churches since 1996. Alastair is studying for a Doctorate of Ministry, and has contributed to the books Making Peace With Conflict (Herald Press, 1999) and How to Become a Creative Church Leader (Canterbury Press, 2008).

Colin Patterson is assistant director of Bridge Builders, and an Anglican priest. He has worked as a training officer for the Diocese of Durham and is an experienced adult educator and author of the Grove booklet How to Learn Through Conflict.

Venue
The course will be held at the London Mennonite Centre, 14 Shepherds Hill, London N6 5AQ. The LMC is five minutes walk from Highgate tube station in north London, just off the A1. Please note the 9:00am prompt start on the first day: you may want to stay in London the night before.

Meals and Accommodation
Lunch and refreshments will be provided each day. Participants will need to arrange their own accommodation, breakfast, and evening meal. Contact the London Mennonite Centre if you need help in finding accommodation.

Cost, Application and Cancellation
The fee for the course is £500. A training manual is included. Please note that the course is only open to those who have previously completed either the foundation course, Transforming Church Conflict, or the earlier Skills Training for Mediation and Facilitation in the Church. Precedence is given to applicants sponsored by their church or organisation, and who may use the training for its benefit, or to enhance their own ministry. If you are on a very low income, then please contact us to see whether a bursary may be available.

Spaces are limited to a maximum of 16, so do apply early, as our courses are regularly over-subscribed. To apply, download the brochure and application form. Print out the application and mail it, with a cheque for £100 made payable to Bridge Builders, to

Bridge Builders
London Mennonite Centre
14 Shepherds Hill
London N6 5AQ

The balance of the fee is due eight weeks before the start of the course. Once accepted, the £100 deposit is a non-refundable. The full fee is owed if a place is cancelled within eight weeks of the course start date (i.e. from 27 July 2009 onwards). Cheques will not be banked until acceptance onto the course.

Programme Overview
9:00am - 5:30pm unless otherwise indicated

Monday 21 September
• Sculpting Exercise • Overview of Family Systems Theory • Effective Groups • Leadership Models • Decision-Making and Consensus

Tuesday 22 September
•Overview of Intervention Model • Levels of Conflict • Assessment Tools • Denominational Adaptations • Initial Contact and Entry Considerations • Information-Gathering

Wednesday 23 September
• Information-Gathering (cont) • Assessment and Interim Reporting • Process Recommendations • Reference Committees

Thursday 24 September
• Healing Work – Samoan Circle • Cultural Dimensions • Problem-Solving

Friday 25 September
• Ethical Issues • Intervention Closure • Alternative Approaches • Conclusion and Review