Do you want to be able to share with others some of the new insights about conflict that you have encountered through your training with Bridge Builders? If so, then this is the course you have been waiting for!

Since 1996, Bridge Builders has led dozens of introductory workshops and courses throughout the UK for a wide variety of church groups. This training course, held at the London Mennonite Centre (LMC), will draw on that experience to equip others to lead a day-long workshop. Along with offering a trainer’s manual, the course will provide guidelines on how to lead elements of the workshop using a Bridge Builders workshop manual. The course will also enable participants to explore how the materials might be adapted to their own church and denominational context.

Bridge Builders vision is to help Christians and the church to learn to handle conflict, deal with our differences, engage respectfully with one another, and make decisions in collaborative and consensual ways – so that we can live out the gospel that Jesus revealed. Our expectation is that this will transform the church’s witness and outreach to the world. Come and learn how to help spread this vision for the church.

The course will include teaching, group work and practice. Practical in focus, the sessions will seek to demonstrate Bridge Builders’ active approach to education and learning. Each day will include times of prayer and worship. The course is intensive, so evening commitments are best avoided.

Presenters

Alastair McKay is Director of Bridge Builders at the LMC, and has been conducting training in handling church conflict since 1995, working in the UK and the USA. Bridge Builders offers mediation and intervention services for UK churches. Alastair has an MA in Conflict Transformation, 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 recent 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.

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 and Application

The cost for the course is £265. If you are on a very low income, then please contact us to see whether a bursary may be available. Precedence is given to applicants sponsored by their church or organisation, and who may be in a position to offer subsequent training for its benefit. Two training manuals are included in the price, as are refreshments and lunches.

Spaces are limited to a maximum of 20, so do apply early. To apply, download the flyer and application form, print out the application and mail it, with a cheque for £75 made payable to Bridge Builders, to

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

The balance of fees is due eight weeks before the start of the course. Once accepted, the deposit of £75 is a non-refundable. Cheques will not be banked until acceptance onto the course. The full fee is owed if a place is cancelled within six weeks of the course start date.

Provisional Programme Overview

Tuesday 13 November (9:00am-5:30pm)
• Introductions • Establishing the Environment and Setting the Scene • Using the Human Rainbow • The Story of Two Congregations • Moving from Divided by to Bound Together by Conflict

Wednesday 14 November (9:00am-5:30pm)
• Personal Styles Inventory and Presentation of Styles • The Call to Reconciliation: Drawing on Biblical Resources • Conflict and Communication: Deliberate Listening • Conflict and Communication: Centred Speaking

Thursday 15 November (9:00am-4:00pm)
• Resolving Conflict: Exploring Positions and Interests • Decision-Making in Churches and Process Planning • Escalation and De-Escalation of Conflict • Conclusion and Review

Download the flyer and application form for this course (in pdf format)