Conflict is normal and inevitable – but Christian leaders often feel ill-prepared to handle conflict in the church. The Skills Training Course for Mediation and Facilitation for Senior Church Leaders is designed to equip leaders with practical skills for responding constructively to conflict. This acclaimed five-day course explores conflict within us, between individuals and within the church. The course aims to raise self-awareness, to develop understanding of conflict and to teach methods to facilitate resolution and transformation of conflicts within the church, particularly through the development of mediation and facilitation skills.

Bridge Builders, the training and mediation service of the London Mennonite Centre, invites senior church leaders to attend who want to equip themselves with practical peacemaking skills in the service of the church. The course is being held residentially at the Lindors Country House Hotel in Gloucestershire. Spaces are limited, but with the hope of wide ecumenical representation.

The course will include teaching, group work and guided practice. Active and practical in focus, the sessions will emphasise hands-on skills training and use role-plays based on conflicts faced in the church. Each day will include times of prayer and worship. The course is intensive, and includes evening sessions on the Tuesday and Wednesday; we strongly advise that any other commitments are best avoided during the week.

Presenters
Alastair McKay is director of Bridge Builders at the LMC, providing training, mediation and consultancy services to churches since 1996. Alastair has an MA in Conflict Transformation, is studying for a DMin and has contributed to the book Making Peace With Conflict (Herald Press, 1999).

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

Sharon Kniss is a trainer and mediator with Bridge Builders. She is a Mennonite from the United States, with a degree in Justice, Peace and Conflict Studies from Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia.

Who is the course for?
The course is designed for senior church leaders such as Bishops and others in the senior staff team (Anglican and Roman Catholic), Regional Ministers (Baptist), District Chairs (Methodist), Divisional Commanders (Salvation Army), Moderators (URC), or equivalents in other denominations. If in doubt, do contact us.

Accommodation and Meals
The course is fully residential, with accommodation from Sunday night, 11 May, to Thursday night, in accommodation at the Lindors Country House, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 6RB. All rooms are individual ones, either in the hotel, or in shared cabins. Meals are provided each day, beginning with dinner at 6:30pm on Sunday evening through until Friday lunch time.

Cost, Application and Cancellation
The cost for the course is £725. Two training manuals and a style profile are included in the fee.

Spaces are limited to a maximum of 20, 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. Please note that the full fee is owed if a place is cancelled within eight weeks of the start date (i.e. from 16 March 2008 onwards).

Programme Overview

Sunday 11 May – Evening meal at 6:30pm

Monday 12 May (9:00am-6:00pm)
• Conflict and Faith: Our Call to Peacemaking • Introduction to Conflict • Understanding Conflict and Ourselves in Conflict • Your Personal Style Profile for Communication at Work • Communication Skills

Tuesday 13 May (9:00am-1:00pm, 3:30-6:00pm, 7:30-9:00pm)
• Power: A Self-Assessment • Understanding Conflict and Negotiation • Mediating Conflict between Individuals: An Overview of the Process • Mediation Skills Practice: The Introduction and Story-Telling Stages

Wednesday 14 May (9:00am-1:00pm, 3:30-6:00pm, 7:30-9:00pm)
• Mediation Skills: Listening and Reframing • Mediation Skills Practice:
The Problem-Solving and Healing Stages • Mediation Skills Practice: The Agreement Stage and Private Meetings • The Samoan Circle: A Dialogue Tool

Thursday 15 May (9:00am-6:00pm)
• Leadership and Anxiety in the Church • Levels of Conflict and Case Studies • Facilitation Skills: Decision-Making Principles, Strategies and Tools • Group Decision-Making Exercise

Friday 16 May (9:00am-2:00pm)
• De-briefing the Decision-Making Exercise • Decision-Making and Acts 15 • Promoting a Culture of Conflict Transformation in the Church • Conclusion and Review